LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fifty-five student-athletes from 33 different institutions have been voted to one of three 2023 NFCA Division I All-America teams, the Association announced on Wednesday afternoon during its annual press conference at the Women’s College World Series (WCWS).
Oklahoma, the No. 1 overall seed at the WCWS, landed an NFCA-record five first-team All-Americans for the second straight year. Prior to last season, Tennessee (2006) was the only program with five first-team selections.
2023 NFCA DI All-America Videos (First Team
| Second Team | Third Team)
The Sooners, who set the NCAA Division I winning streak record (48) during Super Regionals, brought their NFCA All-America total to 81, ranking third behind Arizona (110) and UCLA (108).
Oklahoma State, who is the No. 6 overall seed at the WCWS, and UCLA followed with four All-America nods apiece. The Cowgirls posted two on the second and third teams, while the Bruins collected two first-teamers and one each on the second and third teams.
WCWS participants Tennessee and Washington, along with Indiana each had three honorees. The Lady Vols had two student-athletes earn their way to first-team accolades while the Huskies collected one first-team selection. For the Hoosiers, their trio of All-Americans marks the most in one year and the first recognition since 1998 (Monica Armendarez).
Also picking up a pair of plaudits are Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota and Oregon, while 21 other programs had one student-athlete recognized. Of those 21, Santa Clara University outfielder Ashley Trierweiler is the first Bronco to represent the program as an NFCA All-American (third team).
First-team pitching selection Montana Fouts of Alabama is the 41st student-athlete to hold the honor of four-time NFCA All-American. Fouts, a two-time first-team honoree, is also the seventh in Crimson Tide program history to earn the distinction, the most of any NCAA Division I program.
The first team featured six unanimous selections – Washington’s Baylee Klinger (first base), Oklahoma’s Alyssa Brito (third base), Florida’s Skylar Wallace (shortstop), Tennessee’s Kiki Milloy (outfield), Clemson’s Valerie Cagle (Utility/Pitcher) and Arkansas’ Rylin Hedgecock (DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher). It is the first All-America honor for Brito and Hedgecock.
Cagle also has the distinction of being named the inaugural NFCA NCAA Division I Joan Joyce Utility/Pitcher first-team honoree. The renaming of the first-team Utility/Pitcher award honors the late Joan Joyce, an NFCA Hall of Famer, unparalleled two-way player, and pioneer of women’s sports. Cagle, who was named 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, is earning her second straight first-team nod and third accolade overall.
Joining Fouts, Klingler, Wallace, Milloy and Cagle, there are a total of 15 repeat All-Americans across the three teams. Among those, seven are three-time winners - Cagle, Klinger, UCLA’s Megan Faraimo (pitcher – first team), Oklahoma teammates Tiare Jennings (second base – first team) and Jayda Coleman (outfield – first team), Wichita State shortstop Sydney McKinney (first team at-large) and Florida State pitcher Kathryn Sandercock (second team).
Klingler has the distinction of being just the fifth Division I student-athlete to earn an All-America plaudit at three different positions (1B, 2B & 3B), while Jennings and Coleman are collecting their third straight first-team accolades.
A pair of All-Americans, Oregon’s Terra McGowan (catcher – first team) and Louisiana’s Mihyia Davis (outfield – third team) took home the Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year and New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe honors, respectively.
McGowan, a red-shirt senior, launched a team-best 12 home runs and also led the Ducks with 47 runs scored. Named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team for the second straight season, McGowan threw out a league-high 13 base runners and finished the season with a .996 fielding percentage, making one miscue in 247 attempts.
Davis, a top-25 finalist for TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year, leads NCAA Division I with 52 stolen bases and is 14 clear of the highest active student-athlete left playing at the WCWS. She led Louisiana with a .380 batting average, 70 hits and 22 multi-hit games, while also contributing with 45 runs scored and a .426 on-base percentage over 56 starts. Defensively, Davis was flawless in the outfield, committing zero errors and recording 10 assists.
Each program participating at the WCWS has at least one All-American and a total of 19 honorees will step on the field at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
The NFCA All-America teams are voted on by the Association’s All-America Committees. In Division I, the committee is composed of one elected member head coach from each of the NFCA’s 10 regions. All student-athletes who were nominated by their member head coach and voted to the first, second or third-team All-Region teams were eligible for All-America consideration.
Additionally, to be nominated for All-Region and All-America honors, student-athletes must meet position-specific eligibility requirements by the May 9 deadline. For example, a pitcher must meet one of the following pieces of criteria to be nominated (1) must have recorded 100 innings pitched or (2) must have pitched 30% of the team's total innings.
For more detailed information about eligibility requirements, please refer to our procedural document HERE.
Celebrating 40 years in 2023, the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded All-Region and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining nearly 6,700 coaches today at NFCA.org.
