Missouri Western senior infielder Tiffany Gillaspy has been placed on the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Softball National Player of the Year watch list. She is one of 50 players around the nation named to the list.
Gillaspy is coming off her best season as a Griffon. She finished the season leading the Griffons and was in the top-10 in the MIAA in batting average (.390), hits (73), doubles (13), home runs (13), RBI (60), total bases (125) and slugging percentage (.668). The Johnston, Iowa native was named named third team Daktronics All-American, Daktronics First Team All-Region, NFCA First Team All-Central Region and First Team All-MIAA for the first time in her career. She also was named the MIAA AstroTurf Hitter of the Week twice and finished her season with a hit in 23 of her last 25 games and had an 19-game hitting streak during that run.
Behind the collaboration between the NFCA and the NCAA Division II Head Coaches Committee, and the generosity of Schutt Sports, the award was created to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among softball student-athletes throughout Division II.
This inaugural group consists of 29 seniors, 14 juniors and seven sophomores that represent 37 programs from 18 different conferences across the country. Nine programs garnered multiple candidates, including Caldwell, out of the East Coast Conference (ECC), boasting five selections. Defending national champion and Lone Star Conference representative West Texas A&M picked up three nominations, while seven more institutions had two apiece.
The Great Lakes Valley Conference paced the way with five of its schools and seven student-athletes. The Lone Star and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) each had four programs with seven and five student-athletes, respectively. The Pacific West Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association followed with three, while the ECC, Heartland Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference garnered two apiece.
The Top 25 finalists for the 2015 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year award will be announced on April 8. While an athlete does not have to be on watch list to be considered for the Top 25, the winner will come from the 25 finalists. The Top 10 finalists will be announced on April 30 and the Top 3 on May 13 or 14.
The Griffons begin their 2015 season this Friday when they play Henderson State at noon.
— MWSU Sports Information —