LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thirty-six student-athletes from 22 programs have garnered 2023 NFCA National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I All-America honors, announced on Friday afternoon.
Odessa College, who finished third nationally, led the way with five All-Americans, four on the first team. Indian Hills Community College followed with four All-Americans (one first team). Three-time national champion Florida SouthWestern State College took home three plaudits, all on the first team.
NJCAA DI All-Americans | View Videos (First Team
| Second Team)
Five programs – College of Southern Idaho, Eastern Arizona College, Grayson College, Pensacola State College and Seminole State College of Florida – each had two honorees. Out of the previously-mentioned quintet, Seminole State had one first teamer.
Four student-athletes – Georgia Hood (First Base) of Pensacola State, Feline Poot (Shortstop) of FSW, Ariel Gomez (Outfield) of Odessa and Gaston College’s Brantleigh Parrott (Utility/Pitcher) - were unanimous selections on the first team.
With the unanimous selection, Parrott is the inaugural Joan Joyce Utility/Pitcher award winner for NJCAA Division I. 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.
Poot corrals her third All-America accolade, she earned a pair of second-team selections in 2021 and 2022.
Hood also receives her second straight first-team plaudit, along with College of Southern Nevada’s Destiny Lewis (Second Base). Also picking up All-America honors for the second consecutive season is first baseman Sydney Anderson (second team) of Indian Hills, who garnered first-team accolades in 2022.
NFCA All-Region and All-America athletes must be nominated by their NFCA-member head coach, are voted for by the coaches in their region or division, and ultimately selected by elected NJCAA Division I All-American committee members to receive this prestigious accolade. All special awards are also selected by the All-American committee members or by the entire division.
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.
