LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 2015 NFCA NJCAA Division II All-Americans Teams, consisting of 32 student-athletes from 15 different institutions, were announced by the Association on Friday.
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Kirkwood Community College led the way with five overall selections. Des Moines Area Community College, Kankakee Community College and Phoenix College each reaped four nods. Des Moines Area and Kirkwood topped all programs with three first-team honorees, while Kankakee and Phoenix College garnered two apiece.
Representing Kirkwood on the first team are outfielders Chasney Jenkins and Lexie Biehl, along with utility player Brooke Prior. A speedster in the outfield, Jenkins led the NJCAA II in steals with 75 and was second with a .545 batting average, 91 hits, 92 runs scored and a .622 on base percentage. She ranked third with 23 doubles and fifth in slugging percentage (.886). Biehl hit .428 with NJCAA DII-best 25 home runs. The sophomore drove in 86 runs, second most in the country, while ranking third with a .954 slugging percentage, sixth with 68 runs scored and seventh with a .500 on base percentage. Holding down the utility first team spot, Prior also keyed Kirkwood’s high-powered offense ranking in the top 10 with a .458 average (6th), 18 home runs (3rd) , 61 runs (7th), 17 doubles (7th), 73 RBI (5th) and a .898 slugging percentage (4th).
Des Moines Area’s three first-team honorees are pitcher April Brown, outfielder Brittany Roby and designated player Sydney Weldon. Brown posted a 26-5 mark in the circle with at 1.35 ERA and 221 strikeouts – third-best in NJCAA DII- in 182 innings of work. Roby earned the Marucci Elite Hitting Award for NJCAA District G after leading the Bears in almost every offensive category. Her .585 batting average, 117 hits, 31 doubles, eight triples, 93 runs, 209 total bases and .624 on base percentage topped all of NJCAA DII. The freshman ranked second with a 1.045 slugging percentage and third with 30 stolen bases. Weldon hit .509 with 88 hits in 173 at-bats and led NJCAA with 100 RBI and a 1.087 slugging percentage. The rookie’s 16 doubles, six triples and team-leading 24 long balls led to her nation’s leading slugging percentage, while she also topped the NJCAA with 34 walks and was fifth with 69 runs scored.
Joining Brown as first-team pitchers are NJCAA DII Pitcher of the Year, Alex Brake of Labette Community College and LSU Eunice’s Raven Cole. In just her first season of collegiate softball, Brake led the country in strikeouts with 294 on the season – averaging 9.27 per seven innings pitched. The Webb City, Missouri, native accumulated 222 innings in the circle in 38 appearances, finishing with a 24-7 record and a 1.39 ERA, ranking 13th in the nation. Cole mowed down a NJCAA DII-best 10.82 batters per seven innings and finished fourth overall with 204 strikeouts. She was 20-2 with a 0.85 ERA (3rd) and nine shutouts (2nd).
Phoenix College’s Morgan Leonard and Kankakee’s Brittany Plimmer come in as the first-team catchers. Leonard hit .416 with 87 hits, 12 doubles, 16 home runs, 68 RBI and a 63 runs scored. Plimmer, a Marucci Elite Hitter representing District C, clocked in with a .512 batting average and 83 hits. She ranked fourth with 25 doubles and 65 RBI and 10th in NJCAA DII with 67 runs scored and a 16 home runs, while owing the eighth-best slugging percentage at .988.
Highlighting the four infield selections is NJCAA DII Player of the Year Lauren Holifield of Jones County Community College. With 78 hits on the season, Holifield boasted a .503 batting average that ranked 16th in the nation and led Region 23 – earning her one of the region’s two Marucci Elite Hitter awards. Proving to be one of the country’s top power hitters, she led the NJCAA with 28 home runs and a 1.174 slugging percentage. Holifield totaled 20 doubles on the year and drove home 82 RBIs – 5th most in the DII ranks.
Joining Holifield is Kankakee’s Brittany Hay, Phoenix College’s Erin Burkhart and Brittany Hopper, along with Pima Community College’s Jackie Hernandez. Hay hit .503 and scored 79 runs- fourth-most in NJCAA II- and had the 10th-best on base percentage at .576. She added 14 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs and 23 stolen bases. Burkhart registered the second highest hit total in NJCAA II with 102 base knocks and led the country with 33 doubles. She added 10 homers, 68 RBI, 64 runs scored and posted a .547 on base percentage. Hay’s teammate, Hopper hit . 411 with 12 doubles, 15 home runs, 66 RBI and 47 runs scored. Hernandez rounds out the infield, batting .440 with 85 hits, nine doubles, six triples, 54 RBU, 58 runs scored and a .478 on base percentage.
Finalizing the first team is Parkland College outfielder Alexis Royer. The sophomore hit .408 with 71 hits, 51 runs, 14 doubles, 14 home runs, 57 RBI and a .730 slugging percentage.