Addison Barnard named AAC Player of the Year, second in row for Wichita State softball
For the second straight season, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year is on the Wichita State softball team.
One season after Sydney McKinney earned the honor, Addison Barnard was tabbed the top softball player by the conference coaches following a record-breaking sophomore season. WSU has now won three of the last four awards, dating back to Mackenzie Wright in the 2018 season.
The lone grip from WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner about the AAC awards was that she felt that Barnard and McKinney were both deserving of the honor and could have shared it. McKinney was recently named a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year.
“It really was a coin flip and one of the toughest decisions to make in terms of who should get that recognition,” Bredbenner said. “It was great for Addie and disappointing for Syd because they were both so deserving. Honestly, I think they could have been co-MVPs. But that’s a good problem for our program to have.”
Barnard led the country in home runs (30) and runs batted in (77) and finished second nationally in slugging percentage (1.039). The Beatrice, Nebraska native also made tremendous leaps in her batting average (.409) and stolen bases (25) in her second season at WSU. In conference play alone, Barnard hit .435 with 15 home runs, 26 runs and 38 RBI to go with a 1.242 slugging percentage — at one point hitting a home run in six straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in NCAA history.
McKinney, who became the program’s all-time hits leader earlier this season, is just one of six players in program history who have earned three first team all-conference nods after she led the nation in batting average (.497), hits (83) and runs per game to go along with five triples, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 37 RBI and 65 runs scored. She is just five hits away from breaking her own single-season hits record.
WSU placed eight on the all-conference teams, which tied conference champion UCF for the most of any school.
Joining Barnard and McKinney on the all-conference first team were senior Neleigh Herring (first base), sophomore Lauren Lucas (outfielder) and junior Lauren Mills (designated player). Three Shockers earned all-conference second team honors in senior Erin McDonald (pitcher), sophomore Jessica Garcia (infielder) and junior Zoe Jones (infielder), while freshman pitcher Alison Cooper made the all-rookie team.
Herring earned first team all-conference honors for the second season in a row after hitting .344 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI, while Lucas was rewarded for her breakout season that saw her lead the conference in batting average (.491) during conference play. For the season, Lucas hit .409 with 10 home runs, 12 doubles, 36 RBI and 39 runs. Mills, a Topeka native, is a first-time all-conference pick after hitting .306 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in conference play.
It was also a honor for the improvement Cooper made during the season, as she was a perfect 5-0 in the circle with a 2.46 earned run averaged during AAC play. For the season, Cooper is 8-2 with a team-best 3.24 ERA.
Wichita State (32-15) finished runner-up in the AAC standings this season and will play No. 7 seed Memphis in the AAC tournament at 1 p.m. Thursday in Greenville, North Carolina.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 3:02 PM.
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