Posted: Jul 11, 2022

TLU Softball's Kelly Jurden Named Winner of 2022 SCAC Woman of the Year Award

Texas Lutheran softball outfielder Kelly Jurden (Brenham/Brenham) was named the winner of the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Woman of the Year Award, in exclusive voting by the Senior Woman Administrators of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The SCAC announced Jurden as the winner Tuesday and Jurden becomes TLU's and TLU softball's third student-athlete to earn this honor, joining Amanda Lochte (2017) and DeAnna Hernandez (2020). Jurden is now nominated by the SCAC to be considered for the 32nd annual NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

"Kelly is one of the most decorated softball players in the history of Texas Lutheran University," said TLU Athletics Director Bill Miller. "She is the epitome of what we want all of our student-athletes to strive for. A tremendous athlete and an outstanding student, Kelly received the highest honors that Texas Lutheran awards for both athletics achievement and sportsmanship. We are extremely proud of what she has accomplished on the field and in the classroom. She is a winner, and her achievements as a TLU softball player are unequaled in program history."

Jurden finished her athletic career as one of the most decorated athletes in Texas Lutheran history. She put together yet another staggering statistical season in 2022, breaking the NCAA single-season stolen base record (77) and all-time individual career stolen bases record (246) while spearheading a TLU offense that would break the single-season team stolen base record with 231 stolen bases on the season.

She is departing Texas Lutheran as the school's all-time leader in at-bats (621), runs (234), hits (260), stolen bases (242), walks (106), and on-base percentage (.503). Jurden is also the SCAC's all-time leader in career hits, walks, runs, and stolen bases. In 2021, she was named to the SCAC 30th Anniversary softball team.

Jurden is a three-time NFCA All-American for her performance on the field, and is TLU's all-time winningest player, finishing with a record of 179-24 over the course of five seasons with the Bulldogs winning a 2019 National Championship - the first in TLU softball history, claiming NCAA Runner-Up in 2021, and four SCAC Championships.

"Kelly has had a remarkable career at TLU," said Texas Lutheran head softball coach Wade Wilson. "She has been a role model in the classroom and on the field. It was an honor to spend the last five years with her. She is a great human being and going to do big things in this world."

Off the field, Jurden is a rare four-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and the first in TLU softball history, including CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American and Academic All-America Team Member of the Year in 2022. She also served on the Texas Lutheran Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2018-21), including taking the role of Secretary and Treasurer from 2020-21. In her spare time, Jurden served as a Waggin Tailz Rescue Training Volunteer and a Collaborative Learning Assistant Tutor.

"My time as a student athlete at Texas Lutheran University has allowed me to grow into a better leader, teammate, and woman," said Jurden. "Competing at the Division III level for five years, I was able to truly dedicate myself to the sports I love and the people I love, all while getting an excellent education."

Although COVID-19 cut her junior season short and pushed volleyball (the other sport she competed as a varsity student-athlete) into the spring season her senior season and no longer allowed her to play both sports, Jurden was able to find a positive in the midst of the pandemic.

"I was fortunate enough to take advantage of my extra year of eligibility and earn a Master's degree while finishing out my softball career," said Jurden. "While finishing my advanced degree in Data Analytics, I have been able to start my career in the sports analytics field where I have been working as an account manager and product developer for a softball analytics company, SoftballCloud. In-game data capture has been very prominent in professional and college baseball, but SoftballCloud is working hard to bring the same level of data collection and player development resources to the softball world. I am very excited to continue working on the development of technology and analytics for the girls and women who love softball as much as I do."

Jurden earned a Master's in Data Analytics (4.00 GPA), after earning an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Data Analytics (3.97 GPA).

Eligible female student-athletes are nominated by their schools, then each conference office reviews the nominations from its members and submits a conference nominee to the NCAA. The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then selects the NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.

In conjunction with the changes in the nomination process for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Woman of the Year award was established for the 2005-06 athletic season. Beginning in 2006, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) started receiving conference-designated nominees in lieu of the previous institution- and state-based nomination format.

From 1991 to 2005, each state had a woman of the year honoree and from that group 10 finalists were selected. From the top-10 finalists, the national winner was then chosen. Since 2006, each conference and independent school forwards nominations to the NCAA.