University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Eight Tigers earn Softball Coaches Scholar Athlete Awards
Aug 18, 2016 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eight members of the 2016 University of Memphis softball team have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Scholar-Athlete Award Winner. Players earning the award includes Hannah Harrell, Calli Irvin, Jessie Lamb, Addison Maxwell, Christian Novak, Sami Jo Schulz, Lindsey Stickrod, and Bayleigh Wisher.
"I am very proud of the eight student-athletes who earned the honor of NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) All-America Scholar-Athlete," said Poole. "Our softball players are striving for excellence both in the classroom and on the field, and put in a tremendous amount of time and effort daily in both areas. They are getting a high quality education at the University of Memphis, and they are doing it at an extremely high standard. I am proud of their efforts and that they are able to be honored publicly for those efforts as it is well deserved. The number of student-athletes being honored with this award represents over forty percent of our team, which makes me more proud as they represent a large portion of our team, and give a true picture of how we view academic success within our program."
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a grade point average of at least 3.50.
Memphis was one of 41 NCAA Division I schools with at least eight team members on the Academic squad, and the eight members was the high-water mark among teams from the American Athletic Conference, with Tulsa's five award winners providing second among American teams.
Harrell, a rising senior outfielder for 2017, batted .279 with a single-season school record 27 stolen bases in 30 attempts. She scored 22 times during the year, and knocked in 11 runs.
Lamb, who played second base last season, batted .286 with 29 runs scored and 11 RBI's. She added 15 stolen bases in helping the Tigers to a team single-season stolen base record last year.
Maxwell, a rising junior outfielder, played in 33 games last season with 24 starts. She scored 12 times while driving in eight runs and batted .227.
Novak, who pitched in 13 games during the season after recovering from back surgery, had a 4-6 overall record and a 3.78 ERA. She struck out 41 batters over 63 innings of work, and pitched a pair of shutouts. This is also the third straight year that Novak has earned the academic honor from the NFCA.
Schulz played and started early in the season, playing in seven games and starting four times, before an injury ended the season. She scored two runs in her short season, while stealing two bases.
Stickrod was one of three Tiger players to bat .300 or better for the year, hitting .305 (54-of-177). She led the team with 10 doubles, while hitting five home runs and driving in 32 runs.
Wisher, a rising sophomore, pitched in 12 games with six starts in 2016. She went 4-1 with 27 strikeouts in 43.1 innings of work.
Established in 1983, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play.
Although collegiate coaches comprised the majority of the organization's membership in the early days, today they are joined by high school. travel ball professional and international coaches, along with umpires, clubs, businesses and fans of fastpitch softball. Growing from 40 members in the 1983 to nearly 4,000 today, the NFCA boasts members from all 50 states and three international countries- Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The Tigers, which had no graduating seniors last year, went 26-31 including a 7-11 mark in American Athletic Conference play.
"I am very proud of the eight student-athletes who earned the honor of NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) All-America Scholar-Athlete," said Poole. "Our softball players are striving for excellence both in the classroom and on the field, and put in a tremendous amount of time and effort daily in both areas. They are getting a high quality education at the University of Memphis, and they are doing it at an extremely high standard. I am proud of their efforts and that they are able to be honored publicly for those efforts as it is well deserved. The number of student-athletes being honored with this award represents over forty percent of our team, which makes me more proud as they represent a large portion of our team, and give a true picture of how we view academic success within our program."
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a grade point average of at least 3.50.
Memphis was one of 41 NCAA Division I schools with at least eight team members on the Academic squad, and the eight members was the high-water mark among teams from the American Athletic Conference, with Tulsa's five award winners providing second among American teams.
Harrell, a rising senior outfielder for 2017, batted .279 with a single-season school record 27 stolen bases in 30 attempts. She scored 22 times during the year, and knocked in 11 runs.
Lamb, who played second base last season, batted .286 with 29 runs scored and 11 RBI's. She added 15 stolen bases in helping the Tigers to a team single-season stolen base record last year.
Maxwell, a rising junior outfielder, played in 33 games last season with 24 starts. She scored 12 times while driving in eight runs and batted .227.
Novak, who pitched in 13 games during the season after recovering from back surgery, had a 4-6 overall record and a 3.78 ERA. She struck out 41 batters over 63 innings of work, and pitched a pair of shutouts. This is also the third straight year that Novak has earned the academic honor from the NFCA.
Schulz played and started early in the season, playing in seven games and starting four times, before an injury ended the season. She scored two runs in her short season, while stealing two bases.
Stickrod was one of three Tiger players to bat .300 or better for the year, hitting .305 (54-of-177). She led the team with 10 doubles, while hitting five home runs and driving in 32 runs.
Wisher, a rising sophomore, pitched in 12 games with six starts in 2016. She went 4-1 with 27 strikeouts in 43.1 innings of work.
Established in 1983, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play.
Although collegiate coaches comprised the majority of the organization's membership in the early days, today they are joined by high school. travel ball professional and international coaches, along with umpires, clubs, businesses and fans of fastpitch softball. Growing from 40 members in the 1983 to nearly 4,000 today, the NFCA boasts members from all 50 states and three international countries- Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The Tigers, which had no graduating seniors last year, went 26-31 including a 7-11 mark in American Athletic Conference play.
Players Mentioned
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INF
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1B
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