Kenedi Brown, UC Davis Softball Pitcher of the Week Junior • Pitcher • Elk Grove, Calif.

• Fourth-year junior ace Kenedi Brown went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA as UC Davis posted a dominant road sweep of league foe CSU Bakersfield, earning an eighth career Big West Softball Pitcher of the Week honor.

• Brown struck out 12 over 8.0 scoreless innings pitched and only surrendered two hits, both singles, and one walk.

• In Saturday’s series opener, the right-hander threw the first three frames with three strikeouts before handing it over to Mia Hildebrand for the final two innings to close out a shortened 11-2 win. Brown registered nine straight outs, all on the infield, after an infield single, wild pitch and walk began the outing.

• Sunday’s finale saw Brown fire a five-inning, run-rule shutout (12-0) with one hit and a season-high-tying nine strikeouts. Brown faced the minimum 15 Roadrunner batters, cleaning up a single to lead off the second by inducing a popout double play on the infield. The Elk Grove product struck out the side in order in the third, all swinging.

• Brown’s individual win-loss record for 2023 improved to 10-5, now with an ERA of 1.66.

• Brown’s initial Big West Pitcher of the Week honor this season was back on March 6, as the 2019 graduate of Sheldon High School joins Long Beach State’s Shannon Haddad and Cal State Fullerton’s Myka Sutherlin as two-time recipients for 2023. Brown was previously a three-time Big West Pitcher of the Week in both 2021 (March 8, April 12 and April 26) and 2022 (Feb. 14, Feb. 21 and March 14).

Also Nominated: Lauryn Carranco (CSUN), Jada Cecil (UC San Diego), Maddie Heinlin (UC Riverside), Malaya Johnson (UC Santa Barbara), Brianna Lopez (Hawai’i), Haley Rainey (Cal State Fullerton);

Libbie McMahan, UC Davis Softball Field Player of the Week Junior • Infielder • Santa Clarita, Calif.

• Libbie McMahan led UC Davis to a dominant sweep at CSU Bakersfield over the weekend by an aggregate score of 32-2 (all five-inning run rules), and became a first-time Big West Field Player of the Week.

• The true junior shortstop and No. 3 hitter in the Aggie order drove in the opening run of all three contests, in the first inning all three times, via sacrifice fly, bunt single, and RBI groundout. McMahan wound up hitting .714 (5-for-7) and slugging a team-best 1.143 with four runs, one home run, seven RBI, and one stolen base on two attempts.

• In Sunday’s series finale, McMahan followed up that RBI groundout in the first, with a second collegiate grand slam in the third, finishing with a game- and career-high five RBI.

• A Santa Clarita native and 2020 graduate of Saugus High School, McMahan also handled all five defensive chances cleanly at shortstop and was involved in one double play.

• With its first sweep of 2023, UC Davis improved to 18-11 overall and 5-4 in The Big West, good for fifth place (tied) in the league table.

• McMahan is UC Davis’ first Big West Field Player of the Week this season, and first since current teammate Anna Dethlefson a season ago on April 4, 2022.


Also Nominated: Mikayla Carman (CSUN), Haley Johnson (Hawai’i), Alexa Sams (UC Santa Barbara), Nadia Witt (UC Riverside);

Lauryn Carranco, CSUN Softball Freshman of the Week Freshman • Pitcher • Clovis, Calif.

• True freshman right-hander Lauryn Carranco tossed a first collegiate complete game, leading CSUN to a series-clinching 7-1 victory at home over first-place Long Beach State in Saturday’s finale to pick up a first Big West Freshman of the Week award.

• The Clovis native and 2022 graduate of Clovis High School threw all 7.0 frames against the Beach, allowing the one seventh-inning run on six hits (one double) and three walks while striking out three in the 115-pitch (74 strikes) performance. Carranco improved to 2-4 on the year.

• Carranco was perfect in the fourth and fifth, and also faced the minimum in the third thanks to an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

• The series win was CSUN’s first over LBSU since 2015 in Long Beach.

• Carranco is the second Matador to gain Big West Freshman of the Week recognition this season, following Isabella Alonso just two weeks ago on March 20.

Also Nominated: Key-annah Campbell-Pua (Hawai’i), Malaya Johnson (UC Santa Barbara), Brooke Perez (UC Riverside); 

2023 Big West Softball Weekly Winners