Nine student-athletes have been named winners of the 2006 adidas Golden Shoe Award for baserunning. The award is sponsored by adidas, the NFCA’s Official Footwear, and is presented to athletes from NFCA member schools in each of the following nine divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC and NWAACC.
Divisional committees made up of NFCA member coaches determined the adidas Golden Shoe winners. The winners, by division, were as follows:
NCAA Division I — Caitlin Lowe, University of Arizona
Lowe successfully swiped 33 of her 35 stolen base attempts as she helped the Wildcats to a 54-11 record and the 2006 national championship. She hit .425 on the year with a pair of home runs and 27 RBIs. She scored 52 times on the season, including a Women’s College World Series-record eight in the run to the title.
NCAA Division II — Kandace Kubat, Angelo State University
Kubat stole 54 bases in 58 attempts in 2006 and led the Belles in hitting (.405) as Angelo State finished the year 31-26 after falling in conference tournament action to NCAA Division II national tournament competitor Central Oklahoma. Kubat also led the team in runs with 59, and she drove in another 15 runs behind five doubles, four triples and a home run.
NCAA Division III — Carrie Embree, University of St. Thomas
Embree stole 42 bases on 47 attempts as she and the Tommies finished as the 2006 national runner-up. Embree, a starter in all 52 of the team’s games, paced St. Thomas at the plate with a .509 average and ranked second in runs with 61. Reaching base at a .577 clip, Embree added 35 RBIs on nine doubles, three triples and seven home runs.
NAIA — Christy Nagy, Bethel College
Nagy successfully swiped 62 of 66 bases on the season as Bethel College advanced to the NAIA Regional tournament. Her total, tops in NAIA, helped Bethel finish the year ranked sixth in the category nationally.
NJCAA Division I — Ashlee Ackerman, Arizona Western College
Ackerman finished the 2006 campaign with an NJCAA Division I-leading 77 stolen bases in 81 attempts as the Matadors finished the season 41-18 following a pair of playoff losses to eventual national champion Pima. Ackerman hit .497 with 81 runs and 25 RBIs.
NJCAA Division II — Tracy Kaatz, Macomb Community College
Kaatz finished second in NJCAA Division II in stolen bases with 67 in 71 tries for a 94-percent stolen base percentage. The outfielder scored 57 runs and drove in 19 as she hit a team-leading 13 doubles and three triples.
NJCAA Division III — Gladys Cabeza, Corning Community College
The runner-up to the stolen base crown in NJCAA Division III for 2006, Cabeza successfully swiped all 33 of her steal attempts. Cabeza hit .452 on the year to lead the team to a 26-8 record. She also scored 52 runs and drove in 35 more as she hit nine triples and six doubles to go along with three home runs.
Cal JC — Liz Perez, West Valley College
Perez stole 68 bases on the season to claim her second straight adidas Golden Shoe Award for Cal JC. She helped guide her team to the Cal JC state tournament, where the team finished the season with a 48-2 mark. She hit .510, third-best on the team, with 35 RBIs and 63 runs, which tied for tops on the squad.
NWAACC — Chelsea Lally, Chemeketa Community College
Lally paced Chmeketa with 42 stolen bases in 43 attempts for a .977 stolen base percentage. Her efforts on the base paths played a key role in leading the second-year team to a 33-11 record and a 24-8 mark in South Division play.
