IRVING, Texas – On the eve of the American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, the league announced the 2024 American Athletic Conference softball regular-season awards. The conference unveiled its major award winners, all-conference teams and all-rookie team, as chosen by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Wichita State in fielder CC Wong became the fourth consecutive Shocker to be named American Player of the Year, while Charlotte’s Georgeanna Barefoot was voted as the American Pitcher of the Year. South Florida infielder Kathy Garcia-Soto and Charlotte catcher Lexi Winters were named The American Defensive Players of the Year. Florida Atlantic took home Freshman of the Year honors with shortstop Kiley Channell, while the Owls’s coaches were named The American Coaching Staff of the Year.
A total of 24 players representing nine member institutions earned all-conference honors. An additional six choices were made for the league’s all-rookie squad. Florida Atlantic led all teams with six total players chosen to the first and second all-conference teams, including five first-team selections. Wichita State’s Wong and Addison Barnard joined Florida Atlantic’s Trinity Schlotterbeck as unanimous all-conference selections.
Wong was a force at the plate, leading The American in batting average (.481), on-base percentage (.584), runs scored (29), hits (39) and total bases (75) in conference games. She also finished second in slugging percentage (.926) and third in RBI (31). She recorded multiple hits in 11 conference games and had at least one RBI in 13. Her overall batting average of .455 ranks fifth in the NCAA.
Barefoot helped guide the 49ers to a share of The American regular season conference title, recording a league-high nine wins in 20 appearances in conference play. Across 80 innings pitched, Barefoot had a 1.92 ERA and held opposing batters to .188 at the plate. The redshirt senior did not allow an earned run in eight of her 20 appearances in conference play.
Garcia-Soto becomes the first player to repeat as the American Defensive Player of the Year. Garcia-Soto started 25 conference games for the Bulls and had just three errors. In 124 chances in the field during league play, Garcia-Soto posted a .976 fielding percentage, logging 66 putouts to go along with 55 assists. South Florida turned 14 double plays during the conference season, with Garcia-Soto contributing 10.
Winters joined Garcia-Soto as American Defensive Player of the Year after starting all 26 conference games at catcher and playing error-free ball in league play. Across 118 chances, she finished with 117 putouts and one assist. She also threw out the lone baserunner that attempted to steal and had no passed balls.
Channell impressed during her rookie campaign for Florida Atlantic as the shortstop earned American Rookie of the Year honors. In conference play Channell slashed .345/.412/.524 to help lead the Owls to the top seed in The American Softball Championship. She finished with 21 RBI and a league-leading 12 doubles.
Head coach Jordan Clark and her staff guided Florida Atlantic to the program’s first American Athletic Conference regular-season championship in its first season in the league. The Owls were dominant offensively under Clark, leading all league teams in batting average (.311), on-base percentage (.419), runs scored (184), hits (229), RBI (163), walks (116) and sacrifice flies (13).
2024 American Athletic Conference Softball Regular-Season Awards
Player of the Year
CC Wong, Wichita State
Pitcher of the Year
Georgeanna Barefoot, Charlotte
Defensive Players of the Year
Lexi Winters, Charlotte
Kathy Garcia-Soto, South Florida
Rookie of the Year
Kiley Channell, Florida Atlantic
Coaching Staff of the Year
Florida Atlantic
Head Coach Jordan Clark, Associate Head Coach Taylor Smartt, Assistant Coach Nicole Newman, Assistant Coach Krista Harrell, Graduate Assistant Elizabeth Hightower, Graduate Assistant Dezarae Maldonado
All-Conference First Team
P – Georgeanna Barefoot, Charlotte
P – Ainsley Lambert, Florida Atlantic
P – Skylar Savage, North Texas
C – Kate de Leon, Florida Atlantic
1B – Arianna Rodi, Charlotte
2B – Mikayla Smith, North Texas
SS – Taylor Sedlacek, Wichita State
3B – Ella Chancey, Charlotte
OF – Kamryn Jackson, Florida Atlantic
OF – Presley Leebrick, Florida Atlantic
OF – Addison Barnard, Wichita State*
DP/U/P – Trinity Schlotterbeck, Florida Atlantic*
DP/U/Non-P – CC Wong, Wichita State*
All-Conference Second Team
P – Sam Gress, Charlotte
P – Payton Dixon, South Florida
C – Taylor Jensen, UTSA
1B – Morgan Johnson, East Carolina
2B – Cori Hoffler, Charlotte
SS – Imani Edwards, Tulsa
3B – Jesiana Mora, Florida Atlantic
OF – Bella Wiggins, UAB
OF – Emma Jackson, East Carolina
OF – MacKenzie Denson, Tulsa
DP/U/Non-P – Taylor Woodring, East Carolina
All-Rookie Team
P – Taylor Apple, East Carolina
P – Anneca Anderson, Tulsa
P – Chloe Barber, Wichita State
INF – Hannah Dorsett, UAB
SS – Kiley Channell, Florida Atlantic
OF – Olivia Williams, Charlotte
* denotes unanimous selection
