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Pac-12 announces 2016 softball all-Conference honors

May 19, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO - The 2016 Pac-12 Softball All-Conference honors, including All-Pac-12, All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams, were announced today by the Conference office. In a vote of the Conference’s head coaches, Utah junior Hannah Flippen has been named the 2016 Pac-12 Softball Player of the Year, OREGON senior Cheridan Hawkins was voted Pitcher of the Year, Oregon senior Janelle Lindvall garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors and Washington’s Taran Alvelo and Oregon’s Megan Kleist were tabbed Co-Freshmen of the Year. OREGON head coach Mike White was voted Coach of the Year, while UCLA’s Allexis Bennett was crowned the Pac-12 Softball Batting Champion with a Conference-leading .437 batting average.

Pac-12 Player of the Year – Hannah Flippen, Utah
Flippen, a Bonita, Calif., native helped the Utes to a fourth-place finish in the Pac-12 with a .431 batting average to rank second in the Pac-12 and 32nd nationally, a .771 slugging percentage and a .528 on base percentage to rank 26th in the country and second in the Conference. Flippen was named the ESPNW National Player of the Week (March 30). The first Pac-12 Player of the Year in Utah program history, Flippen is a 2015 NFCA All-Region honoree, a second team All-Pac-12 selection and a first team Pac-12 All-Academic honoree and a NFCA All-American second team selection.

Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year – Cheridan Hawkins, Oregon
Hawkins earns Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for the third-consecutive season, the first player to achieve the feat in Pac-12 history. The senior finished the regular season with a 21-3 record, posting 235 strikeouts in 148.2 innings of work to her fourth-straight league title. Hawkins helped the Ducks earn the No. 5-overall seed in the NCAA Softball Championship, where Oregon will host its fifth-consecutive Regional. She has earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors three times this year alone, bringing her all-time total to 14 weekly honors. The Anderson, Calif., native is a three-time first team All-Pac-12 honoree, a two-time NFCA All-American and a two-time Academic All-American. Hawkins is the NCAA’s active leader in strikeouts (1,059), wins (105) and shutouts (32) and became the first Pac-12 player since Arizona State’s Dallas Escobedo in 2014 and 15th overall to reach 1,000 career strikeouts.

Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year – Janelle Lindvall, Oregon
Lindvall made 43 starts in 44 appearances as a senior, with 24 runs on 113 at bats. The catcher helped the Ducks to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Softball Championship, marking Oregon’s 18th appearance and fifth-straight time serving as host. She was a part of a Duck quartet who captured four Pac-12 titles in Eugene. A two-time first team All-Pac-12 honoree, Lindvall garners the first Defensive Player of the Year honor in program history.

Pac-12 Co-Freshmen of the Year – Taran Alvelo, Washington; Megan Kleist, Oregon
Taran Alvelo (Carroll, Ohio) led the Huskies at the end of the regular season with 17 wins, 23 starts, 29 appearances, 14 complete games, 142.0 innings pitched and 148 strikeouts. She earned four Pac-12 Conference weekly honors including two Pitcher of the Week honors and two Freshman of the Week accolades.

Megan Kleist (Appleton, Wisc.) appeared in 26 games and made 20 starts in the circle for the Ducks. She finished the regular season with 16 wins on six complete games and 112.0 innings pitched, the second most on the team. Kleist earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors on March 9th after the freshman came on in relief in against Florida Atlantic and tossed three hitless and scoreless innings, allowing the Ducks to score three runs in the seventh inning for the comeback victory.

Pac-12 Coach of the Year – Mike White, Oregon
White’s Ducks won the league crown outright for the fourth-straight year, a feat achieved only once prior in Conference history. The Ducks went 20-4 in Pac-12 play and 44-8 at the end of the regular season. He led the Ducks to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where Oregon is 18-0 in regional games in the six years with White at the helm.

Pac-12 Batting Champion – Allexis Bennett, UCLA
Bennett earns back-to-back Pac-12 Batting Champion honors after posting a .437 batting average through the regular season, which ranks 26th in the nation and first in the Pac-12. Bennett, a senior outfielder for the Bruins, has posted 69 hits, which ranks third in the Pac-12, on 158 at bats. She is also third in the league in on-base percentage with a .526 mark. The Corona, Calif., native earns her second-career first team all-Conference honor after being named honorable mention her first two seasons. 

2016 PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

First Team      
Name Position Year School
Ali Aguilar* SS/INF Jr. Washington
McKenna Arriola SS So. Oregon State
Allexis Bennett* CF Sr. UCLA
Koral Costa ^# OF Sr. Oregon
Katie Donovan* P Jr. Utah
Hannah Flippen^! P Jr. Utah
Cheridan Hawkins*!$ P Sr. Oregon
Jazmyn Jackson^ OF So. California
Megan Kleist P Fr. Oregon
Katiyana Mauga^! OF Jr. Arizona
Danielle O’Toole P Jr. Arizona
Nisa Ontiveros P Sr. California
Kylee Perez INF So. UCLA
Mandie Perez OF Jr. Arizona
Mysha Sataraka INF Sr. UCLA
Jennifer Soria OF Sr. Arizona State
Kimberlee Souza INF Sr. Washington
Delaney Spaulding*# INF Jr. UCLA
Nikki Udria^ INF Jr. Oregon
Anissa Urtez INF Jr. Utah
Second Team      
Taran Alvelo P Fr. Washington
Alyssa Gillespie OF Sr. Oregon
Geri Ann Glasco UT Sr. Oregon
Chelsea Gonzales INF Jr. Arizona State
Madeline Jelenicki C So. UCLA
Janelle Lindvall*# C Sr. Oregon
Mo Mercado INF Jr. Arizona
Kylie Reed INF Jr. California
Lindsay Rood INF Fr. California
Kylie Sorenson INF Jr. Stanford
Third Team      
Kayla Bonstrom INF Jr. Stanford
Nikki Girard INF Sr. Arizona State
Natalie Hampton DP/INF Jr. Oregon State
Jenna Lilley INF So. Oregon
Lauren Lindvall INF/UT So. Oregon
Lovie Lopez OF So. Oregon State
Taylor McQuillin P Fr. Arizona
Trysten Melhart OF So. Washington
Meehra Nelson P Fr. Oregon State
Taylor Van Zee INF So. Washington
All-Defensive Team      
Name Position Year School
McKenna Arriola INF So. Oregon State
Allexis Bennett OF Sr. UCLA
Hannah Flippen INF Jr. Utah
Janelle Lindvall C Sr. Oregon
Mo Mercado SS Jr. Arizona
Danielle O’Toole P Jr. Arizona
Shelby Pacheco P Fr. Utah
Jessica Plaza C Sr. Stanford
Jennifer Soria OF Sr. Arizona State
All-Freshman Team      
Name Position School  
Taran Alvelo P Washington  
Taylor Becerra INF Arizona State  
Ally Dickman OF/DP Utah  
Morganne Flores C Washington  
Jessica Garcia OF Oregon State  
Paige Halstead DP/OF UCLA  
Megan Kleist P Oregon  
Joelle Krist INF Arizona  
Carolyn Lee P Stanford  
Fa Leiua INF/DH Arizona State  
Taylor McQuillin P Arizona  
Meehra Nelson P Oregon State  
Lindsay Rood INF California  
Brianna Tautalafua INF UCLA  
Shelby Weeks OF Oregon State  

*- 2015 first team All-Pac-12

^ - 2015 second team All-Pac-12

! – 2014 first team All-Pac-12

# - 2014 second team All-Pac-12

$ - 2013 first team All-Pac-12

% - 2013 second team All-Pac-12

@ - 2012 first team All-Pac-1
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