IRVING, Texas – League champion UCF was well represented with three major award winners and eight all-conference selections as part of the 2022 American Athletic Conference softball regular-season awards. The conference unveiled its major award winners, all-conference teams and all-rookie team on Wednesday, as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
 
Wichita State’s Addison Barnard became the second straight Shocker to be named American Player of the Year, while South Florida’s Georgina Corrick claimed an unprecedented fourth straight American Pitcher of the Year trophy. UCF’s Justene Molina won the program’s first American Defensive Player of the Year honor and teammate Micaela Macario was named American Rookie of the Year. Cindy Ball-Malone and the staff of top-seeded UCF was named the unanimous American Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
A total of 26 players representing all seven member institutions earned all-conference honors. An additional six choices were made for the league’s all-rookie squad. UCF and Wichita State led all teams with eight total players chosen (five players each on the first team) to the first and second all-conference teams. South Florida added a pair of first-team choices and Houston boasted four players on the second team. South Florida’s Corrick, UCF’s Jada Cody and Kennedy Searcy and Wichita State’s Sydney McKinney were unanimous first-team selections.
 
Barnard erupted as a true sophomore for Wichita State on the way to a second-place finish in the conference standings, establishing American records in conference play with 15 home runs, 38 RBI and a 1.242 slugging percentage in just 18 league starts. Barnard registered eight multiple-hit outings and 10 multi-RBI performances in conference play, including seven contests with four or more runs batted in. Barnard’s signature game in an American matchup took place in game one at East Carolina on April 29, where the Wichita State outfielder went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, three home runs, seven RBI and four runs scored in just five innings for the Shockers against the Pirates.
 
Corrick continued to re-write The American record book in her senior campaign, becoming the first student-athlete in conference history with four straight major yearly awards and the first softball player with back-to-back unanimous top player plaudits. Corrick led South Florida with an 11-3 record and paced the conference with an 0.97 ERA in 94.0 innings pitched over 15 appearances (14 starts). Her 146 strikeouts in league play broke her own conference single-season record, with her ERA finishing sub 1.00 in conference games for the third consecutive season. Corrick captured American Pitcher of the Week four times during the conference schedule and tossed a pair of no-hitters against league opponents, including her second perfect game this season with a win at Houston on April 29 (11 strikeouts over 7.0 innings).
 
Molina shined at second base for UCF as a senior, starting all 18 conference games for the Knights at the position. In 49 chances in the field during league play Molina posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, logging 17 putouts to go along with 32 assists. UCF turned five double plays during the conference season, with Molina contributing to three of the five. Molina recorded four total putouts and seven assists in the field for UCF during its championship clinching series at Wichita State on May 6-8.
 
Macario impressed as a rookie in UCF’s infield, starting all 18 conference games at shortstop for the Knights. Macario batted .298 with five RBI, four stolen bases and 11 runs scored in league play, adding a .938 fielding percentage with 24 assists in 48 chances.
 
Ball-Malone and her staff guided UCF to the program’s third conference regular-season championship as a member of The American (2014, 2015, 2022), posting a 16-2 (.889) league mark. The 16 wins tied the 2015 UCF team for the most wins in an 18-game league schedule by any American team since the conference was reconstituted in 2014. Under Ball-Malone UCF led all league teams in earned run average (1.47), opposing batting average (.157) and fewest hits allowed (67) in conference play.
 
2022 American Athletic Conference Softball Regular-Season Awards
 
Player of the Year
Addison Barnard, Wichita State
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Justene Molina, UCF
 
Pitcher of the Year
Georgina Corrick, South Florida*
 
Rookie of the Year
Micaela Macario, UCF
 
Coaching Staff of the Year
UCF*
 
All-Conference First Team
P – Gianna Mancha, UCF
P – Georgina Corrick, South Florida*
C – Jada Cody, UCF*
1B – Neleigh Herring, Wichita State
1B – Kylie Norwood, Tulsa
2B – Justene Molina, UCF
3B – Kennedy Searcy, UCF*
SS – Sydney McKinney, Wichita State*
OF – Denali Schappacher, UCF
OF – Alexis Johns, South Florida
OF – Addison Barnard, Wichita State
OF – Lauren Lucas, Wichita State
DP/U/Non-P – Lauren Mills, Wichita State
 
All-Conference Second Team
P – Kama Woodall, UCF
P – Kenna Wilkey, Houston
P – Erin McDonald, Wichita State
C – Kati Ray Brown, Houston
IF – Micaela Macario, UCF
IF – Becca Schulte, Houston
IF – Abby Jones, Tulsa
IF – Jessica Garcia, Wichita State
IF – Zoe Jones, Wichita State
OF – Taudrea Sinnie, East Carolina
OF – Paige Hulsey, Houston
OF – Gracie Morton, Memphis
DP/U/Non-P – Ashleigh Griffin, UCF
 
All-Rookie Team
P – Jordan Hatch, East Carolina
P – Alison Cooper, Wichita State*
C/DP – Ashleigh Griffin, UCF*
IF – Micaela Macario, UCF*
IF – Celeste Wood, Tulsa
OF – Kailyn Bearpaw, Tulsa
 
*denotes unanimous selection