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SOFTBALL — Clark, Strother Named to Tucci/NFCA Player & Pitcher of the Year Watch List

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
SOFTBALL -- Clark, Strother Named to Tucci/NFCA Player & Pitcher of the Year Watch List

TLU Sports Information & Sports Marketing



TLU Sports Information & Sports Marketing

Bryce Hayes

For Immediate Release
SEGUIN, Texas — Two Texas Lutheran Softball student-athletes, freshman Caelee Clark (Montgomery/Lake Creek) and senior Ashlyn Strother (Seabrook/Clear Falls), were named to the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch List, the NFCA announced Thursday.

One of three freshmen representing the West Region (Region X), Clark has taken Division-III softball by storm in her first-year campaign with the Bulldogs. Clark leads NCAA Division-III with 52 stolen bases on 52 attempts in 29 games played. Clark is batting .420 on the year, good for fifth in the SCAC, to go with a .533 on-base percentage, ranking second in the SCAC. She leads the team with 23 walks, which ranks second in all of NCAA Division-III. Clark has started all 29 games at second base for the Bulldogs with 48 putouts and 26 assists.

A two-time All-American and NCAA record holder, Ashlyn Strother has had another season for the record books in 2023. On Wednesday, Strother tied the TLU program record for career wins with 58 wins so far in her TLU career. In 76.0 innings pitched, Strother has a 0.55 ERA with 75 strikeouts to 10 walks. Her earned run average ranks eighth in the country (min. 25 innings pitched) while leading the country in shutouts with six. She has allowed just six earned runs on the season (9 runs total) and is allowing opponents to bat just .168. Strother has surrendered just 10 extra base hits this season.

One hundred forty one student-athletes from around the country were revealed Thursday as members of the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Division III Player and Pitcher of the Year watchlist.

New for 2023, the list is broken down into regions, with student-athletes representing one of the 10 NCAA regions. This list is compiled by the elected members of the NFCA Division III All-America Committee, who will also vote to choose the Player and Pitcher of the Year honorees at the conclusion of the season.

Click HERE to view watchlist.

Voted on by the NFCA’s Division III All-America Committee, the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year will be announced on June 9. All student-athletes are eligible for the end-of-the-season award and do not have to be on this list to be considered by the committee.

The Player of the Year award was created in 2016 to honor the outstanding softball achievement in NCAA Division III. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include separate Player and Pitcher of the Year honors.

For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (@txlutheransoftball), Twitter (@TLUsoftball), and Instagram (@tlu_softball) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).