Central College Athletics

Libby Hysell Carlton '03
Softball

Carlton led the Dutch to the 2003 NCAA Division III softball championship. A three-time all-America honoree and 2003 team and Iowa Conference MVP, Carlton was the NFCA Division III player of the year after posting a 17-0 record with 10 shutouts and a stingy 0.41 earned run average with 148 strikeouts in 152.2 innings. She was then honored in New York City with the Honda Award as the top Division III female student-athlete in any sport for 2003.

A three-time first-team all-conference pick, she was a third-team all-America choice in 2001, second-team selection in 2002 and first-team honoree in 2003. She was a four-time NCAA tournament participant, twice reaching the national finals. The Dutch were second in the U.S. in 2001 before winning it two years later. Central won three league championships in Carlton's four seasons.

She posted a career 70-16 mark with a school-record 0.70 ERA and a record 33 shutouts. She had four career no-hitters. A Colfax native, Carlton ranks second in school history in career wins (70), second in strikeouts (582), third in winning percentage (.813) and fourth in innings pitched (605.1).

In 2013, Carlton was inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletics Union Softball Hall of Fame.

Now a pitching instructor and youth league coach, Hysell operates a child day care service in Grimes.