LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Georgia Southwestern State University softball infielder/pitcher Zoe Willis was named to the 2023 Schutt Sports/NFCA NCAA Division II National Player & Pitcher of the Year Top 50 award list by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association this afternoon.

Willis, a junior from Pine Mountain, Ga., ranks near the top of Division II in several offensive categories this spring, including: batting average (19th), home runs (7th), home runs per game (11th), on base percentage (3rd), slugging percentage (2nd), total bases (9th), rbis (19th), triples (22nd), victories (26th), and walks per game (20th).

The fifty student-athletes from across the country were revealed as part of the annual Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards program. 

Georgia Southwestern State softball infielder Katelyn Wood was also named to the 2023 Schutt Sports/NFCA NCAA Division II National Player & Pitcher of the Year Top 50 award list by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association this afternoon.

Wood, a senior from Tallahassee, Fla., ranks near the top of many categories including hits (10th), and rbis (13th) she is ranked in the top-50 in batting average (43rd), doubles (45th), home runs (45th), slugging percentage (39th), and total bases (16th).

The 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-athletes' head coach must be a member.

Past winners of the award are Boatner, Roger State's Andrea Morales (Pitcher / 2022), 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 NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded All-Region and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.

Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining over 6,700 coaches today.