Junior (2008): Watson had a break-out 2008 campaign as she improved upon multiple NMSU all-time single-season and career records. She owned an overall record of 18-18 with an ERA of 2.75 and appeared in 44 games and made 34 starts as the Aggies’ ace. She sat down 185 batters throughout the season, ranking third in the WAC in strikeouts and fifth on NMSU’s all-time record list. She also ranked second in the conference after recording 45 strikeouts looking. Watson has 454-career strikeouts, which ranks her third on the school’s record list and is 134 strikeouts away from breaking the all-time record. She ranks fourth in the history of the program in both the career wins column with 44 and appearances with 106. Against California, Feb. 9, Watson led the Aggies to their second win over the Golden Bears in the history of the program as she started and completed the game, while fanning a season-high 11 batters. She almost matched her season-high strikeout effort against Georgetown, March 5, when she sat down 10 Hoyas in six innings. She threw three shut-outs on the season and allowed less than one hit per inning during her 209 innings of work in the circle. Watson was named to the Troy Cox Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts from Feb. 22-24. She posted a perfect 4-0 performance in the circle and fanned 22 batters in 21 innings of work. Watson is also a force in the classroom and for the second year in a row, as she was named to the NFCA Academic All-American team and is a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree.
Sophomore (2007): Watson was the Aggies go to pitcher in 2007, where she earned Second Team All-WAC accolades after appearing in 40 games in the circle and starting 36 of those. The marketing major was named to the ESPN the Magazine’s 2007 Academic All-District Softball Team in District VI as announced by CoSIDA for her academic success, where she has a 3.936 GPA. She had a 2.74 ERA with a 19-15 record and her 19 victories on the year was the third most by any pitcher in NMSU history for a single season and it ranked 66th in the country. She was named the WAC Pitcher of the Week twice, the first on March 26 and the second on May 7. On May 4, she threw her first career no-hitter against Utah State in a crucial conference victory. Finishing the season with 203 strikeouts, the third most in a season by an Aggie, Watson ranked second in the conference in that category. Allowing under a run per inning pitched, Watson’s 217.1 innings pitched was the third most in the conference and she allowed only 85 earned runs. Her eight complete-game shutouts was the third most in a season by an Aggie and she threw 19 complete games. In her four starts from May 1 through May 9, Watson gave up just five hits and only one run in the 24 innings that she pitched. In a 2-0 win at Louisiana Tech on March 30, Watson threw a one-hitter against the Lady Techsters where she had 11 strikeouts. The Aggies ace tied her career-high when she fanned 12 batters in a 6-4 loss to UTEP on March 14. Opposing batters hit just .240 off of Watson who also had one save on the year.
Freshman (2006): Watson took over the No. 2 starting role for the Aggies as a freshman, compiling a 7-7 record with a 3.01 ERA and had 66 strikeouts in 80 innings. She earned her first career victory in the opener of a doubleheader against I-10 rival UTEP on Feb. 14 and picked up her first win as a starter on week later against the team’s other archrival, New Mexico. In the second game of a doubleheader at UTEP on March 15, Watson struck out 12 batters in fife and two-thirds innings. She had an outstanding year in the classroom as well, as she was named an NFCA Scholar Athlete and made the 2006 Academic All-WAC Softball Team.
High School: Watson is a 2005 graduate of Mead High School in Spokane, Wash., where she played for head coach John Barrington. She helped lead the Panthers to a 45-11 record over the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the 2005 Greater Spokane League and district championships and to the state tournament in 2004 and 2005. The two-time district and league MVP was recognized three times as Spokane’s Spokesman Review Player of the Week and one as Seattle Times Player of the Week. In her senior year, Watson went 23-3 with a 0.35 ERA, 13 shutouts and 255 strikeouts.
Academics: She is majoring in marketing and is working on a minor in Spanish.
Personal: Watson was born in Spokane, Wash. And is the daughter of Chas and Mariellen Watson.
