
Kailey Wilson Earns Spot On NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team
5/19/2022 1:09:00 PM | Softball
Wilson earned NFCA All-Region recognition for the second straight season
OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton softball's Kailey Wilson earned a spot on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes Region Second Team, the association announced on Thursday afternoon. Wilson is just the ninth Bluejays to every earn multiple NFCA All-Region honors.
A native of Aurora, Colo., Wilson led the Bluejays with a .436 batting average, the second highest batting average in school history but the highest average since Anne Timmermann posted a .538 average in 1978. Wilson also posted the Bluejays second highest single-season slugging percentage and on-base percentage in school history with a .812 slugging percentage, as well as a .541 on-base percentage. She paced the Creighton offense with 51 hits, including a team-high 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 24 walks as Wilson reached base safely in 19 straight games.
Last week, Wilson became the first Bluejays to earn the BIG EAST Player of the Year honor and was just the fourth player in program history to be recognized as the conference Player of the Year, while becoming the 29th Bluejay to earn multiple all-conference honors in school history.
She led her squad and the BIG EAST with a .524 batting average during league games, the highest batting average during conference play by a Bluejays since at least 1989. Her efforts at the plate pushed her career BIG EAST play batting average to .467, which ranks second highest for career batting average in BIG EAST history, behind former Notre Dame star Meghan Murray (.518).
The junior slugger started each of Creighton's 22 conference games as the designated player and topped the league in slugging percentage (.984) and on-base percentage (.620) and tied for the BIG EAST lead with seven home runs and 62 total bases. Wilson also ranked second in the league in hits (33), which included 11 multiple-hit games and a 10-game hitting streak. .
The fourth-year junior currently ranks fourth on Creighton's career batting average list with a .370 mark during four season (121 hits). Wilson sits one home run shy of entering the top-10 list, having launched 26 career home runs. She has also drawn 62 career walks, which sits five shy of a top-10 mark in school history.
The NFCA All-Region teams honor softball student-athletes from the association's 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all 380 student-athletes honored now become eligible for the 2022 NFCA All-America teams.
The Great Lakes region consists of 31 schools from six different conferences -- BIG EAST Conference (Creighton, DePaul, Providence, St. John's), Big Ten Conference (Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin), Horizon League (Detroit, Illinois-Chicago, Oakland, Robert Morris, Wisconsin-Green Bay) Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Canisius, Iona, Monmouth, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Siena), Mid-America Conference (Ball State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan), Northeast Conference (Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Merrimack College, St. Francis [PA]).
Conference players and pitchers of the year from member institutions are added to the third team if they were not already voted to an All-Region squad. In some instances, limited regional nominations prevent a position from being filled. Complete Great Lakes All-Region teams are listed below.
In the programs 46-years, a total of 24 Bluejays have earned NFCA All-Region recognition with two having also been honored as NFCA All-Americans (Tara Oltman Higgins, 2009 and Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman, 2010).
2022 NFCA Great Lakes Region Teams
First Team
P - Danielle Williams, Northwestern
P - Alex Storako, Michigan
P - Bailey Parshall, Penn State
C - Jordyn Rudd, Northwestern
1B - Nikki Cuchran, Northwestern
2B - Jadin Justman, Wisconsin
3B - Mekenzie Saban, Saint Francis University (PA)
SS - Kyleigh Sand, Rutgers
OF - Rachel Lewis, Northwestern
OF - Faith Hensley, Ball State
OF - Gabrielle Callaway, Rutgers
Utility/Pitcher - Rachel Marsden, Saint Francis University (PA)
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kayla Konwent, Wisconsin, Madison
Second Team
P - Ashley Miller, Michigan State
P - Maddie Schwartz, Wisconsin
C - Katie Keller, Northern Illinois
1B - Brooke Johnson, DePaul
2B - Saige Alfaro, Canisius College
3B - Hannah Cady, Northwestern
SS - Maeve Nelson, Northwestern
OF - Kristina Burkhardt, Michigan
OF - Natalie DenHartog, Minnesota
OF - Lexie Blair, Michigan
Utility/Pitcher - Ava Fitzmaurice, Siena College
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kailey Wilson, Creighton
Third Team
P - Megan Giese, Canisius College
P - Grace Vesco, Saint Francis University (PA)
C - Cassie Lindmark, Penn State
1B - Shannon Stein, Central Michigan
2B - Sam Mallinder, Northern Illinois
3B - Alicia Peters, Wisconsin
SS - Makenna Dowell, Minnesota
OF - Erin Hufford, Canisius College
OF - Chloe Evans, Minnesota
OF - Ally Miklesh, Wisconsin
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Lauren Espalin, Minnesota
A native of Aurora, Colo., Wilson led the Bluejays with a .436 batting average, the second highest batting average in school history but the highest average since Anne Timmermann posted a .538 average in 1978. Wilson also posted the Bluejays second highest single-season slugging percentage and on-base percentage in school history with a .812 slugging percentage, as well as a .541 on-base percentage. She paced the Creighton offense with 51 hits, including a team-high 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 24 walks as Wilson reached base safely in 19 straight games.
Last week, Wilson became the first Bluejays to earn the BIG EAST Player of the Year honor and was just the fourth player in program history to be recognized as the conference Player of the Year, while becoming the 29th Bluejay to earn multiple all-conference honors in school history.
She led her squad and the BIG EAST with a .524 batting average during league games, the highest batting average during conference play by a Bluejays since at least 1989. Her efforts at the plate pushed her career BIG EAST play batting average to .467, which ranks second highest for career batting average in BIG EAST history, behind former Notre Dame star Meghan Murray (.518).
The junior slugger started each of Creighton's 22 conference games as the designated player and topped the league in slugging percentage (.984) and on-base percentage (.620) and tied for the BIG EAST lead with seven home runs and 62 total bases. Wilson also ranked second in the league in hits (33), which included 11 multiple-hit games and a 10-game hitting streak. .
The fourth-year junior currently ranks fourth on Creighton's career batting average list with a .370 mark during four season (121 hits). Wilson sits one home run shy of entering the top-10 list, having launched 26 career home runs. She has also drawn 62 career walks, which sits five shy of a top-10 mark in school history.
The NFCA All-Region teams honor softball student-athletes from the association's 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all 380 student-athletes honored now become eligible for the 2022 NFCA All-America teams.
The Great Lakes region consists of 31 schools from six different conferences -- BIG EAST Conference (Creighton, DePaul, Providence, St. John's), Big Ten Conference (Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin), Horizon League (Detroit, Illinois-Chicago, Oakland, Robert Morris, Wisconsin-Green Bay) Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Canisius, Iona, Monmouth, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Siena), Mid-America Conference (Ball State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan), Northeast Conference (Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Merrimack College, St. Francis [PA]).
Conference players and pitchers of the year from member institutions are added to the third team if they were not already voted to an All-Region squad. In some instances, limited regional nominations prevent a position from being filled. Complete Great Lakes All-Region teams are listed below.
In the programs 46-years, a total of 24 Bluejays have earned NFCA All-Region recognition with two having also been honored as NFCA All-Americans (Tara Oltman Higgins, 2009 and Renae Sinkler-O'Gorman, 2010).
2022 NFCA Great Lakes Region Teams
First Team
P - Danielle Williams, Northwestern
P - Alex Storako, Michigan
P - Bailey Parshall, Penn State
C - Jordyn Rudd, Northwestern
1B - Nikki Cuchran, Northwestern
2B - Jadin Justman, Wisconsin
3B - Mekenzie Saban, Saint Francis University (PA)
SS - Kyleigh Sand, Rutgers
OF - Rachel Lewis, Northwestern
OF - Faith Hensley, Ball State
OF - Gabrielle Callaway, Rutgers
Utility/Pitcher - Rachel Marsden, Saint Francis University (PA)
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kayla Konwent, Wisconsin, Madison
Second Team
P - Ashley Miller, Michigan State
P - Maddie Schwartz, Wisconsin
C - Katie Keller, Northern Illinois
1B - Brooke Johnson, DePaul
2B - Saige Alfaro, Canisius College
3B - Hannah Cady, Northwestern
SS - Maeve Nelson, Northwestern
OF - Kristina Burkhardt, Michigan
OF - Natalie DenHartog, Minnesota
OF - Lexie Blair, Michigan
Utility/Pitcher - Ava Fitzmaurice, Siena College
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kailey Wilson, Creighton
Third Team
P - Megan Giese, Canisius College
P - Grace Vesco, Saint Francis University (PA)
C - Cassie Lindmark, Penn State
1B - Shannon Stein, Central Michigan
2B - Sam Mallinder, Northern Illinois
3B - Alicia Peters, Wisconsin
SS - Makenna Dowell, Minnesota
OF - Erin Hufford, Canisius College
OF - Chloe Evans, Minnesota
OF - Ally Miklesh, Wisconsin
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Lauren Espalin, Minnesota
Players Mentioned
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