Kelsey Nunley Honored as First Team NFCA All-American
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky
softball’s Kelsey Nunley made more program history on Wednesday afternoon,
becoming the first player in UK history to be named a National Fastpitch
Coaches’ Association First Team All-American.
Nunley, who was crowned the 2016
Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, joins current assistant coach Molly
Johnson-Belcher as the two All-Americans in Kentucky’s program, with
Johnson-Belcher earning second team honors in 2009.
Nunley joins five other pitchers on the NFCA First Team, including
Delanie Gourney (Florida), Megan Good (James Madison), Paige Parker (Oklahoma),
Aleshia Ocasio (Florida) and Jailyn Ford (James Madison). Nunley and Ocasio
were at-large selections for the first team pitcher spot.
The senior from Soddy Daisy, Tenn., pitched a fantastic senior season
for Kentucky, ending the year with a 21-6 overall record and a program
single-season best 1.26 ERA in her 37 appearances in the circle for the Blue
and White. Nunley started 23 games for UK, throwing 13 complete games and seven
shutouts.
With her 181.1 innings pitched, Nunley overtook the NCAA active
pitchers career innings lead, as she ended her career with a whopping 943.1
innings thrown in her four years in Lexington. She started 117 games in her
four-year career with 21 shutouts and 86 complete games for the Wildcats.
In 2016 alone, Nunley set or surpassed new program bests for single-season
ERA, career innings pitched, appearances, wins and saves. She was named the SEC
Pitcher of the Week two times in back-to-back weeks and led all SEC pitchers in
conference play with 188 strikeouts. She was named to the All-SEC First Team
for the first time in her career and was top 10 in the NCAA for ERA.
Nunley was not only a finalist for the 2016 ASA/USA Softball Player of
the Year, but also got things done away from the field in the community and the
classroom as she was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. She
helped lead the UK softball senior class to a 3.53 GPA in its four years at
Kentucky.
The USSSA Pride out of Kissimmee, Fla., selected Nunley fifth overall
in the first round of the 2016 National Pro Fastpitch Draft – the highest-drafted
player to ever come out of Kentucky. Nunley signed her first professional
contract with the Pride on Thursday. Nunley will be kicking off her professional
career against the ScrapYard Dawgs – whom with UK head coach Rachel Lawson is
an assistant coach for – on June 10.
There were 56 total All-Americans selected in 2016 with 18 named to
the first and second team and 19 to the third team. Of the 56 student-athletes
selected, the SEC had 18 players named to the three teams, eight more than the
closest other conference.
First Team
Pos. Player School
Pitcher Delanie
Gourley University of Florida
Pitcher Megan Good James Madison University
Pitcher Paige
Parker University of
Oklahoma
Catcher Lexie Elkins University of Louisiana at
Lafayette
First Base Tera Blanco University of Michigan
Second Base Sierra
Romero University of
Michigan
Third Base Kasey
Cooper Auburn University
Shortstop Kristen
Brown University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill
Outfield Haylie McCleney University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Outfield Emily
Crane University of
Missouri, Columbia
Outfield Koral
Costa University of
Oregon
Utility/Pitcher Jailyn
Ford James Madison
University
DP or
Utility/Non-Pitcher Kimberlee Souza University of Washington
At-Large/Pitcher Aleshia Ocasio University of Florida
At-Large/Outfield Sierra Lawrence University of Michigan
At-Large/Utility/Pitcher Sara Groenewegen University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
At-Large/Pitcher Kelsey
Nunley University of
Kentucky
At-Large/Third
Base M.J. Knighten University of Nebraska,
Lincoln
For the latest on the Kentucky
softball team, follow @UKSoftball on
Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
