Oklahoma Baptist’s Kayleigh Jones and Samantha Maples repeated as softball Pitcher and Coach of the Year in the Great American Conference.
The announcement came at a banquet preceding the 2024 GAC Softball Championship in Bentonville.
The Bison’s Morgan Max and Maggie Place claimed Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Southern Arkansas’ Brinson Rogers won Newcomer of the Year. Arkansas-Monticello’ Kyann Woods, Harding’s Tedi Nunn, Henderson State’s Brooke Johnson and Oklahoma Baptist’s Ally Ryan each received the Elite Scholar Athlete Award - Presented by Conway Regional Health System.
Jones joins Arkansas Tech’s Jalissa Gum as the only two-time Pitchers of the Year in GAC history. Her 243 strikeouts and .169 opponents’ batting average lead the conference while her 21 wins tie for the league lead. She threw three no-hitters. She enters the GAC Championship as the only Division II player with at least 1,000 career strikeouts.
Max, the Bison’s second-straight Player of the Year - finished the regular season as the only GAC player ranked in the top three in average, second - .391, on-base percentage, second - .485 and slugging percentage, third - .659. She hit eight home runs to go along with 13 doubles and 42 RBI.
Place equaled the feat of her teammate, Kennedy Clark, in claiming the Freshman of the Year accolade. She made an immediate impact in the circle, winning 16 games and posting a 1.96 ERA. Her 5.06-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads the league.
Maples guided the Bison to their second-straight 40-win season and their second-straight GAC regular-season title. The Bison’s .909 win percentage in GAC play, 30-3, matches the best in league history, tying Harding’s 40-4 record in 2017.
Rogers becomes the Muleriders fourth Newcomer of the Year. She made 22 starts in the circle and collected 14 wins with a 1.88 ERA. Her 197 strikeouts rank second to Jones while her 10.9 strikeouts per seven innings lead the GAC and rank sixth in the country.
Led by Max and Jones and Ryan, the champion Bison placed four on the All-GAC First Team. On the field, Ryan leads the league with 17 home runs, five more than any other GAC player. She also paces the GAC in slugging percentage. Second baseman Adi Reese owns a .376 average with 10 stolen bases and 14 doubles.
Off its best regular season since joining the GAC, Southern Nazarene also saw four earn First-Team honors in pitcher Janie Worthington, third baseman Hailey Evans, shortstop Kristen Mullendore and outfielder Emma Green. Worthington shares the league lead in wins with Jones. She ranks second with a 1.05 WHIP and with three saves. Her 152 strikeouts sit third and her four shutouts rank fourth. Evans finished the regular season as the GAC leader with 52 RBI and 15 doubles. Mullendore hit .348 with 11 doubles. Green has gone 15-for-15 stealing bases and her five triples rank second.
Like the Bison and Crimson Storm, Harding landed four on the All-GAC First Team in utility/pitcher Riley Price, catcher Chelsea Blankenship, first baseman Jordan Cabana and outfielder Macy Ham. In the circle, Price won 18 games and registered a league-high five saves. At the plate, she hit .291. Blankenship owns a .302 average with six home runs. She caught 10 runners stealing. Cabana ranks in the top five in average, RBI, hits and triples. Ham’s .421 average leads the GAC by 30 points and her 72 hits pace the conference by 10. Her 36 stolen bases also lead the GAC.
Arkansas-Monticello’s Courtnee Sensibaugh, Southern Arkansas’ Sydney Ward and Southeastern Oklahoma State Gracie Ore rounded out the First Team. Sensibaugh hit .303 with 15 stolen bases; Ward’s 1.58 ERA ranks second in the conference and Ore hit .370 with a .463 on-base percentage.
Place and Rogers headlined the All-GAC Second Team. Two addition Bison - Emily Adler and Sammie Greene - made the team as well as SAU designated player Regan Dillon, UAM outfielders Kennedy Cox and Adrianna Erichsen, Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Hannah Howell and Rachel Sherwood, East Central third baseman Megan Lesko, Harding pitcher Abby Burch, Henderson State outfielder Lily Warren, Ouachita Baptist catcher Erin Williams, Southeastern Oklahoma State first baseman Kady Fryrear and Southwestern Oklahoma State second baseman Jadyn Hook.
The Honorable Mention All-GAC team featured Southern Nazarene’s Liana Heshiki, Kenedi Morelock, Sydney Sundbye and Emma Swearingen; Arkansas-Monticello’s Bailey Camp and Mallory Pitre, Harding’s Lana Danielson and Kaya Lee, Henderson State’s Hilary Akers and Johnson, Southern Arkansas’ Haley Nillen and Ariana Rolle, Arkansas Tech’s Alexis Findley, Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Emily Simmons and Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Maddie Rahon.
A total of 38 standouts earned the Distinguished Scholar Athlete honor in Arkansas-Monticello’s Bailey Camp, Emily Cecil, Madison Gardiner, Bailey Groom, Madison Morrissey, Grace Neal, Madeline Pfleging, Kayla Richardson, Lexie Smith and Chandler Weast; Arkansas Tech’s Bradi Basler, Kacie Gibbons, Brooklyn Haney, Arissa Harrish, Abigail Lochala and Savannah Snow; Harding’s Chelsea Blankenship, Ashton Bryce, Madison Fraley, Macy Ham, Katie Pierce and Riley Price; Henderson State’s Meagan Allen, Erika Bittinger, Justine Burch, Jordyn Holland and Debreshia Jones; Oklahoma Baptist’s Sydney Adler, Ayzia Shirey and Zoey Johnson; Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Abbey Beck, Breann Beste and Kamryn Rackley; Southern Nazarene’s McKayla Franks, Peyton Norvelle and Sydney Sundbye; Southern Arkansas’ Ava Dunn and Dempsie Lindsey.
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