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IRVINE, Calif. - The Big West has announced its major award winners and all-conference teams for the 2024 softball campaign following the conclusion of the regular season four days ago.
Cal Poly highlights the list of representatives sporting three Mustangs on the major award list. Jessica Clements claims The Big West Player of the Year while Julia Barnett takes home Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Cal Poly's skipper, Jenny Condon received The Big West Coach of the Year accolade to round out the list of major award recipients for the Mustangs.
Cal State Fullerton sees two student-athletes capture major awards with Haley Rainey winning Big West Pitcher of the Year and Peyton Toto taking Co-Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
The Big West Freshman of the Year will be split between Lulu Sanchez of CSUN and Ainsley Waddell of UC Santa Barbara who both had phenomenal first year campaigns.
Ashley Sawai of UC Davis rounds out the list of major award winners as The Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year.
Clements contributed a team-high 71 hits (2nd in Big West) for Cal Poly in 2024 with 15 going for extra bases and five home runs. The Salinas, Calif. native paced the league with a .464 batting average and at a point in time led all Division I batters hitting at a career-high .505 clip back in the beginning of April.
Rainey was revealed as The Big West Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference in Earned Run Average (1.76), Opposing Batting Average (.213), Wins (17) and second in strikeouts with 147 total. The pitcher also produced a pair of no-hitters this season versus Pacific and Big West foe UC Santa Barbara while winning Pitcher of the Week twice in 2024. Rainey racked up a 15-6 record in 2024 across a new career-high 148.1 innings of work as the Titans ace.
Coach Condon guided Cal Poly to an impressive 18-8 (.692) Big West record and 28-17 overall mark in 2024. This is the fourth time Condon has received COTY in the skipper's 20th year at the helm. The Mustangs swept four of its Big West series this season while Condon coached three batters to finish hitting above a .300 piece this year. Following 2024, Condon has collected a record of 206-210 in conference play and notched 18 Big West wins for the first time since 2009.
Barnett recorded a career-best 253 putouts while splitting time at catcher and in the infield along with 26 assists. The senior sits atop The Big West after tagging 19 runners caught stealing this season. Toto of the Titans takes a share of the award after leading the league in putouts (337), total chances (361) and ranks second place in fielding double plays (14), and third in overall fielding percentage, just underneath 1.000 (0.997).
Sanchez of CSUN resides in the top 15 of these Big West hitting categories in batting average (.339), slugging percentage (.500), and RBI (24). Waddell did it all for UCSB this season splitting time in the circle and as a hitter, accumulating a team-best .523 slugging percentage and RBI (35) for the Gauchos. Waddell was awarded Big West Freshman of the Week four times while Sanchez saw the distinction twice this season.
Sawai secured Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year recognition after spinning a 2.04 ERA in conference across 37.2 innings of work while amassing 127 total strikeouts this season.
Clements, Rainey, Sanchez, and Toto are joined on the 15-member All-Big West First Team alongside Long Beach State's trio Sophia Fernandez, Makayla Medellin, and Jocylyn Vidal.
Fernandez fired a Beach-best 86 strikeouts as LBSU's ace in 159.2 innings of work. The Torrance, Calif. native tossed 14 total complete games, 12 of which were against conference opponents. Both Medellin and Vidal lead the Beach in overall batting averages of .384 and .295 apiece. Medellin, the 2023 Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year, also managed to be the team leader in hits with 56 as Vidal trailed in second place with 33.
Sophia Ramuno of Cal Poly earns recognition on the first team after securing a spot on the 2023 All-Big West Freshman Team last year. The sophomore finished the season top-3 in The Big West in ERA (2.31), OBB (.229), innings pitched (160.1) and tops in batters struck out with an outstanding 160 sit downs.
The Titan duo of Staci Chambers and Megan Delgadillo also dot the first-team list. Delgadillo broke the leagues stolen base record this season and now sits atop Big West supremacy with 145 total stolen bases. The Riverside, Calif. native broke more records during the 2024 campaign by becoming the Titans all-time hit leader (265) and set the program record for most individual runs scored (168). Chambers helped contribute to a bullpen that produced a conference-best 2.26 ERA while spinning an individual mark of 2.16, ranking second overall in The Big West behind teammate Rainey.
CSUN's Mikayla Carmen also made it as a first-teamer for the second straight season after finishing top-5 in The Big West with 58 hits and top-5 in doubles with 10.
2023 Big West Player of the Year Anna Dethlefson did damage for the Aggies in 2024 as the team leader in batting (.322), at bats (149), runs (34) and hits (48).
UC Riverside's pair of Kat Montuya and Nadia Witt see themselves as first teamers after ranking first and second on the Highlanders, hitting a .386 and .349 apiece.
Madelyn NcNally of UC Santa Barbara made way on the All-Big West first team again after finishing as only one of three Big West student athletes to complete the season hitting above a .400 clip this season.
Thirteen more conference standouts including Waddel and Sawai secured position on the All-Big West second team, including the likes of UC Riverside's Gigi Araki, Cal State Fullerton's Hannah Becerra, Kenedi Brown of UC Davis, CSUN's Lauryn Carranco, Cal Poly's Xiara Diaz, Izabella Martinez and Maya Nakamura of Hawai'i, UC Santa Barbara's Alexa Sams, Sarah Starks of UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton's Bailey Wallace and CSUN's Shaylan Whatman.
Accompanying Sanchez and Waddell on the All-Freshman team are Kate Barnett of Long Beach State, Dani Hunter of Cal State Bakersfield, Brooklyn Lee of UC San Diego, Elise Nishimura of UC Riverside, Lexi O'Gorman of UC San Diego, Sarah Perez of Cal State Fullerton, Ashley Sawai of UC Davis, and Kate Verhoef of Cal State Fullerton.
The Big West's 2024 softball regular season campagin concluded when Cal State Fullerton clinched The Big West's automatic qualifier and punched its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Championship and will compete in the Stanford Regional against Mississippi State on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT, available on ESPN+.
| 2024 Big West Softball All-Conference Team |
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Player of the Year: Jessica Clements, Cal Poly
Pitcher of the Year: Haley Rainey, Cal State Fullerton
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Julia Barnett, Cal Poly
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Peyton Toto, Cal State Fullerton
Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year: Lulu Sanchez, CSUN
Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year: Ainsley Waddell, UC Santa Barbara
Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Ashley Sawai, UC Davis
Coach of the Year: Jenny Condon, Cal Poly |
| 2024 All-Big West First Team |
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Mikayla Carman |
Jr. |
OF |
CSUN |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| Staci Chambers |
Jr. |
P |
Cal State Fullerton |
El Cajon, Calif. |
| Jessica Clements |
Jr. |
OF |
Cal Poly |
Salinas, Calif. |
| Megan Delgadillo |
Sr. |
OF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Riverside, Calif. |
| Anna Dethlefson |
Sr. |
C/OF |
UC Davis |
Fair Oaks, Calif. |
| Sophia Fernandez |
Sr. |
P |
Long Beach State |
Torrance, Calif. |
| Madelyn McNally |
Sr. |
INF |
UC Santa Barbara |
La Habra, Calif. |
| Makayla Medellin |
So. |
OF |
Long Beach State |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| Kat Montuya |
Sr. |
INF |
UC Riverside |
Vallejo, Calif. |
| Haley Rainey |
Jr. |
P |
Cal State Fullerton |
Adna, Wash. |
| Sophia Ramuno |
So. |
P |
Cal Poly |
San Diego, Calif. |
| Lulu Sanchez |
Fr. |
OF |
CSUN |
La Mirada, Calif. |
| Peyton Toto |
Sr. |
INF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Antelope, Calif. |
| Jocylyn Vidal |
Sr. |
INF |
Long Beach State |
La Puente, Calif. |
| Nadia Witt |
Gr. |
OF |
UC Riverside |
Keizer, Ore. |
| 2024 All-Big West Second Team |
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| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Gigi Araki |
Sr. |
C |
UC Riverside |
Wahiawa, Hawai'i |
| Hannah Becerra |
Sr. |
INF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Diamond Bar, Calif. |
| Kenedi Brown |
Sr. |
P |
UC Davis |
Elk Grove, Calif. |
| Lauryn Carranco |
So. |
P |
CSUN |
Clovis, Calif. |
| Xiara Diaz |
Sr. |
INF |
Cal Poly |
Brentwood, Calif. |
| Izabella Martinez |
Jr. |
C/INF |
Hawai'i |
Garden Grove, Calif. |
| Maya Nakamura |
Sr. |
UTL |
Hawai'i |
Honolulu, Hawai'i |
| Alexa Sams |
Jr. |
OF |
UC Santa Barbara |
La Mirada, Calif. |
| Ashley Sawai |
Fr. |
P |
UC Davis |
Torrance, Calif. |
| Sarah Starks |
Sr. |
INF |
UC Davis |
Gilroy, Calif. |
| Ainsley Waddell |
Fr. |
P/UTL |
UC Santa Barbara |
San Carlos, Calif. |
| Bailey Wallace |
Sr. |
OF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Alpine, Calif. |
| Shaylan Whatman |
R-Sr. |
INF/C |
CSUN |
Glenmore Park, New South Wales, Australia |
| Honorable Mention: Elicia Acosta (C/UTL, UC Santa Barbara), Mya'Liah Bethea (UTL, Hawai'i), Kiara Blanchard (OF, Cal Poly), Chloe Borges (P/OF, Hawai'i), India Caldwell (P, UC San Diego), Rebekah Durazo (C, Long Beach State), Morgan Eng (OF, UC San Diego), Logan-Ray Gaspar (INF, Cal State Bakersfield), Maddie Heinlin (P, UC Riverside), Kaia Johnson (OF, Cal State Bakersfield), Haley Johnson (DP/C, Dallas Millwood (DP/C, Hawai'i), Hailey Mulligan (INF, UC San Diego), Lexi O'Gorman (P, UC San Diego), Sara Olson (OF, Long Beach State), Bella Pahulu (INF, UC Davis), Deena Pederson (UTL, UC San Diego), Leah Polson (UTL, UC Davis), Jazzy Santos (INF, UC Santa Barbara), Juju Sargent (INF, Cal Poly), Kate Verhoef (OF, Cal State Fullerton) |
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| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Kate Barnett |
Fr. |
P |
Long Beach State |
Nipomo, Calif. |
| Dani Hunter |
Fr. |
P/INF |
Cal State Bakersfield |
Stockton, Calif. |
| Brooklyn Lee |
Fr. |
C |
UC San Diego |
La Verne, Calif. |
| Elise Nishimura |
Fr. |
INF |
UC Riverside |
Carlsbad, Calif. |
| Lexi O' Gorman |
Fr. |
OF |
UC San Diego |
San Carlos, Calif. |
| Sarah Perez |
Fr. |
INF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Whittier, Calif. |
| Lulu Sanchez |
Fr. |
OF |
CSUN |
La Mirada, Calif. |
| Ashley Sawai |
Fr. |
P |
UC Davis |
Torrance, Calif. |
| Kate Verhoef |
Fr. |
OF |
Cal State Fullerton |
Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Ainsley Waddell |
Fr. |
P/UTL |
UC Santa Barbara |
San Carlos, Calif. |
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