2024 Softball Roster
Roster
Cayla Nielsen
- Position:
- Outfielder
- Height:
- 5-5
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Blair, Neb.
- High School:
- Blair HS
- Deals:
2023 (Junior at Creighton)
Unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection ... NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team ... College Sports Communicator Academic All-District Team honoree ... Appeared in 52 games, earning 49 starts (47 in left field and two in center) ... Led the team in hits (62), batting average (.395), sluggling percentage (.650), on-base percentage (.486), runs scored (43) and stolen bases (6), while ranking second in doubles (11), walks (24) and RBI (33) ... Her .395 batting average ranked third in the BIG EAST, while her 62 hits and 43 runs scored were fourth most in the league ... The 62 hits were also the most by a Bluejay since joining the BIG EAST ... Her .486 on-base percentage ranked as the sixth best mark in a single season in program history as she reached base safely in 45 of the 52 games she played in ... Recored a .400 batting average ranking fifth in the BIG EAST during league contests ... Posted a team-high 18 multi-hit games with nine multi-RBI contests ... Had a team-best 10 game hit streak and a 17 game on-base streak ... Drew a pair of walks and scored three times in a 11-2 win over Northern Colorado on Feb. 18 ... Went 3-for-4 with a RBI double against Texas A&M-Commerce (Feb. 19) ... Finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored in a 10-2 victory at UTEP on Feb. 25 ... Blasted first home run of the season in an 8-0 shutout win over Penn (March 8) ... Nearly became the first Bluejay to hit for the cycle, finishing 3-for-4 with a single, double, and home run at Villanova on March 17 ... Went 2-for-3 with two RBI, two runs scored and a home run against Seton Hall (March 25) ... Earned a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll after batting .500 (6-for-12) with six runs batted in, four runs scored and a home run in three games against DePaul ... Contributed to all three of the Bluejays runs during a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over DePaul (April 7) ... Followed that performance by driving in three runs and scoring two more in a 14-3 win at DePaul (April 7) ... Drove in all six Bluejay runs on a pair of three-run home runs against Connecticut on April 23 ... The six runs batted in were tied for the third most in a single game in program history ... Went 3-for-5 with a double and run scored in the Bluejays’ 7-1 win at South Dakota (April 25) ... Recorded a career-high four hits and scored two runs in a 7-0 win at Providence (April 29) ... Drove in another four runs while hitting a home run and scoring twice in a 7-5 victory over St. John’s (May 6) ... Nearly hit for the cycle again, finishing 3-for-4 with a single, triple and home run while scoring three times in the season finale against St. John’s (May 7) ... BIG EAST All-Academic Team ... NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete.Â
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2022 (Sophomore at Creighton)
Started all 42 games in center field during sophomore campaign ... Ranked third on the team with a .296 batting average and was second with 40 hits, 10 doubles and two triples ... Led the Bluejays with 34 runs scored ... Reached base safely in 33-of-42 games, including a 13 game stretch from Feb. 12 - March 5 ... Had a team-best seven game hit streak twice (Feb. 12-Feb. 20 & March 13-March 27) ... Recorded first triple of her career and scored two runs against UTEP on Feb. 12 ... Hit a pair of home runs and recorded a career-high five RBI in win over Abilene Christian (Feb. 13) ... Named the BIG EAST Player of the Week after hitting .500 (9-of- 18) with four RBI, two doubles and one home run at the Evansville Softball Invitational (March 4-6) ... Went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored during the Bluejays 11-2 win over Green Bay (March 4) ... Was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored in win over Green Bay (March 5) ... Went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in the 7-1 win over St. John’s on April 1 ... Doubled and scored a run against UConn on April 9 ... NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete ... BIG EAST All-Academic Team.
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2021 (Freshman at Creighton)
Started all 28 games for the Bluejays in center field ... Ranked second on the team with 15 runs scored and posted a .286 batting average with 20 hits ... Tied for team-lead with seven sacrifice bunts ... Went 3-for-3 and scored once against Northern Kentucky (March 6) during the Saluki Invitational ... Also tallied three hits, scored one time and drove in one run during second game of doubleheader at Providence (March 12) ... Recorded at least one hit during 11 of Creighton’s 15 BIG EAST games ... Had two hits and scored twice during series finale against St. John’s (April 11) ... Launched two-run home run and ended game against South Dakota (April 28) with season-high three RBI.Â
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2020 (Freshman at Creighton)
Played in all 25 games during her first season as a Bluejay and started 23 times ... Made all 23 starts in center field ... Paced squad with 10 walks ... Ranked second on team with 14 runs scored ... One of four Creighton players to finish season with at least 20 hits ... Recorded first career home run and double while driving in two runs against Texas Southern (Feb. 8) ... Posted season-high for hits and runs by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored against Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 28) ... Ended season with four games of multiple runs scored ... One of four Bluejays with six or more sacrifice bunts.
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Blair High School
Helped lead Blair to the 2018 District championship ... Earned spot on the 2016 Omaha World-Herald Class B Second Team after hitting .470 during her sophomore season ... Also earned Class B Honorable Mention nod three times ... Played at the club level for coach Josh Chronic and Nebraska Premier Gold ... Helped lead Premier Gold to a 2018 Nebraska USSSA Fastpitch State runner-up finish ... Also played soccer all four years of high school and basketball two years ... Earned Eastern Midlands Conference Academic All-Conference honors ... Member of B-Club and volunteered at the Open Door Mission and at Blair youth softball camps.Â
Personal
Daughter of Jay and Janette ... Has two siblings, Jack and Bo ... Pursuing a nursing degree.
