Photo by: Markus Sarate
Kassidy Wilbur Named Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 Finalist
4/18/2019 12:58:00 PM | Softball
Freshman right-handed pitcher becomes first SFA softball player named to top-25 watch list and is first from Southland Conference since 2015
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Three Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades and a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week plaudit, SFA softball right-handed pitcher Kassidy Wilbur's inaugural college campaign on the diamond has been quite remarkable. However, that first-year success just got a whole lot more impressive as the freshman has been named to the 2019 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Freshman of the Year Top 25 watch list, announced by the association Thursday.
Becoming the first Ladyjack in program history to be named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25, Wilbur is the first softball player from the Southland Conference to earn a spot on the national award list in the last four years. McNeese's four-time Southland Player of the Year Erika Piancastelli, Southeastern Louisiana's Sydney Booker and Abilene Christian's Peyton Hedrick were all named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 watch list in 2015.
Having a phenomenal freshman season, Wilbur has already notched 14 complete game wins inside the circle and owns five shutouts. The Bridge City, Texas (Bridge City HS), native is among the nation's top hurlers in several statistical categories, including ranking sixth in total strikeouts (208), 33rd in strikeouts per seven innings (8.7), 44th in both victories (15) and earned run average (1.68), and 53rd in hits allowed per seven innings (4.9). Touting a 15-11 record on the rubber in 2019, Wilbur holds a 2.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is third-best in the league and ranks among the top half of all NCAA Division I pitchers in the nation.
Wilbur's 208 strikeouts through 43 games this season are only 85 shy of the single-season program record, which was set in 1985 by Pam Clay (293), with 10 regular season games to go. Two of her complete game shutouts this season came against nationally-ranked Power Five programs, tossing a two-hit, 1-0 shutout at then 24th-ranked Mississippi State (Feb. 10) to help SFA capture the 2019 Bulldog Kickoff Classic. A few weeks later, Wilbur matched that performance by handing then 16th-ranked Indiana its first loss of 2019 with another two-hit, 1-0 complete game shutout. The Hoosiers entered the game as one of only six unbeaten teams in the country through three and a half weeks of the regular season.
The righty was named Southland Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 12, March 18 and March 25, while also being tabbed USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week on Feb. 12 following a near-perfect start to her collegiate career. Posting an unblemished 4-0 record across the opening weekend, Wilbur held a perfect 0.00 ERA for the week with three complete game wins. Not allowing an earned run in 22 innings of work, Wilbur struck out 32 batters and gave up only one extra-base hit. In her first collegiate career start, Wilbur fanned 15 batters to set the program record for most strikeouts by a Ladyjack making her debut.
With Wilbur the lone representative from the Southland on the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list, a total of 16 different conferences have honorees on the national watch list compared to nine in 2018. UCLA and Virginia Tech have two selections apiece, while the Southeastern Conference (4), Big Ten Conference (3), Pac-12 Conference (2), Atlantic Coast Conference (2) and Mountain West Conference (2) each have multiple representatives. For the first time the America East Conference, Ivy League and Mid-American Conference have representatives on the national list, while Fresno State, Howard, Northern Illinois, Penn, SFA, UMBC, Utah State and Virginia Tech have a student-athlete among the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 for the first time in program history.
On May 9, the list will be trimmed down to the top 10 and the top three finalists will be released on May 21. The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented during a live ceremony at the Women's College World Series banquet on May 28.
The Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes.
2019 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25
Jayme Bailey, UT, Virginia Tech
Kelsey Bennett, 3B, Virginia Tech
Lexie Blair, OF, Michigan
Peyton Cody, C, St. John's
Courtney Coppersmith, P, UMBC
Chenise Delce, P, Tulsa
Natalie DenHartog, OF, Minnesota
Kalita Dennis, 2B, Howard
Megan Faraimo, P, UCLA
Lacey Fincher, 1B, Georgia
Montana Fouts, P, Alabama
Meghan Giordano, 3B, Hofstra
Kelli Godin, OF, UCLA
Grace Green, 1B, Oklahoma
Katie Keller, 1B, Northern Illinois
Emma Nedley, OF, Penn
Shealyn O'Leary, P, Texas
Lexi Orozco, SS, Utah State
Autumn Owen, C, Gardner-Webb
Calista Phippen, P, Marist
Ashley Rogers, P, Tennessee
Jazmyn Rollin, SS, Missouri
Kassidy Wilbur, P, Stephen F. Austin
Danielle Williams, P, Northwestern
McKenzie Wilson, OF, Fresno State
Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year
2018 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma
2017 – Rachel Garcia, UCLA
2016 – Amanda Lorenz, Florida
2015 – Paige Parker, Oklahoma
2014 – Annie Aldrete, Tennessee & Kasey Cooper, Auburn
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the 2019 season.
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