Kentucky’s Erin Coffel Into Finals of National Freshman of the Year

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Softball freshman Erin Coffel has been named a finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association National Freshman of the Year award, the organization announced on Thursday.
 
Coffel joins 29 other athletes across division one that are the finalists for the awards, which will be selected later in the season.
 
Hailing from Bremen, Indiana, Coffel is hitting .365 on the season with a new school freshman record 16 home runs and 49 runs batted in. She has started all 44 games for UK this season at shortstop and has drawn a team-high 20 walks on the year.
 
Coffel additionally has scored 41 runs, which sits second on the team, and has 25 extra-base hits, including six doubles and a triple. Her on-base percentage of .476 ranks as one of the highest in the country for freshman and she has also swiped three stolen bases this season.
 
The Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach. With the cancellation of last year’s season due to COVID-19, candidates hail from the 2020 and 2021 freshman classes. Due to having two freshman classes eligible for the award, an additional five players have been added to the traditional top 25.
 
The Southeastern Conference led the way with six honorees, while the Pac-12 earned five. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Southland Conference, Summit and Western Athletic Conference each received two nods. Leagues with a selection apiece were the American Athletic Conference, Atlantic-10 Conference, Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-American Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Sun Belt Conference and West Coast Conference.
 
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.