Booneville, Miss. – Alyssa Vanlandingham can now place herself amongst an elite list of Northeast Mississippi Community College softball standouts that have elevated their careers to the highest amateur level possible.
Vanlandingham has signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to become the newest player for the University of Tennessee at Martin.
"We saw her make great strides during the spring," said Tigers headman Jody Long. "I think she matured both on and off the field and grew up a lot. She's made some changes to fall in line with her dreams. I would love to have the opportunity to continue coaching this young lady, but we were blessed to have her for one year.
"She's one of those kids that wants to work and get better. Our team kind of fed off her and emotionally she was a leader. That transitioned into a lot of our success down the stretch."
The Skyhawks are perennially one of the top squads in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Tennessee Martin has qualified for the postseason 12 times in 14 campaigns under the direction of coach Donley Canary and are three years removed from winning the league tournament championship.
"I feel really happy and accomplished about this," Vanlandingham said. "It's a great opportunity and I look forward to the challenge. I'm ready to see what next year has in store for me."
Vanlandingham became the ace of Northeast's pitching staff as a sophomore and wielded a left-handed delivery that consistently baffled her opponents throughout the season.
She compiled a team-best 2.20 earned run average (ERA) in 18 appearances with the Tigers. Vanlandingham received the starting nod in 15 of those contests and went the distance regularly with 12 complete games.
Vanlandingham relied heavily on the defensive prowess of her teammates and struck out only 47 in 95.1 innings. She was not bad with a glove either with only two errors in 41 attempts for a solid .951 fielding percentage.
The Hampton, Ark., native accumulated a 7-8 overall record with a pair of saves in Northeast wins at Dyersburg State (Tenn.) Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College.
She possessed great control inside the circle with only seven wild pitches and nine hit batters during the entire campaign. Vanlandingham also accounted for a pair of shutouts against rivals Itawamba Community College and Northwest.
Vanlandingham increased her productivity even more during the final month of the campaign to help the Tigers clinch their 14th playoff berth in the 15-year history of the fast-pitch program.
She was stellar in three consecutive complete game victories over league foes East Mississippi Community College, Holmes Community College and Northwest to close the regular season. Vanlandingham garnered a 0.95 ERA in that span to preserve a pair of one-run triumphs and complete a masterful one-hit outing versus the Rangers.
Vanlandingham started for Northeast during both of its Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Playoffs first round matchups at East Central Community College. She conceded just three earned runs in 10 innings against the eventual national runner-up in two heartbreaking losses that ended the season.
"Just being out on the field everyday with all the girls that love the game as much as I do was great," said Vanlandingham. "I think I learned a lot of stuff that's going to help me like I never got rattled or gave up. Coach Long helped me a lot with all that so I'm really grateful."
The Hampton (Ark.) High School graduate collected MACJC Pitcher of the Week honors after lifting the Tigers to a thrilling win over Itawamba. She tossed nine innings with three strikeouts and three runs allowed in the victory on February 28 at David Carnell Memorial Field.
She punched out a career-high 10 batters in a triumph versus Mississippi Delta Community College in mid-March. She did not give up a walk against Northwest and did not allow more than five free passes in a single contest all year.
Vanlandingham is the fifth Tiger to ink with a NCAA Division I institution and the first since Lisa Jansen and 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Shanika Randle both chose to attend Mississippi Valley State University.