WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Pac-12 Softball All-Conference honors, including All-Pac-12 and All-Freshman teams, were announced today by the Conference office. In a vote of the Conference’s head coaches, UCLA junior Ally Carda has been named the 2014 Pac-12 Softball Player of the Year. OREGON sophomore Cheridan Hawkins was voted Pitcher of the Year, while ARIZONA junior Kellie Fox garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors and fellow Wildcat Katiyana Mauga was tabbed Freshman of the Year. Oregon head coach Mike White was voted Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, while UO’s Courtney Ceo was crowned the Pac-12 Softball Batting Champion with a Conference-leading .481 batting average.
Pac-12 Player of the Year – Ally Carda, UCLA
Carda, a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, finished the regular season with a 29-4 record, a 1.74 earned run average and 210 strikeouts on the mound. She also recorded a .391 batting average, starting in all 54 games for the Bruins, leading off in all but two contests. A junior from Elk Grove, Calif., Carda was voted Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times this season, which ties for the most this season for a single pitcher. She is in the top 10 in the Conference in multiple statistical categories, most notably tied for second in total plate appearances (213), third in on-base percentage (.524), third in batters struck out (210), fourth in ERA (1.74), fourth in innings pitched (197.1) and tied for seventh in runs batted in (54). Carda is the 13th UCLA player to receive Player of the Year honors and the first since Megan Langenfeld in 2010.
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year – Cheridan Hawkins, Oregon
Hawkins is another top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year after a strong sophomore campaign on the mound for the top-ranked Ducks, who earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Women’s College World Series bracket. She is the second Oregon player to earn Pitcher of the Year, as Jessica Moore took home the first such honor for the Ducks last year. The Anderson, Calif., native is 30-4 on the year with a 1.56 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .169 batting average with 283 strikeouts, all of which are second-best in the Pac-12. She leads the Conference in victories with 30 on the year in 41 total appearances with 29 starts and 20 complete games. Her 283 strikeouts are the most in UO single-season history.
Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year – Kellie Fox, Arizona
Fox is the second Wildcat to earn Defensive Player of the Year, which has been awarded annually since 2005. She has 108 assists and 78 putouts on the year at shortstop with a fielding percentage of .949. At the plate, Fox holds a .401 batting average, a .771 slugging percentage and a .505 on-base percentage with 63 hits on the year, which are tied for the most on the team. Her 59 runs batted in are second-most on the Wildcat roster and tied for second most in the Pac-12.
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year – Katiyana Mauga, Arizona
Mauga becomes the sixth UA player to receive Freshman of the Year, awarded annually since 1994. The freshman worked her way into the starting lineup just three games into the season and became a consistent starter six games into the year. Mauga saw at least one hit in 16 of her 24 Pac-12 games as well as 32 of her 49 total games on the season. She is hitting a .382 clip on the year with 19 home runs, 12 doubles and 56 RBI. Her slugging percentage of .924 leads the Pac-12 and is fourth-best in the nation.
Pac-12 Coach of the Year – Mike White, Oregon
Coach White takes home his second-consecutive Coach of the Year honor as well as just the third all-time for the Ducks after leading his squad to a Pac-12 title, the team’s first-ever No. 1 ranking in both NFCA and USA Softball polls, and the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. White holds a 222-73-1 record in his tenure at Oregon, with two Pac-12 titles in just four years and a trip to the Women’s College World Series. The Ducks enter the postseason under White’s direction with a 49-7-1 record on the year and a six-week streak at No. 1 in the nation.
Pac-12 Batting Champion – Courtney Ceo, Oregon
Ceo was crowned the Pac-12 Batting Champion after finishing the regular season leading the Pac-12 in batting average with a .481 clip that is also third-best in the nation. The senior also leads the Conference in hits (87) while coming in at second in on-base percentage (.527) and tied for fourth in runs scored (54). Ceo is a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and is now a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 recipient.
2014 PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team | |||
Name | Position | Year | School |
Ally Carda | P/UTIL | Jr. | UCLA |
Courtney Ceo | INF | Sr. | Oregon |
Cheyenne Cordes | INF | Jr. | California |
Dallas Escobedo | P | Sr. | Arizona State |
Hannah Flippen | INF | Fr. | Utah |
Kellie Fox | SS | RJr. | Arizona |
Amber Freeman | C | Jr. | Arizona State |
Dani Gilmore | CF/C | Jr. | Oregon State |
Chelsea Goodacre | C | Jr. | Arizona |
Cheridan Hawkins | P | So. | Oregon |
Victoria Hayward | OF | Sr. | Washington |
Danielle Henderson | INF | Jr. | California |
Kylee Lahners | INF | Jr. | Washington |
Stephany LaRosa | UTIL | Jr. | UCLA |
Katiyana Mauga | 3B | Fr. | Arizona |
Alexa Peterson | C | Sr. | Oregon |
Kelsey Rodriguez | C/UTIL | Sr. | Arizona |
Mysha Sataraka | INF | So. | UCLA |
Janie Takeda | OF | Jr. | Oregon |
Hallie Wilson | UTIL | Jr. | Arizona |
Second Team | |||
Name | Position | Year | School |
Koral Costa | UTIL | So. | Oregon |
Kaitlin Inglesby | P | Sr. | Washington |
Janelle Lindvall | C | So. | Oregon |
Estela Piñon | P | Sr. | Arizona |
Mackenzie Popescue | P | Sr. | Arizona State |
Kylie Sorenson | INF | Fr. | Stanford |
Delaney Spaulding | INF | Fr. | UCLA |
Haley Steele | 3B | Jr. | Arizona State |
Bryana Walker | P | Sr. | Washington |
Leah White | OF | Jr. | Stanford |
Honorable Mention (receiving at least one vote): Allexis Bennett, So., UCLA; Kayla Bonstrom, So., STAN; Elizabeth Caporuscio, Jr., ASU; Bridget Castro, Fr., UTAH; Cheyenne Coyle, Sr., ASU; Kailee Cuico, Sr., ORE; Kate Dickman, Jr., UTAH; Hooch Fagaly, Sr., WASH; Alyssa Gillespie, So., ORE; Jessica Hall, Sr., UCLA; Alix Johnson, Sr., ASU; Victoria Jones, Sr., CAL; Whitney Jones, Sr., WASH; Breana Kostreba, Jr., CAL; Mo Mercado, Fr., ARIZ; Brittany Moeai, So., UCLA; Kori Nishitomi, So., OSU; Jessica Plaza, So., STAN; Kylie Reed, Fr., CAL; Madi Schreyer, Fr., STAN; Kelli Suguro, Jr., WASH; Nikki Udria, Fr., ORE; Anissa Urtez, Fr., UTAH; Bailey Wigness, Sr., ASU; Hanna Winter, Jr., STAN.
All-Freshman Team | ||
Name | Position | School |
Ali Aguilar | INF | Washington |
Bridget Castro | INF | Utah |
Hannah Flippen | INF | Utah |
Chelsea Gonzales | SS | Arizona State |
Katiyana Mauga | 3B | Arizona |
Gabrielle Maurice | UTIL | UCLA |
Mo Mercado | INF | Arizona |
Kylie Padilla | C | Oregon State |
Kylie Reed | INF | California |
Madi Schreyer | P | Stanford |
Kylie Sorenson | INF | Stanford |
Delaney Spaulding | INF | UCLA |
Nikki Udria | INF | Oregon |
Anissa Urtez | INF | Utah |
Honorable Mention (receiving at least one vote): Sammy Cordova, UTAH; Jelly Felix, UCLA; Alexis Gonzalez, OSU; Alleah Laxamana, CAL; Bessie Noll, STAN; Sammie Puentes, ORE; Stephanie Trzcinski, CAL.