LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nine total players from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference were named to the 2021 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III All-West Region Team, highlighted by five First Team selections including SCAC Player-of-the-Year Kelly Jurden and Pitcher-of-the-Year Ashlyn Strother.
Jurden and Strother were joined on the NFCA All-West Region First Team by TLU teammates Sarah Metzer, Chassety Raines and Rebecca Snow.
Jurden, a junior outfielder from Brenham, Texas is making her second appearance on the All-West Region First Team, having also earned recognition in 2019. She currently leads the SCAC in runs scored (51), walks (25), stolen bases (47) and on-base percentage (.597) and is second in hits (47). The 2019 SCAC Player-of-the-Year and a NFCA Second Team All-America selection, Jurden earned the Golden Shoe award from the NFCA that season when she led all of Division III in stolen bases. Heading into this year’s NCAA tournament, she is already the league’s all-time leader in runs scored (169) and stolen bases (160), second in walks (73) and seventh in career hits (189).
Strother, a first-year pitcher from Seabrook, Texas was also named First Team All-SCAC and is currently 10-1 with a league-best 0.91 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 69.0 innings of work. Her 8.62 per game ratio also leads the league and would be the ninth best single-season total in SCAC history. She had four shutouts this season (second in the conference) and her .169 batting average against also led the league.
Metzer, a First Team All-SCAC performer as a sophomore, was just recently named to the SCAC All-Tournament Team after helping guide TLU to its seventh-straight league title. The Sugar Land, Texas native handles the majority of the catching duties for the Bulldogs and is currently second on the team with a .520 batting average (26-for-50) to go along with 14 RBI, eight runs scored and six extra base hits.
Raines, who was also named to the SCAC First Team, is a valuable versatile player for the Bulldogs hitting .366 at the plate with 30 hits, 26 RBI, 22 runs scored, 21 stolen bases and seven extra base hits. The sophomore from Spring, Texas also earned six wins in the circle this season with a 2.15 ERA in more than 29 innings of work.
A First Team All-SCAC performer and All-Tournament Team honoree, Snow currently leads the SCAC in batting average (.535), RBI (46), doubles (15) and total bases (75). The Tomball, Texas native presently has 20 extra base hits, 16 walks and boasts an on-base percentage of .587. The senior registered both RBI in the Bulldogs’ 2-1 SCAC Tournament Championship win over Centenary earlier this month.
In addition, four SCAC players were named to the second in the West Region including Texas Lutheran’s first-year pitcher Sydney Ouellette, sophomore second baseman Casey Martin, junior outfielder Skylar Ouellette and St. Thomas’ first-year shortstop Mia Terry. Terry was named First Team All-SCAC, while Ouellette, Martin and Ouellette were all named Second Team All-SCAC.
Top-ranked and defending national champion Texas Lutheran led all schools with eight All-Region selections.
All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which will be announced on May 24th.
To view the entire NFCA All-Region teams, click here.
