Barnhill earns first SEC Pitcher of the Year since Stacey Nelson (2009)
Gators Prominent Throughout All-SEC Awards
Tuesday, May 9, 2017 | Softball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Eight different Florida softball players received 10 post-season awards from the Southeastern Conference as announced by the league office this morning. The six All-SEC First Team selections are the most by any Gators team since the program's inception in 1997.
Led by 2017 SEC Coach of the Year, head coach Tim Walton, the Gators finished the regular season with a 50-5 record and 20-3 mark in SEC play.
Walton earns his fifth SEC Coach of the Year accolade since taking over the program.
"Today is a very special day for the Gators softball program. I'm extremely proud of our players for being honored by the SEC and the SEC coaches." Walton said. "Our entire program shares these special awards from starters to non-starters and from managers to coaches. I am very thankful to have such a great group of people to be around every day!"
Sophomore Kelly Barnhill (22-1) highlights the list of Florida selections as she earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team and awarded SEC Pitcher of the Year as she has compiled a 0.33 ERA and even better 0.09 ERA in SEC play alone. It is the first SEC Pitcher of the Year award for a Gator since Lauren Haeger in 2015.
Joining Barnhill on the first team is Delanie Gourley (LHP), Kayli Kvistad (IF), Nicole DeWitt (IF), Amanda Lorenz (OF) and Aleshia Ocasio (DP/U). Senior Justine McLean earned All-SEC Second Team accolades while redshirt-freshman Sophia Reynoso landed on the All-SEC Freshman Team.
DeWitt, also selected as a member of the SEC All-Defensive Team, has provided exceptional play at second base this season for the Gators. She's helped lead the Gators to the top fielding percentage in the country for the third consecutive season.
Since 2006, a total of 28 Player and 56 All-SEC honors have been accumulated under Walton, and 80 have been selected overall since 1997. There has also been 21 SEC All-Defensive accolades by 13 players since the league introduced the award in 2008 and 30 student-athletes have been selected as Freshman All-SEC under Walton and 33 dating back to the accolades inception in 2004.
Led by 2017 SEC Coach of the Year, head coach Tim Walton, the Gators finished the regular season with a 50-5 record and 20-3 mark in SEC play.
Walton earns his fifth SEC Coach of the Year accolade since taking over the program.
"Today is a very special day for the Gators softball program. I'm extremely proud of our players for being honored by the SEC and the SEC coaches." Walton said. "Our entire program shares these special awards from starters to non-starters and from managers to coaches. I am very thankful to have such a great group of people to be around every day!"
Sophomore Kelly Barnhill (22-1) highlights the list of Florida selections as she earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team and awarded SEC Pitcher of the Year as she has compiled a 0.33 ERA and even better 0.09 ERA in SEC play alone. It is the first SEC Pitcher of the Year award for a Gator since Lauren Haeger in 2015.
Joining Barnhill on the first team is Delanie Gourley (LHP), Kayli Kvistad (IF), Nicole DeWitt (IF), Amanda Lorenz (OF) and Aleshia Ocasio (DP/U). Senior Justine McLean earned All-SEC Second Team accolades while redshirt-freshman Sophia Reynoso landed on the All-SEC Freshman Team.
DeWitt, also selected as a member of the SEC All-Defensive Team, has provided exceptional play at second base this season for the Gators. She's helped lead the Gators to the top fielding percentage in the country for the third consecutive season.
Since 2006, a total of 28 Player and 56 All-SEC honors have been accumulated under Walton, and 80 have been selected overall since 1997. There has also been 21 SEC All-Defensive accolades by 13 players since the league introduced the award in 2008 and 30 student-athletes have been selected as Freshman All-SEC under Walton and 33 dating back to the accolades inception in 2004.
| First Team All-SEC P – Kaylee Carlson, Auburn P – Kelly Barnhill, Florida P – Delanie Gourley, Florida IF – Nicole DeWitt, Florida IF – Kayli Kvistad, Florida IF – Katie Reed, Kentucky IF – Caroline Seitz, Mississippi State IF – Meghan Gregg, Tennessee OF – Amanda Lorenz, Florida OF – Cortni Emanuel, Georgia OF – Bailey Landry, LSU OF – Kylan Becker, Ole Miss C – Carlee Wallace, Auburn DP/U – Aleshia Ocasio, Florida |
Freshman All-SEC P – Autumn Storms. Arkansas P – Morgan Bruce, Ole Miss P – Caylan Arnold, Tennessee IF – Sophia Reynoso, Florida IF – Alex Martens, Kentucky IF – Braxton Burnside, Missouri IF – Mackenzie Boesel, South Carolina IF – Chelsea Seggern, Tennessee OF – Elissa Brown, Alabama OF – Alyssa Rivera, Auburn OF – Bailey Vick, Kentucky OF – Sarah Hudek, Texas A&M DP/U – Bailey Hemphill, Alabama |
Second Team All-SEC P – Alexis Osorio, Alabama P – Allie Walljasper, LSU P – Kaitlin Lee, Ole Miss P – Matty Moss, Tennessee IF – A.J. Belans, Arkansas IF – Kasey Cooper, Auburn IF – Alyssa DiCarlo, Georgia IF – Kristen Cuyos, Texas A&M IF – Riley Sartain, Texas A&M OF – Alyssa Rivera, Auburn OF – Justine McLean, Florida OF – Sydni Emanuel, Georgia OF – Regan Nash, Missouri C – Sahvanna Jaquish, LSU DP/U – Brooke Vines, Tennessee |
SEC All-Defensive P – Kaylee Carlson, Auburn C – Carlee Wallace, Auburn 1B – Kaylea Snaer, South Carolina 2B – Nicole DeWitt, Florida SS – Meghan Gregg, Tennessee 3B – Kasey Cooper, Auburn LF – Bailey Vick, Kentucky CF – Amanda Ivy, Mississippi State RF – Sydni Emanuel, Georgia |
Player of the Year: Meghan Gregg, Tennessee
Pitcher of the Year: Kelly Barnhill, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Caylan Arnold, Tennessee
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kasey Cooper, Auburn
Coach of the Year: Tim Walton, Florida
Your 2017 @SEC Pitcher of the Year @kkatlyn111 ??#GoGators pic.twitter.com/ufgDf5KOqg
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 9, 2017
.@_TimWalton was just named @SEC Coach of the Year?? This year the #Gators won their third-straight regular season championship?? #GoGators pic.twitter.com/05kNJbgCR5
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 9, 2017
The #Gators had 6? All - @SEC First Team selections??That's the most during a single season in program history. ?? #GoGators pic.twitter.com/4cKLnSNGGP
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 9, 2017
The accolades don't stop there. We had more #Gators make the All-@SEC Second Team, All-Freshman and All-Defensive Team! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/c0ISVzn0aU
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 9, 2017
Players Mentioned
RHP
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LHP
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OF
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Saturday, May 23
Friday, May 22
Thursday, May 21
