LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is proud to announce the 25 finalists for the 2016 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year award.

 This group of student-athletes is represented by 22 different programs and 15 conferences. Thirteen from the original Top-50 “Watchlist” made the cut with the final group consisting of 14 seniors, six juniors and five sophomores.

No. 3 Humboldt State led the way with three selections, while No. 5 North Georgia is represented by two student-athletes. The Great Lakes Valley Conference topped the list with four honorees. The California Collegiate Athletic Association and Peach Belt Conference had three apiece, while the Great American Conference, Gulf South Conference and Lone Star Conference earned two nods each.

The Top 10 finalists will be announced on May 6 and the Top 3 on May 12 with the 2016 Schutt Sports NFCA Division II National Player of the Year revealed on Tuesday, May 17.

Behind the collaboration between the NFCA and the Division II Head Coaches Committee, and the generosity of Schutt Sports, the award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among softball student-athletes throughout Division II. University of North Georgia’s Courtney Poole was the inaugural winner of the award a season ago.

 

Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II Player of the Year Top 25

Stephanie Adkins Saint Leo RHP Junior Kaitlyn Bannister* UAH 3B Junior Janessa Bassett* Dixie State OF Sophomore Lyndsay Butler* Wayne State (Mich.) P/RF Junior Morgan Foley* Indianapolis RHP Senior Ally Foster* Bellarmine P/UT Senior Brooke Goad Southern Arkansas OF Sophomore Stephanie Hartness North Georgia OF Junior Haley Hodges Southern Indiana C/IF Junior Hanna Holland* Humboldt State OF Sophomore Courtney Iacobacci Fairmont State OF Senior Makayla Kovac* Colorado Mesa SS Senior Lexi Loos Wayne State (Neb.) OF Senior Brenna Martini* Adelphi 3B Sophomore Katie Obemma Humboldt State RHP Senior Hannah Perryman* UMSL LHP Senior Courtney Poole* North Georgia RHP Senior Kiley Rusen* Valdosta State 1B Senior Jessica Simmons Southeastern Oklahoma State 2B Senior Lacey Taylor* West Texas A&M C Senior Carley Tysinger Catawba RHP Senior Kelsey Vining Montevallo OF Sophomore Katelyn Vinson* Midwestern State 3B Senior Madison Williams Humboldt State RHP Junior Kat Zabielski NYIT 1B Senior

* Denotes original Top 50 watchlist