For the first time since 2010, two UTEP softball athletes juniors Courtney Clayton and Kaitlin Ryder, were named to the 2017 Conference USA Preseason team as annouced by league coaches on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The 2016 C-USA Player of the Year, Clayton, batted for an impressive .416 average throughout the 2016 season. The strong average was enough to be the third best average in UTEP history. She set both school records for 21 doubles and 79 hits in a single season. Clayton was the squad’s leader in almost every hitting category. She led the Miners with 45 runs scored, .658 slugging, .438 on-base percentage, two triples and 125 total bases. On defense, Clayton had the second most assists during a season in UTEP history with 119 assists.

For the first time as a true starter for the Miners, Ryder gained a lot of recognition for her efforts last season. She was right behind Clayton with a .350 batting average and ranked in the top-10 of the league with 23 walks.

Clayton, Ryder and the Miners will start their 2017 season with the Kajikawa Classic. They open up their season against Stanford on Feb. 9.