Elkins Named One of Four Nominees for Honda Award

LAFAYETTE – Ragin' Cajuns Softball senior and three-time NFCA Division I All-American Lexie Elkins is one of four nominees for the Honda Sport Award for softball as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA), on Friday.

The other candidates are Megan Good (James Madison), Haylie McCleney (Alabama) and Sierra Romero (Michigan).

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 40 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics".

The Honda Sport award winner for softball will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2016 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 27, 2016, in the Founders' Room at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in downtown Los, Angeles.

The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Earlier this week, Elkins joined Lynn Britton and Kyla Hall as the only student-athletes in Ragin' Cajuns Softball history to be named an All-American in three consecutive seasons (2014-16) and the first to receive back-to-back first-team honors since 1995-96 (Cheryl Longeway).

The first-ever three-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year and Top 10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, Elkins hit above .500 the entire 2016 season to become the first Ragin' Cajun to finish a season with a .500-plus average (.509).

The Victoria, Texas product grabbed hold of the No. 2 spot on program's career home run chart on March 19 at UT Arlington and concluded her collegiate career with 75 career home runs – accomplished in three seasons after hitting none as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2013 – which ranks 12th all-time in NCAA history.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NPF draft held in April, Elkins signed with the National Pro Fastpitch's Pennsylvania Rebellion on Thursday and begins her professional career this summer.

The CWSA, celebrating its 40th year, has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.0 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.

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Players Mentioned

Lexie Elkins