Chamberlain’s Bell commits to LSU

Posted Mar 30, 2010 by Nick Williams

Updated Mar 30, 2010 at 03:42 PM

Chamberlain sophomore shortstop Bianka Bell will follow her two older sisters to the SEC.

Bell, one of the top players in Hillsborough County, has verbally committed to LSU, her father Joe Bell said.

Bell is batting .486 this season with 17 hits, eight RBIs, five doubles, one triple and two home runs for the 12-2 Chiefs. She owns a .857 slug percentage, a .550 on-base percentage and is 11-of-11 on stolen bases.

Outfielder Briana Bell, a senior at Riverview, has signed a softball scholarship with Mississippi State while the eldest sister, Brittney Bell, is in her junior season at Mississippi State. Briana decided not to play softball at Riverview this season, and has instead joined the school’s track and field team, Joe Bell said. 

“Having two older sisters that played, Bianka is the most knowledgable one,” Joe Bell said.

Joe Bell, a former four-sport athlete at Plant in the early 80s, trained all three sisters. He also coaches a travel softball team for Tampa Mustangs.

“I trained my kids almost everyday,” he said. “We didn’t take a lot of breaks. If they weren’t playing, they were doing strength and conditioning training.”

Bell said he’s thrilled to see all of their hard work paying off.

“I’m probably the proudest father in the world,” he said. “[It was] using sports as a vehicle to give them an education.”