Morgan Zerkle

Morgan Zerkle is a 5-foot-8 professional softball outfielder from Milton, W.Va. She was acquired in the 7th Round of the 2025 Inaugural Draft following a collegiate career at Marshall.

Personal Life

Career: Named head softball coach at Marshall University in June 2023. Member of the AUSL Player Executive Committee.

Education: Graduated with a degree in exercise science and earned a master's degree in kinesiology.

Background: Did not become a left-handed hitter until her junior year of high school. Wears No. 18 because she likes even numbers.

Professional Experience

Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball, AUX & AUSL (2020–2025)

2025 AUSL All-Star Cup: Collected 586 leaderboard points. Starter in all 10 games who tied for fourth in the league after being hit by a pitch twice. Boasted a .258 batting average with three RBIs.

2025 AUSL Regular Season: Second-leading hitter in the AUSL with a .419 average while pacing the league in hits (39), doubles (9), and home runs (9). Led the circuit with 93 at-bats and 75 total bases. Second in the league with 25 runs scored, 26 RBIs, an .806 slugging percentage, and a 1.239 OPS. First player in AUSL history to hit an inside-the-park home run.

2024 Championship Season: Secured an 18th-place finish with 1,330 leaderboard points. Starter in all 15 games who batted .316. Ranked second in the league with nine walks, a .447 on-base percentage, and a .973 OPS. Became the first player in AU history to reach 10,000 career leaderboard points and appear in 100 career games.

2024 AUX Season: Garnered a seventh-place finish with 1,196 leaderboard points. Batted .364 with 16 hits, two home runs, and nine RBIs. Established AU X single-season standards with five stolen bases.

2023 Championship Season: Posted 1,110 leaderboard points (30th place). Fourth-leading hitter in the league with a .366 batting average and third with a .481 OBP.

2023 AUX Season: Accumulated 866 leaderboard points (14th place). Starter in all 10 games, hitting .289 with 11 hits.

2022 Championship Season: Collected 1,046 leaderboard points. Posted a .319 batting average with two home runs and six RBIs.

2022 AUX Season: Placed fourth with 1,338 leaderboard points. Batted .385 with 15 hits and nine runs scored.

2021 Championship Season: Finished sixth with 1,576 leaderboard points. Hit .300 with 15 hits, 14 RBIs, and went a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases.

2020 Championship Season: Earned a share of fifth place with 1,710 points. Posted a .426 batting average and tied for the league lead with seven stolen bases.

Other Professional Experience (2017)

NPF: No. 26 overall selection in the 2017 NPF Draft by the Scrap Yard Dawgs. Appeared in 15 games with a .269 batting average.

International Experience (2016–2026)

Team USA: Won a Gold medal at the 2022 Pan American Championships, hitting .538. Earned a Silver medal at the 2017 World Cup of Softball and Japan Cup. Member of the 2026 National Team pool and competed in the 2025 Down Under Series.

College Experience: Marshall (2014–2017)

Career Statistics: Started 193-of-194 career games, authoring a school-record .451 batting average with 13 home runs and 104 RBIs. Scored 181 runs and registered 289 hits, including 25 doubles and a school-record 14 triples.

Senior Year (2017): Second-Team NFCA All-America recognition. Conference USA Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year.

Sophomore Year (2015): Set single-season program records with a .506 batting average, 89 hits, and 62 runs scored. Led the NCAA with 48 stolen bases.



Awards & Honors

All-America: Second-Team NFCA All-America selection in 2017.

Conference Honors: Three-time First-Team All-Conference USA selection.

Academic: CoSIDA Academic All-America recipient as a sophomore and senior. Finalist for the Senior CLASS Award in 2017.