LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Twenty-five student-athletes have been selected finalists for the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards. The winners will be announced following the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Highlighted by 2018 winner Kylee Smith of North Georgia, the list of student-athletes is represented by 23 different programs and 18 conferences. Twelve student-athletes from the original Top-50 “Watchlist” made the cut with the final group consisting of 13 seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.
Here are the second regional rankings for : .
— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII)
West Florida out of the Gulf South Conference and Winona State out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference each had two recipients. The Gulf South and Lone Star Conference led the way with three selections, while the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Northern Sun and Sunshine State Conference garnered two honorees.
Collecting one plaudit each was the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, East Coast Conference, Great American Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Great Midwest Athletic Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, PacWest Conference, Peach Belt Conference, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and South Athletic Conference.
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The Top 10 finalists will be announced on May 14 with the 2018 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year revealed on May 30, following the conclusion of the 2019 season.
New in 2019 is the announcement of two awards — Schutt Sports /NFCA Player of the Year and Schutt Sports / NFCA Pitcher of the Year. Up until the reveal of the awards, there will be one list for Top-25 and one list for Top-10. The respective winners will come from the top-10 list and will be voted on by the NFCA Division II All-American Committee.
The award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among softball student-athletes throughout Division II.
Past Winners
2018 – Kylee Smith, North Georgia
2017 – Coley Ries, Minnesota State
2016 – Lindsay Butler, Wayne State University
2015 – Courtney Poole, North Georgia
HISTORY: Programs with the most titles | Unbreakable records
Top 25 watch list
| Student-Athlete | School | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Benson | Western Washington | Senior | First Base |
| Shelby Booker | UAH | Sophomore | Third Base |
| Rosa'Lynn Burton | Wilmington (DE) | Junior | Outfield |
| Georgia Capell | Tarleton State | Sophomore | Outfield |
| Jordan Davis | Rollins | Senior | Outfield |
| Makaleigh Dooley | Tampa | Senior | Pitcher |
| JoBi Heath | Central Oklahoma | Senior | Third Base |
| Teala Howard | West Florida | Freshman | Utility |
| Sara Keeny | Kutztown | Senior | Outfield |
| Jordyn Kleman | Winona State | Junior | Pitcher |
| Jennifer Leonhardt | Southern Indiana | Junior | Pitcher |
| Allison Lipovsky | Grand Valley State | Senior | pitcher |
| Peyton Mills | Harding | Senior | Outfield |
| Kylee Moore | West Texas A&M | Senior | First Base |
| Callie Nunes | Concordia (CA) | Sophomore | Pitcher |
| MaKray Odom | Trevecca Nazarene | Junior | Shortstop |
| Emily Otto | Texas A&M-Commerce | Sophomore | Pitcher |
| Christa Reisinger | Truman State | Senior | Outfield |
| Rhiannon Sassman | West Florida | Senior | Third Base |
| Julia Seader | LIU Post | Senior | Catcher |
| Kylee Smith | North Georgia | Junior | Pitcher |
| AnnMarie Torres | Colorado Mesa | Junior | First Base |
| Brylynn Vallejos | San Francisco State | Freshman | Outfield |
| Lani Van Zyl | Winona State | Senior | Shortstop |
| Natalie Willis | Newberry | Senior | Shortstop |
