OKLAHOMA CITY — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is proud to announce the 45 players chosen for the 2018 NFCA NCAA Division III All-America softball teams. Those selected were honored Wednesday night during the NCAA Division III Championship banquet at the Sheraton Hotel Downtown in Oklahoma City.

The teams in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll are well represented, as the top 10 ranked squads alone account for 11 of the honorees. No. 3-ranked University of Texas at Tyler leads the way with five selections, and 16th-ranked Luther College has three players on the list.

Defending national champion and top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan University tops the contingent of seven squads with two honorees apiece, which includes No. 11 Christopher Newport, 12th-ranked Williams, No. 14 Rowan, No. 19 Saint Mary’s (Ind.), 24th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan and unranked Trine. Twenty-three other schools had one player chosen.

In all, 32 Division III schools are represented on the three All-America squads. Six of the eight teams that advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship in Oklahoma City have All-Americans on their roster, totaling one-third (15) of the spots.

There are 36 first-time All-Americans, six two-time All-Americans and two three-time All-Americans. St. John Fisher’s Lindsey Thayer is the lone four-time All-American on this year’s list.

First team pitcher Hanna Hull has been one of the most dominant pitchers in Division III again this season, leading the (50-2) Marlins to one of the eight berths in the NCAA Championship. Hull is 35-2 with a 1.05 ERA, 316 strikeouts and just 59 walks in 226.2 innings so far this season.

First team pitcher Kassie Howard was also a force in the circle for Berry, compiling a 25-3 record, 1.16 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 156.1 innings to help the Vikings reach the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in school history. She also helped herself at the plate with a .348 average in limited action.

First team catcher Ashley Perez of Texas-Tyler also picked up Division III’s Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year and Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year honors after batting .473 with 70 hits, 32 runs scored, 22 doubles, 18 homers and 67 RBI heading into this week’s NCAA Championship.

Virginia Wesleyan’s Cassetty Howerin had another stellar season to earn first team first base honors. Heading into the NCAA Championship, she is batting .434 with 59 hits, 15 doubles, seven homers and 57 RBI, and she has also swiped 24 bases in 26 attempts.

First team second baseman Laurren Ladwig of Manchester had 52 hits and 19 homers, while batting .460 and scoring 45 runs this season.          

Erin Cressman of Messiah earned the first team third base nod on the strength of her .423 batting average, 50 runs, 12 doubles and 11 homers.

First team shortstop Sam Berghoff of Illinois Wesleyan has been a key component in the potent Titan lineup, hitting .479 with 53 runs, 19 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 63 RBI.

Mackenzie Murphy of Williams is the first team choice at the utility spot, hitting 12 homers and driving in 40 runs while batting .411 for the Ephs.

The first team designated player for 2018 is Patty Maye Ohanian of Christopher Newport. She helped fuel the Captains this season with 15 doubles, 12 homers, 68 RBI and a .484 batting average.      

The first team outfield consists of Texas-Tyler’s Nicole Garcia (.513, 62 runs, 16 doubles, 33 RBI), Christopher Newport’s Leah Andrews (.421, 63 runs, 22 doubles, eight homers) and Ama Biney from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (62 hits, including 22 for extra bases, .446 batting average).          

At-Large selections are Kaylee Fox of Trine (.455, 56 hits, 30 runs, 14 doubles, 17 homers, 63 RBI), Lindsey Thayer of St. John Fisher (25-6, 1.23 ERA, 15 shutouts, 26 complete games, 323 strikeouts and just 33 walks in 199 innings), who finished her stellar career as the all-time NCAA Division III strikeout leader with 1,540, and Anna Strien of Luther (.479, 62 hits, 18 doubles, just five strikeouts in 144 at-bats).

Elsewhere, second team All-America second baseman Melissa Livermore of Texas-Dallas earned New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe honors, as the leading base stealer in Division III this season, with 54 stolen bases in 62 attempts.

Case Western Reserve, Illinois Wesleyan, Ithaca, Luther, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rowan, Texas-Tyler and defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan are competing in the double-elimination NCAA Championship, starting Thursday at Oklahoma City’s USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium complex.

The NFCA Division III All-America softball teams are selected from the pool of players who earned first team All-Region recognition by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions.

To download a PDF of the entire All-Region list, click HERE

2018 NFCA NCAA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICANS

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

THIRD TEAM

* denotes 2017 All-American

# denotes 2016 All-American

% denotes 2015 All-American