2016 All-GSC Softball Honors Announced

4/26/2016 1:30:00 PM

Click HERE for the complete release.

Birmingham, Ala.—The Gulf South Conference announced its All-Conference Softball Team for the 2016 season on Tuesday.

North Alabama paced the 25-member squad with six honorees, all on the First Team. Alabama Huntsville and Valdosta State both came in second with four selections each, including three on the First Team. Lee and West Florida both turned in three All-GSC standouts. Delta State and Shorter both saw two, while West Georgia had one.

Nine of the 25 are repeat All-GSC selections, including four-time selection Kaitlin Moore (DSU) and three-peat First Team selection Hillary Carpenter (UNA). Including Carpenter, seven First Team selections were also First Team picks in 2015: Kaitlyn Bannister (UAH), Kassidy Tally (DSU), Niki Cook (SU), Caitlyn Calhoun (VSU), Jamie Phillips (VSU) and Kiley Rusen (VSU). Tyler Harrison (UAH) is also making a return appearance as an All-GSC selection.

BROOKLYNN CLARK CROWNED GSC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
North Alabama sophomore Brooklynn Clark (Seadrift, Texas) is the first UNA player to be named GSC Player of the Year since the award began in 1997. She closed the regular season hitting .476 (81-for-170) with 14 home runs, 15 doubles, 51 runs and a UNA single-season record 67 RBIs. In conference action, she also led the GSC, hitting .487 with 55 hits, 12 home runs and a .516 on base percentage. She is ranked in the Top 10 in three NCAA DII statistical categories, including the third-most RBIs. She has 27 multiple-hit games and 18 multiple-RBI games. Her .994 fielding percentage is the third best in the GSC.

CAITLYN CALHOUN REPEATS GSC PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Valdosta State junior Caitlyn Calhoun (Hamilton, Ohio.) repeated her GSC Pitcher of the Year honor, becoming only the third individual to earn the award in back-to-back seasons. VSU’s Holly Satterfield did so in 2010 and 2011 in the GSC East and Arkansas-Monticello’s Kayla Jackson won the GSC West honor three times from 2009-2011. Calhoun leads the GSC with a 26-4 record and 1.46 ERA. She struck out 224 batters in 216.1 innings pitched, while holding hitters to a .198 batting average, the fourth-lowest opposing batting average in the GSC. During the year, Calhoun tied a GSC career record with her sixth career no-hitter and became the second player in VSU history to eclipse the 500 career strikeout mark.

MORGAN KAZEROONI TABBED FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Delta State first baseman Morgan Kazerooni (Kennesaw, Ga.), a three-time GSC Freshman of the Week selection, hit .373 (50-for-158) with 15 doubles, seven home runs and 49 RBIs. Defensively, she led the GSC with 18 double plays and had a .988 fielding percentage. She has 17 multi-hit games and leads DSU with 15 multi-RBI contests. She had a 16 game hitting-streak earlier this season. Kazerooni is the second DSU player to ever be named GSC Softball Freshman of the Year.

ASHLEY COZART EARNS COACH OF THE YEAR
North Alabama head coach Ashley Cozart (Trevecca Nazarene, 2007), in her third season as head coach at UNA, led the Lions to their first GSC regular season title since 1989 with a league-leading and program-best 46-5 record. UNA will host the GSC Tournament, April 28-30, as the No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 1 in the South Region. Her team is ranked among the best offensive and defensive teams in NCAA Division II, leading the nation with 75 home runs and third in batting average (.361). The Lions’ .974 fielding percentage ranks in the Top 10 nationally. UNA is also Top 10 in win percentage (.902), on base percentage (.428) and second in slugging percentage (.603). UNA broke single-season program records for home runs (75), runs scored (388), RBIs (348) and longest win streak (18). Individually, Cozart passed the 300 overall wins milestone for her career and 100 wins milestone at UNA. She is the second UNA coach to receive the honor, joining Andre Jones, coach of the Lions’ first GSC title in 1986.

Complete All-GSC Selections (by team)

Team	First Team	Second Team	Total
UAH	3	1	4
DSU	2	0	2
LEE	1	2	3
UNA	6	0	6
SU	1	1	2
VSU	3	1	4
UWF	0	3	3
UWG	0	1	1