Cajuns Place Three on NFCA Division I All-America List

LAFAYETTE – Lexie Elkins became the sixth player in program history to earn All-American status for the third time in a career, highlighting the list of Ragin' Cajuns Softball's All-American honors announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday.

Elkins, an All-American choice for the third straight season (2014-16) overall, was selected at catcher on the NFCA Division I All-America First Team for the second straight season.

Elkins becomes the first Cajun to receive first team All-American honors in consecutive seasons since Cheryl Longeway in 1995 and 1996. She joins Lynn Britton (1993-96) and Kyla Hall (1992-94) as the only Cajuns to receive an All-American honor in three consecutive seasons.

Junior pitcher Alex Stewart and sophomore outfielder Aleah Craighton were both selected to the NFCA Division I All-America Second Team, at their respective positions, giving the Ragin' Cajuns multiple All-American selections for the sixth consecutive season (2011-16).

"When we look at individual awards, especially All-Americans, it's not only a reflection of those individual players, but also a reflection of the entire program, the University and more importantly the fan base," Ragin' Cajuns Softball head coach Michael Lotief said. "Hopefully there are a lot of people that take pride in these kids receiving our sports highest honor."

The selection of Elkins, Craighton and Stewart to the 2016 NFCA Division I All-America team increases the total number of All-American selections in Ragin' Cajuns Softball history to 51.

Adding Craighton and Stewart to the list with their first career All-American selections, there are now 31 different Ragin' Cajuns that have been bestowed All-American honors.

"A big reason for the honor is their preparation, skill set, numbers and how they competed," Lotief added. "But in the bigger picture it's about this connection between the fan base, University and the community in nurturing these kids to be motivated to be the best that they can be.

"What a great honor for Ragin' Cajun Nation and all of 'Us'," Lotief remarked. "It's a day to be extremely proud."

It's the 25th time in the past 28 seasons – dating back to 1989 – that Louisiana has had at least one individual named to the All-America team. The three selections mark the highest total since the 2012 season (Nerissa Myers, Christi Orgeron and Katie Smith) and the 15th time overall that the Ragin' Cajuns have produced multiple All-Americans in a single season.

Elkins is the first student-athlete to garner a third career All-American honor in a Cajuns uniform since Danyele Gomez in 2006. The complete list of Ragin' Cajuns softball student-athletes with three career All-American honors includes: Lynn Britton (1993-96), Tiffany Clark (1997, 1999-2000), Stephanie DeFeo (1994-95, 1997), Elkins (2014-16), Gomez (2003, 2005-06) and Kyla Hall (1992-94).

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NPF Draft and first-ever three-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year winner, Elkins hit above .500 the entire season to become first player in Ragin' Cajuns Softball history to finish the season with a .500-plus average (hit .509 in 2016).

She hit .561 with 11 home runs and 26 RBI in the season's opening month and had piled up 13 multiple-hit and 12 multiple RBI games through end of March (29 games) prior to a thumb injury that sideline her for the final six weeks of the regular season. The Victoria, Texas, product was the NCAA's leader in average, home runs, slugging percentage and on base percentage through March.

Elkins grabbed hold of the No. 2 spot on school's career home run chart at 72 career home runs on March 19 at UT Arlington. She joined Danyele Gomez (83), Holly Tankersely (71) and Christi Orgeron (70) as the lone individuals in program history to reach the 70-home run plateau.

Stewart, the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, joins a select group of pitchers in Ragin' Cajuns history to be named an All-American. She's the sixth overall, joining Stefni (Whitton) Lotief (1989-90), Kyla Hall (1992-94), Cheryl Longeway (1995-96), Brooke Mitchell (2004) and Christina Hamilton (2014) on the list.

In her breakout season as the team's lead pitcher, Stewart (29-6, 1.94 ERA) garnered five wins over ranked teams including a pair over NCAA Super Regional participant Oregon. Her 29 victories rank Top 5 in the NCAA stats, while her walks per seven innings, shutouts and earned run average are included in the Top 50.

She began the season with 35-2/3 consecutive walk-free innings and yielded only 37 through 209 innings. The Zionsville, Ind., native reached eight strikeouts 10 times, twice tying her career-high of 11 (Troy, Texas State).

Stewart posted a 13-0 start in Sun Belt play to lead the Cajuns to the outright conference championship prior to the final weekend of the regular season. She pitched a complete game shutout in five consecutive Sun Belt starts (Mar. 19-Apr. 3) and held the opposition scoreless in Sun Belt Conference series against UT Arlington (7.0 innings), Troy (12.0 innings), Texas State (14.0 innings) and ULM (17.0 innings).

Craighton set personal season-bests for doubles (12), home runs (18), RBI (56) and extra base hits (32) in 2016. Over half of hits went for extra bases (32-of-56) leading to a career-best .851 slugging percentage.

She ranks Top 10 nationally in slugging percentage, Top 20 in home runs, Top 40 in runs per game and Top 50 in RBI per game. The Prairieville, La., native scored a career-high 56 runs, reached 40-plus hits and RBI a second straight season and registered 13 multiple-RBI games.

Craighton was named the Most Outstanding Player at Sun Belt Conference Tournament after hitting .667 with a double, triple, home run and tournament-high nine RBI. In Sun Belt regular season play, she led the league in slugging percentage (1.069), on base percentage (.593), runs (33) and home runs (11).

The Ragin' Cajuns finished the 2016 campaign with a 46-9 record. Louisiana claimed its third straight Sun Belt Conference regular championship and 14th in the 16 years of league competition since 2001. The squad hosted an NCAA Regional at Lamson Park for the fourth time in the past five years and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional for the fifth straight year.

For more information on Ragin' Cajuns softball, fans can follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball) and Twitter (@RaginCajunSB).

RAGIN' CAJUNS SOFTBALL ALL-AMERICANS ARCHIVE
1989: Stefni Whitton
1990: Stefni Whitton (1st)
1991: Dorsey Steamer
1992: Dorsey Steamer (1st), Cathy Sconzo, Kyla Hall
1993: Kyla Hall (1st), Lynn Britton
1994: Kyla Hall (1st), Kathy Morton (1st), Stephanie DeFeo (1st), Lynn Britton, Alyson Habetz, Lana Jimenez
1995: Cheryl Longeway (1st), Kathy Morton (1st), Lynn Britton, Stephanie DeFeo, Lana Jimenez, Tiffany Whittall
1996: Cheryl Longeway (1st), Lynn Britton
1997: Stephanie DeFeo, Tiffany Clark
1999: Tiffany Clark, Kelli Bruce
2000: Tiffany Clark (1st), Jana Mower
2001: Alana Addison
2002: Becky McMurtry
2003: Danyele Gomez, Becky McMurtry
2004: Brooke Mitchell (1st)
2005: Danyele Gomez
2006: Danyele Gomez (1st)
2008: Holly Tankersley (1st)
2009: Karli Hubbard
2011: Gabriele Bridges, Christi Orgeron
2012: Christi Orgeron (1st), Nerissa Myers, Katie Smith
2013: Brianna Cherry, Sarah Draheim
2014: Lexie Elkins, Christina Hamilton
2015: Lexie Elkins (1st), Shellie Landry
2016: Lexie Elkins (1st), Aleah Craighton, Alex Stewart

2016 NFCA Division I All-American Teams
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

Second Team
Pos.                                                  Player                        School
Pitcher                                              Kylee Hanson             Florida Atlantic University
Pitcher                                             Alex Stewart              University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Pitcher                                              Megan Betsa              University of Michigan
Catcher                                             Erika Piancastelli        McNeese State University
First Base                                          Alex Powers               Florida State University
Second Base                                    Emily Carosone          Auburn University
Third Base                                        Mysha Sataraka         University of California, Los Angeles
Shortstop                                          Delaney Spaulding     University of California, Los Angeles
Outfield                                            Aleah Craighton        University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Outfield                                             Erin Miller                    University of Oklahoma
Outfield                                             Lindsey Stephens      University of Texas
Utility/Pitcher                                     Erica Nunn                 University of South Florida
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher                    Kayli Kvistad               University of Florida
At-Large/Pitcher                                Sydney Littlejohn        University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
At-Large/Shortstop                            Nikki Udria                  University of Oregon
At-Large/DP or Utility/Non Pitcher      Shay Knighten           University of Oklahoma
At-Large/First Base                           Leona Lafaele            University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
At-Large/Shortstop                            Ali Aguilar                   University of Washington

Third Team
Pos.                                                  Player                        School
Pitcher                                              Nisa Ontiveros            University of California, Berkeley
Pitcher                                              Cheridan Hawkins       University of Oregon
Pitcher                                              Jessica Burroughs      Florida State University
Catcher                                             Emily Naegele            Northern Illinois University
First Base                                          Jade Rhodes              Auburn University
Second Base                                    Hannah Flippen          University of Utah
Third Base                                        Bianka Bell                 Louisiana State University
Shortstop                                          Sami Fagan                University of Missouri, Columbia
Outfield                                             Amanda Lorenz          University of Florida
Outfield                                             Karley Wester             University of Notre Dame
Outfield                                             Allexis Bennett           University of California, Los Angeles
Utility/Pitcher                                     Rainey Gaffin             University of Tennessee, Knoxville
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher                    Cammi Prantl              Ohio State University
At-Large/First Base                           Tina Iosefa                 University of Georgia
At-Large/DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher      Vanessa Shippy         Oklahoma State University
At-Large/Third Base                          Jessica Warren           Florida State University
At-Large/First Base                           Tori Vidales                Texas A&M University, College Station
At-Large/Outfield                               Kiki Stokes                 University of Nebraska, Lincoln
At-Large/DP or Utility/Non Pitcher      Sahvanna Jaquish     Louisiana State University
At-Large/Outfield                               Taylor Glover              California State University, Northridge

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Players Mentioned

Aleah Craighton

Lexie Elkins

Christina Hamilton

Shellie Landry

Alex Stewart