Three Bulldogs Named to Schutt Sports/NFCA Player & Pitcher of the Year Top 50

SEGUIN, Texas -- Three members of the No. 3 Texas Lutheran softball team have been named to the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division-III Player & Pitcher of the Year Top 50, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced the 50-player watch list Thursday.

Fifth-year senior and 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division-III Player of the Year Finalist Kelly Jurden (Brenham/Brenham), senior Casey Martin (Pearland/Pearland), and sophomore Ashlyn Strother (Seabrook/Clear Falls) are among the 50 student-athletes on the watch list. The recognition marks Jurden's third consecutive year to be considered for the award, while Martin and Strother make their first appearance.

TLU is one of five schools (Christopher Newport, East Texas Baptist, Eastern Connecticut State, and Salisbury) to have three student-athletes on the list.

The Player of the Year award was established in 2016 to honor the season's top performer in NCAA Division III, and was expanded in 2019 to include both a Player and Pitcher of the Year honoree.

The list is compiled and the award is voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division III All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the 10 NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete's head coach must be a member.

The Top 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards will be announced on May 10. A student-athlete does not have to be on the Top 50 list to be considered for the Top 25. The winner of each award will be announced on June 3, following the conclusion of the 2022 season.

Jurden looks to repeat as a finalist - making it to the final 10 candidates for the 2021 season. The two-time All-American has continued to rewrite the softball record books this season on the team, conference, and national levels and will have an opportunity to continue to improve her records as the 2022 season continues. A First Team NFCA All-American last season, Jurden set the NCAA Division-III all-time stolen base record (212), the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference all-time hits record (233), as well as the TLU all-time walks (94) and runs scored (207) records. Jurden currently leads all of Division-III in stolen bases for the 2022 season with 43 so far this season.

Strother, a 2021 NFCA Third Team All-American, has had a stellar sophomore campaign three-peating as SCAC Pitcher of the Week - winning the award four times in total this season - as well as receiving national honors as National Pitcher of the Week from the NFCA on March 15. Strother currently leads the SCAC and is fourth nationally in strikeouts with 134 and wins (14) in 15 appearances. Strother also leads the SCAC and is 17th nationally in earned run average with a 0.80 ERA. Strother is 10th in the country in hits allowed per game (3.59) highlighted by a no-hitter against Austin College on March 19.

Martin, a 2021 All-West Region Second Team selection, is having a career year as she is currently leading the SCAC and is fourth in the country in hits with 44. Martin is third in the country in walks, drawing 18 walks this season. Martin leads the SCAC in batting average (.473) and on-base percentage (.561), and runs scored (35) and is second in stolen bases (25) and RBIs (20).

Jurden, Strother, and Martin and the No. 3 Texas Lutheran softball team travel to Houston, Texas, to face the second place University of St. Thomas Celts April 8-9 in a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 PM on Friday, April 8th. All streaming and live stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter and Instagram (@TLUsoftball) 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, @tlubulldogs on Instagram and Facebook, and @tlu_athletics on TikTok).