League-High Five Softball Players Named to Preseason All-SEC Team
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 | Softball
Five University of Florida softball players were named to the Preseason All-Southeastern Conference team, the league announced Tuesday. The Gators led the conference with the most players on the 12-man roster as junior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.), senior Ali Gardiner (Waccabuc, N.Y.), senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.), sophomore Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) and senior Kim Waleszonia (Fontana, Calif.) earned the honors.
Enea was named NFCA/Louisville Slugger Second-Team All-America and Easton First-Team All-America in 2008. The leftfielder was also a member of the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team, hitting .316 with six hits, two home runs and four RBI is the postseason tournament. She also set a new program single-season records with 64 RBI, 137 total bases and six sacrifice flies, while tying the record for most home runs in a season (17).
Gardiner earned first-team NFCA/Louisville Slugger and Easton All-America honors in 2008. She was also named to the first-team All-SEC and All-Defensive teams. The first baseman was the second-best hitter among all teams at the WCWS with a .438 batting average and led all batters with seven hits. Her 2008 batting average of .407 was best in school history, as well as her on-base percentage (.508). She also tied the school record for hits (88). Gardiner ended the season on an eight-game hitting streak.
Nelson, the 2008 SEC Pitcher of the Year, was one of two unanimous selections to the preseason team. The two-time All-American was a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball National Player of the Year award and earned WCWS All-Tournament team, All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team honors in '08. The right hander was also the SEC Tournament MVP, striking out 10 and allowing only seven hits and one earned run in 15.0 innings.
Paculba, the first freshman in school history to earn All-America honors, was named to NFCA/Louisville Slugger second team and Easton's first team in 2008. She was a second-team All-SEC selection, as well as the conference's All-Freshmen and All-Defensive team honoree. The second baseman was second on the team in runs scored (62), which is the second-most in the record books. She was one of only two sophomores to grace the preseason roster.
Waleszonia was Florida's first position player to earn All-America status and return for another year as she was awarded the honor in 2007 and 2008. The centerfielder was one of only two Gators to have a double-digit hit streak last season, hitting in 10 straight games. She earned All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team honors and she is the career record holder for runs scored (148), triples (13) and stolen bases (60).
Alabama was second in the SEC with four selections. Each SEC head softball coach voted for four infielders, four outfielders, two pitchers, one catcher and one utility player.
| Preseason All-SEC Team | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Charlotte Morgan, Alabama | IF | Jr. | Moreno Valley, Calif. |
| Kelley Montalvo, Alabama | IF | Sr. | Miami, Fla. |
| Ali Gardiner, Florida | IF | Sr. | Waccabuc, N.Y. |
| Aja Paculba, Florida | IF | So. | Wildomar, Calif. |
| Brittany Rogers, Alabama# | OF | Sr. | Dacula, Ga. |
| Francesca Enea, Florida | OF | Jr. | Woodland Hills, Calif. |
| Kim Waleszonia, Florida | OF | Sr. | Fontana, Calif. |
| Rachel Mitchell, LSU | OF | Jr. | LaPorte, Texas |
| Kelsi Dunne, Alabama | P | So. | Port Orange, Fla. |
| Stacey Nelson, Florida# | P | Sr. | Los Alamitos, Fla. |
| Chelsea Bramlet, Mississippi State | C | Jr. | Cordova, Tenn. |
| Lauren Grill, Ole Miss | U/DP | Jr. | Tualatin, Ore. |
| # - unanimous selection |
