LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The NFCA revealed its 2023 TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list on Friday afternoon. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 30 prior to the start of the 2023 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

This year’s finalists hail from 23 different universities and represent 11 NCAA Division I conferences from across the nation. 

The Atlantic Coast Conference led the way with five honorees, while the Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference followed with four representatives. The Missouri Valley Conference was represented by three student-athletes, while the Big 12 and Sun Belt each had two. Leagues with a selection apiece were the A10 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Patriot League, Southland Conference and Western Athletic Conference.

UCLA and Duke are the two programs with a pair of honorees. Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery brought the Bruins’ total student-athletes making the list to nine, matching Oklahoma for the leading programs. Cassidy Curd and D’Auna Jennings are the first two Blue Devils to represent the program.

Six programs – Belmont University, Boston University, Duke University, Houston Christian University, Indiana University and Texas Tech University – have honorees for the first time. Along with being Boston University’s first student-athlete, Kasey Ricard is also the first representative of the Patriot League.

On May 11, the list will be trimmed to the top 10 and the three finalists will be released on May 25, and as previously mentioned, the winner will be revealed on May 30. The list of 25 was selected by the NFCA. The top 10, top three and winner are voted on by the NFCA Division I All-America Committee. Nominated student-athletes remain in consideration for Top-10 selection.

The TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach and in their first year of NCAA Division I collegiate competition as a true freshman or redshirt freshman.

In 2023, the NFCA will award Freshman of the Year honors to a student-athlete from NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII and NAIA. For more information about all NFCA Awards, visit nfca.org.

Sydney Berzon
Pitcher
LSU

Kenleigh Cahalan
Shortstop
Alabama

NiJaree Canady
Pitcher
Stanford

Cassidy Curd
Pitcher
Duke

Mihyia Davis
Outfield
Louisiana

Olivia DiNardo
DP or UT-Non-P
Arizona

AB Garcia
Outfield
Houston Christian

Leighann Goode
Second Base
Texas

Sarah Gordon
Catcher
Louisville

Megan Grant
Third Base
UCLA

Jade Hylton
Second Base
Virginia

D'Auna Jennings
Outfield
Duke

Maya Johnson
Pitcher
Belmont

Reagan Johnson
Outfield
Arkansas

Izzy Kemp
Pitcher
Dayton

Taryn Kern
Second Base
Indiana

Jackie Lis
Shortstop
SIU

KK Mathis
Second Base
James Madison

Karlyn Pickens
Pitcher
Tennessee

Alexis Pupillo
Catcher
Northern Iowa

Makenna Reid
Pitcher
Florida State

Kasey Ricard
Pitcher
Boston U.

Tanya Windle
Outfield
Utah Tech

Jordan Woolery
First Base
UCLA

Kailey Wyckoff
Catcher
Texas Tech

TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year previous winners

2022 - Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma; 2021 – Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma; 2020 – Award was not presented; 2019 – Danielle Williams, Northwestern; 2018 – Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma; 2017 – Rachel Garcia, UCLA; 2016 – Amanda Lorenz, Florida; 2015 – Paige Parker, Oklahoma; 2014 – Annie Aldrete, Tennessee & Kasey Cooper, Auburn

NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year

The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year 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 National Convention. 

Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining nearly 6,700 coaches today!