LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tulsa pitcher/designated player Chenise Delce has been named as one of the 25 student-athletes in the running for the 2019 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, announced the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday afternoon.

Delce’s inclusion on the list is the first time that a Tulsa player made the award's top 25 list since Jill Roye in 2014.

She leads the Tulsa pitching staff with a 1.69 ERA and 12-5 record in 103.2 innings pitched, while her 87 strikeouts are tied for tops on the team. She has been a part of four shutouts, including three solo, and has a pair of double-digit strikeout performances.

In just her second start of the season, she tossed nine shutout innings as Tulsa topped Iowa and she followed that up with a season-high 12 strikeouts in a win over Mercer. On March 20 against then-No. 21 Oklahoma State, Delce gave up just one hit and recorded seven strikeouts to earn the victory.

In the batter's box, she is hitting .325 with 27 hits, six runs scored, a double, a homer and 15 RBI. Delce has seven multi-hit games and five multi-RBI contests. She set a season high with three hits in Tulsa's win over Houston on April 5 and contributed a season-best three RBI in another victory over ECU on April 12.

On May 9, the list will be trimmed down to the top 10 and the top three finalists will be released on May 21. The Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented during a live ceremony at the Women’s College World Series banquet on May 28.