LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ten players from the American Athletic Conference were named 2016 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division All-Region, as announced by the organization on Thursday.
UCF pitcher Shelby Turnier, and USF's utility/pitcher Erica Nunn, outfielder Juli Weber and second baseman Kristen Wyckoff were selected to the Mideast Region first team. The Bulls’ outfielder Astin Donovan and catcher Lee Ann Spivey were represented on the Mideast Region second team, while UCF third baseman Courtney Rotton (Mideast Region), and Tulsa's shortstop Shelby Estocado (Central Region), catcher Catherine Horner (Central Region) and pitcher Caitlin Sill (Central Region) were honored with third-team accolades.
For the second consecutive year, UCF senior Turnier was a first-team selection. The three-time first team all-conference honoree earned her third all-region nod as a Knight, garnering third-team laurels in 2014. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native set the program record with 79 career victories while fanning a postseason-best 13 batters against UConn on May 12. She became the third Knight to reach 800 career strikeouts in UCF’s 5-0 win over East Carolina on May 8, and currently ranks seventh among active NCAA pitchers with 822 career strikeouts. For the third straight season, Turnier has posted 20 wins and 200 strikeouts. The right-handed hurler has 20 wins in the circle and ranks 12th in the nation with 243 strikeouts on the season.
USF had a conference-best three players selected to an all-region first team. This is also the third time in program history the Bulls have had five players named to All-Region teams.
Nunn, a senior, became the Bulls’ ace pitcher this season, throwing 208.1 innings with 214 strikeouts and just 71 walks. Nunn has allowed just 62 runs (49 earned) for a 1.65 ERA, her career best. The lefty boasts a 27-10 record with 10 complete games, five shutouts and five saves. She has allowed just 28 extra-base hits and held opponents to a .207 batting average in 47 appearances. Earlier this season, Nunn was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference with a .78 ERA.
At the plate, Nunn is batting .374 with a .565 slugging percentage and .444 on-base percentage. She has recorded four home runs and ten doubles, with 15 runs and 30 RBIs. Despite not hitting at all in the 2015 season, Nunn ranks third on the team in most offensive categories. She is also one of just two players to record a 5-plus RBI game this season and nine multiple-RBI games on the year.
Weber has led the team for the majority of the season in almost every offensive category. The junior boasts a .421 average, 48 runs, 77 hits, 18 doubles and 116 total bases, all team highs. She is second on the team with a .634 slugging percentage and leads with a .452 on-base percentage. Weber has started every game this season, once stringing together a 22-game on-base streak. The American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Weber leads the team with 23 multiple-hit games.
Wyckoff earned first team honors after posting the second best mark on the team with a .411 average. Wyckoff’s 20 stolen bases on 26 attempts led the team as did her .487 on-base percentage. The junior is second on the team in assists with 72 and fourth with 73 putouts. Wyckoff recorded her first career home run this season, and had six extra-base hits. She recorded 41 runs on 53 hits, all from the leadoff spot, for 63 total bases.
Donovan earned all-region honors for the first time in her career. The sophomore outfielder hit .358 on the season with a .400 on-base percentage. She recorded 13 multiple-hit games and had an 11-game hitting streak during a stretch of the season. She has three outfield assists and 63 putouts from left field. Her 11 stolen bases ranks third on the team, just behind Weber and Wyckoff.
Spivey, a first team all-region selection in 2015, broke the all-time USF career home run record with 37 home runs. Currently sitting at 39, she has hit 15 this season to lead the team. The senior leads the team with 41 RBIs and 26 extra-base hits. She is second on the team with 108 total bases and 53 hits. Spivey’s .697 slugging percentage leads the team. This is the third all-region honor for Spivey as she earned third-team honors in 2014.
UCF's Rotton earned third team honors. The Clermont, Fla., native leads the team with 15 multi-hit games and has five multi-RBI games in 2016. Rotton, who earned second team all-conference honors, tied the UCF Softball single game hits record, going 4-for-4 to lift UCF over No. 5 Alabama. Rotton leads the team with a .304 batting average and has driven in 26 runs, tied for the second-most on the season. Rotton tied the single season record with 11 hit-by-pitches.
Tulsa’s Horner earned all-region honors for the third time, while Sill and Estocado claimed their first regional awards.
Horner, a native of La Canada, Calif., is hitting .276 with 11 doubles, 24 RBI and 30 runs scored. She has caught 10 runners stealing and has two pickoffs. At the plate, she compiled 22 walks and a .366 on-base percentage this season. She was a third-team All-Mideast Region selection in 2015 and a first-team All-Mideast Region in 2014, to go along with second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors this year.
Sill has posted a 19-10 record and a 1.72 ERA, with 21 complete games and eight shutouts in 27 starts and 178.2 innings. The Tuttle, Okla., native has allowed just 44 earned runs and 163 hits, and has tossed 25 consecutive scoreless innings over her last four outings, including three complete-game shutouts. She was also a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
Estocado, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., leads Tulsa with 11 home runs, 47 runs scored and a .600 slugging percentage. She hits .335, and has compiled 41 RBI, eight doubles, and a .411 on-base percentage. She has 15 multiple-hit games and 11 multiple-RBI games. She was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection.
View the full list of All-Region Selections
HERE.
American Athletic Conference 2016 NFCA Division I All-Region Selections
| Name |
Position |
Team |
Team |
Region |
| Courtney Rotton |
3B |
UCF |
Third Team |
Mideast Region |
| Shelby Turnier |
P |
UCF |
First Team |
Mideast Region |
| Astin Donovan |
OF |
USF |
Second Team |
Mideast Region |
| Erica Nunn |
Util./P |
USF |
First Team |
Mideast Region |
| Lee Ann Spivey |
C |
USF |
Second Team |
Mideast Region |
| Juli Weber |
OF |
USF |
First Team |
Mideast Region |
| Kristen Wyckoff |
2B |
USF |
First Team |
Mideast Region |
| Shelby Estocado |
SS |
Tulsa |
Third Team |
Central Region |
| Catherine Horner |
C |
Tulsa |
Third Team |
Central Region |
| Caitlin Sill |
P |
Tulsa |
Third Team |
Central Region |
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