University of Southern Indiana Softball sophomore pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) is one of 50 student-athletes from across the country to be selected to the watch list for the NFCA/Schutt Sports Division II National Player of the Year award in an announcement by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Thursday.
Leonhardt, who was named second-team All-America by the NFCA a year ago and third-team All-America by the Division II Conference Commissioners’ Association, went 29-4 with a save, a 1.67 ERA and 191 strikeouts during her first year of collegiate softball.
The GLVC Freshman of the Year and D2CCA Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year ranked sixth in the nation and first in the GLVC with a single-season program-record 29 wins in 2017. She also led the GLVC and was 10th in the nation with 11 shutouts; and was second in the league and 24th, nationally, in strikeouts.
Leonhardt was named GLVC Pitcher of the Week three times as a freshman and was the Herosports.com Hero of the Week to begin the 2017 season.
She is one of three players from the Great Lakes Valley Conference and one of five players from the Midwest Region to be recognized on the watch list. The University of Missouri-St. Louis junior pitcher Carly Kingerly and Truman State University junior outfielder Christa Reisinger joined Leonhardt as GLVC players on the watch list.
Of the 50 players on the list, USI is slated to play games against seven of the players during the regular-season.
USI opened the 2018 season Thursday, falling to the University of North Alabama, 6-3, and defeating the University of Alabama-Huntsville, 9-1. Leonhardt earned the win over Alabama-Huntsville, giving up a run off three hits in five innings of work.
