Major: Psychology
Career Honors:
- 2016 All-SEC Second Team
- 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 2015 NFCA All-Southeast Region First Team
- 2015 All-SEC First Team
- 2015 SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 2014 NFCA All-Southeast Region Third Team
- 2014 WCWS All-Tournament Team
- 2014 SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 2013 SEC All-Freshman Team
- 2013 SEC Tournament MVP
- 2013 SEC All-Tournament Team
- 2013 SEC First-Year Honor Roll
Career Highlights:
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Led 1 single season list: 35 hit by pitches….Made top 10 on 5 single season lists: .498 on base percentage (9th), tied for 10th with 4 triples, tied for 2nd with 6 sacrifice flies, tied for 7th with 12 sacrifice hits and tied for 9th with 23 stolen bases….Led 1 UF career list: 72 hit by pitches….Made top 10 on 11 UF career lists: .467 on base percentage (4th), .900 stolen base percentage (7th), 210 runs scored (3rd), 7 triples (8th), tied for 7th with 36 homeruns, 172 RBIs (6th), 366 total bases (9th), tied for 2nd with 138 walks, tied for 4th with 10 sacrifice flies, tied for 4th with 34 sacrifice hits, and 72 stolen bases (3rd)
As a Senior (2016):
- All-SEC Second Team
- SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 62 games / 62 starts
- Ranked among the team leaders in hitting (fifth), OBP (fourth), runs (third), hits (third), doubles (T-2nd), homers (T-2nd), RBI (fourth) and steals (second)
- Recorded a career best in .331 batting average and notched a perfect fielding percentage in 52 chances
- Hit a team-best .455 (5-for-11) with the bases loaded and recorded a .395 (17-for-43) batting average with two outs
- Was Florida’s top run-producer at Auburn as she went three for nine with one double, two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored
- Hit her 29th and 30th homers of her career in game one against South Dakota marking her fifth multi-homer game of her career
- During that contest, Merritt recorded a career-high tying five RBI as well
- Went a career-best 4-for-5 with two RBI against South Alabama; Recorded her first extra-base hit this season against Illinois State on March 3
- Notched a career-high tying two assists from centerfield during Florida’s game at Ole Miss on April 10
As a Junior (2015):
- NFCA All-Southeast Region First Team
- First Team All-SEC
- SEC Academic Honor Roll
- 67 games / 67 starts
- Ranked among the team leaders in hitting (fifth), runs (third), hits (third), doubles (second), triples (second), homers (fourth), RBI (third) and steals (second)
- Set career bests in hitting (.325), doubles (12), slugging (.568), on-base percentage (.498), putouts (72) and fielding percentage (.987)
- Batted .400 with two runs, two RBI and one homer during the two games of the NCAA Super Regional against Kentucky
- Hit .375 in SEC play, representing a 50-point jump over her season clip, with 19 RBI to rank third on the squad
- Excelled on the road, posting a .341 average with six extra-base hits and 12 RBI in 16 games
- Provided an offensive spark during the month of March, when she ranked second on the team in hitting at .359 and led the squad with four home runs
- Compiled a career-long nine-game hitting streaks from March 21 to April 4
- Played and started every game for the Gators
- Knocked a season-best three hits in UF’s second game at the WCWS on May 29 against LSU
- Hit two home runs and recorded a season-best four RBI on Feb. 8 against Jacksonville
As a Sophomore (2014):
- NFCA All-Southeast Region Third Team (OF)
- WCWS All-Tournament Team
- Ranked second on the Gators with 13 home runs, 57 runs scored, 15 stolen bases and two triples (T-2nd); was fourth on the team with 52 RBI and seven doubles
- 13 home runs were more than double the six she hit during her freshman season
- Walkoff three-run home run May 25 vs. Washington sent the Gators to the WCWS
- Three-run home run June 3 vs. Alabama provided the winning runs in the championship-clinching game
- Made just one error in 64 chances
As a Freshman (2013):
- A 2013 SEC All-Freshman Team honoree
- Named to the SEC All-Tournament Team and was the first-ever freshman SEC Tournament MVP
- The 5/14 NFCA Division I National Player of the Week following her SEC Tourney performance, where she knocked in the game-winning runs against both Alabama and Missouri to help lead UF to the Champ
- Ranked second for UF in stolen bases and was 21-24 on the year
- Had one grand slam in 2013
- Batted .280 her first year on campus, .243 in the postseason, ranked second for UF with four triples and had two outfield assists in CF
- Her four triples ranked fifth in the SEC, while her 39 walks were sixth, also ranked fourth in the league in HBP (14) and sixth in sac bunts (9)
- Seven game-winning RBI for the Gators, also adding eight multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games
- Had the second-longest reached base streak on the team, putting together a 21-game strand
High School / Travel Ball:
- 2012 graduate of South Sumter High School
- Played travel ball with the Gold Coast Hurricanes, coached by Marty Cooper
- 2012 Orlando Sentinel All-Central Florida Softball Team
- Batted .491 during her senior season with seven doubles and 23 RBI at South Sumter, as the Raiders made it to the FHSAA Class 4A Quarterfinals
- Registered a .702 slugging percentage and .569 on-base percentage that season as well
- Competed with the Wichita Mustangs, coached by Mark Griggs, at the 2011 Premier Girls Fastpitch Nationals in Huntington Beach, Calif.
- 2011 TCS Rising Stars All-American
- Played travel ball with the Gainesville Gold from 2007-10, leading the team to the 2008 ASA State A Championship
- A five-sport letterwinner:
- Softball (2009, 2011-12)
- Volleyball (2008)
- Basketball (2008-10)
- Weightlifting (2008-09)
- Track and field (2009, 2011-12)
- Member of the Academic Honor Roll
- Two-time National Honor Society inductee (2011-12)
- Also involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Merritt’s Career Statistics
| Year |
avg |
gp-gs |
ab |
r |
h |
2b |
3b |
hr |
rbi |
bb |
so |
sb-att |
fld% |
| 2013 |
.280 |
59-58 |
157 |
55 |
44 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
29 |
39 |
33 |
21-24 |
.967 |
| 2014 |
.299 |
67-66 |
187 |
57 |
56 |
7 |
2 |
13 |
52 |
38 |
23 |
15-16 |
.984 |
| 2015 |
.325 |
67-67 |
169 |
48 |
55 |
12 |
1 |
9 |
47 |
29 |
27 |
23-25 |
.987 |
| 2016 |
.331 |
62-62 |
169 |
50 |
56 |
6 |
0 |
8 |
44 |
32 |
18 |
13-15 |
1.000 |
| TOTAL |
.309 |
255-253 |
682 |
210 |
211 |
33 |
7 |
36 |
172 |
138 |
101 |
72-80 |
.984 |
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Merritt’s Career Bests
CAREER-GAME HIGHS [all-time ranking]:
Hits: 4 [t-2nd], vs South Alabama, Mar 05, 2016
Doubles: 1, 36 times
Triples: 1 [t-4th], 7 times
Home runs: 2 [t-3rd], 5 times
Total bases: 8, 5 times
RBI: 5, 4 times
Runs scored: 3, 7 times
Walks: 2, 25 times
Hit by pitch: 3 [t-1st], at Long Beach State, Mar 04, 2015
Struck out: 3 [t-6th], Alabama, Mar 21, 2014; Florida State, Mar 27, 2013; UAB, May 25, 2013
Sac flies: 2 [t-1st], at Jacksonville, Feb 11, 2015
Sac bunts: 2 [t-1st], at Troy, Feb 22, 2014
At bats: 7 [t-2nd], vs Nebraska, Jun 01, 2013
Stolen bases: 2, 7 times
