Cydney Sanders Named to Division I NFCA National Freshman of the Year Top 25 List
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the 2022 Division I season concluding, the NFCA has released a list of the top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, the Association announced Thursday afternoon.
Arizona State softball's freshman Cydney Sanders has been named to the Top 25 finalists list, one of two Pac-12 representatives to be named to the list joining Savannah Pola from UCLA.
"This is a great honor for Cydney to be listed among the best in the country, just as a freshman," head coach Trisha Ford said. "She's worked hard to be here and I look forward to seeing what else she will contribute to the program."
Created in 2014, to help honor the outstanding athletic achievements among freshmen college softball student-athletes around the country. On May 12, the list will be trimmed down to the top 10 and the three finalists will be released on May 26. The 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year will be announced on June 1, prior to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma.
The true freshman has started her collegiate career fiercely with the third-best batting average (.429) in the Pac-12. This includes a .551 on base percentage, which ranks second in the conference. The San Marcos, California native ranks third in RBIs (48) which leads the team. She also leads the team in home runs (15) and is dynamic at the plate with 28 walks drawn which ranks second in the Pac-12. The first baseman ranks second in the conference in slugging percentage (.962) which is the best on the team. She has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week twice this season as well as being named the Freshman of the Week by DI softball.
Sanders and the Sun Devils return to Farrington Stadium in a weekend series against California. tomorrow's contest will start at 6 p.m. Saturday's showdown will also be at 6 p.m., with the series finale on Sunday being at 12 p.m. All games this weekend can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
Fans can keep up with all the news and action of ASU softball this weekend and the rest of the season by following @ASUSoftball on Twitter and Facebook and @SunDevilSB on Instagram.