LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Texas A&M University’s Brooke Janning was voted the 2026 NFCA Division II Freshman of the Year, the Association announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Janning, an NFCA First-Team All-Region Utility Pitcher, is enjoying a fantastic rookie campaign for the South Central Region champions and No. 6-ranked program in the final NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll of the regular season. Her prowess in the circle and at the plate has keyed the Lady Buffs to their fourth NCAA Division II College World Series appearance. She is the first WT student-athlete to earn this honor and the second from the South Central Region, joining Colorado Christian’s Charlotte Romero (2016) as the region’s Freshman of the Year winners.
Janning twirled a four-hit complete-game shutout in the winner-take-all Super Regional contest against Oklahoma Christian, pushing WT to its first World Series appearance since 2021 when it captured the program’s second national title. The southpaw stymied the Eagles with two strikeouts and two walks, notching her 24th victory and third shutout of the season. Janning heads to Chattanooga, Tenn. with a 24-3 record and a 2.59 ERA. She has fanned 131 batters and issued just 33 walks over 35 appearances and 167.2 innings with a 1.16 WHIP and .252 opponent’s batting average.
Starting all 60 games this season, Janning is batting .421 with 13 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 51 RBI. The Blaire, Neb. product has scored 39 times, drawn 31 walks, slugged .711 and reached base at a .529 clip. Eight of Janning’s nine long balls came during Lone Star Conference action, two of which were grand slams against Western New Mexico and UT Tyler. Her ninth home run came in a regional semifinal win over Angelo State.
Joining Janning as finalists were Slippery Rock University’s Maddie Cavenaugh (Atlantic), Augustana University’s Kierra Lubovich (Central), Franklin Pierce University’s Camryn Van Valkenburgh (East), University of Indianapolis’ Caitlin Bunte (Midwest), Saint Leo University’s Abigail Hynes (South), Carson-Newman University’s Malyiah Smith (Southeast) and California State University San Marcos’ Daleah Cardenas (West).
Created in 2015, the award honors the outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. The winner is voted on by the NFCA Division II All-America committee, which is comprised of one head coach from each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
Past winners include: 2025 – Carleigh Knowles, North Georgia; 2024 – Sarah Davenport, East Stroudsburg; 2023 - Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman; 2022 - Caleigh Rister, PennWest California; 2021 - Kenzee Smith, Indianapolis; 2019 - Bailey McKittrick, Central Oklahoma; 2018 - Callie Nunes, Concordia; 2017 - Autumn Humes, Harding; 2016 - Charlotte Romero, Colorado Christian; 2015 - Janessa Bassett, Dixie State.
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.
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