Kylie Emanuele of Mount Olive Named to 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player/Pitcher of the Year Top-25
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Schutt Sports and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced the 25 student-athletes from across the country named to the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards list and Conference Carolinas was represented by Kylie Emanuele of Mount Olive.
Playing third base for the Trojans, Emanuele was one of 16 Player of the Year candidates. A junior infielder from Corona, California, Emanuele led Conference Carolinas in hitting with a .484 average (77-for-157), slugging with a .889 average and runs batted in with 78. She finished the season with 21 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs, which broke the UMO school record for home runs in a season. She scored 45 times and was 21-for-21 on the bases. Her 82 RBIs lead all of Division II, while her average ranks third in the country, and doubles sits sixth best. Emanuele was named the 2022 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year.
The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National
Player of the Year award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year. The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member.
The winner of each award will be announced on June 2, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
Past winners of the award are West Texas A&M’s Shanna McBroom (Player / 2021), Saint Anselm’s Morgan Perry (Pitcher / 2021), LIU Post’s Julia Seader (Player / 2019), Grand Valley State’s Allison Lipovsky (Pitcher / 2019), North Georgia’s Kylee Smith (2018), Minnesota State’s Coley Ries (2017), Wayne State University’s Lindsay Butler (2016) and North Georgia’s Courtney Poole (2015). The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complete NFCA release is available here.