Prebble Named Candidate For Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Award
April 19, 2018 | Softball
It was announced today that Prebble was named to the Shutt Sports / NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Top 25 list.
"We are so excited for Katie," said head coach Tom Cole. "She is not just an exceptional freshman, she is an exceptional player and person. Katie's attitude, work ethic and faith make her truly special. God has blessed her, and through her, he has blessed us."
Despite not being done with her freshman campaign, Prebble already finds herself in the Gardner-Webb softball record book and among the nation's leaders in several statistical categories.
On March 10, her two-run home run to center field broke Gardner-Webb's single season home run record. It was her 13th of the year at the time, and since then she has smashed eight more, including one against Charlotte yesterday afternoon.
In a three-game series against Liberty, Prebble went 3-for-8 with a home run and a pair of RBIs. She set two records in that series, becoming the new record holder for RBIs and extra base hits in a season.
Just one weekend later, Prebble and the Runnin' Bulldogs hosted Charleston Southern, and she set the single season total bases record.
To date, she is hitting .421 (51-for-121) with 21 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 125 total bases. She has a slugging percentage of 1.033 and an on-base percentage of .517. In the field, she has recorded an impressive 318 putouts and has a .985 fielding percentage.
Currently, she leads the nation in home runs, home runs per game, RBIs and RBIs per game and slugging percentage. She is third in total bases, trailing only Seattle University's Madison Cathcart and Mississippi State's Mia Davidson.
On May 10, the list of 25 freshman will be trimmed down to the top 10, while the top three finalists will be selected and released on May 23. The Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented during a live ceremony at the Women's College World Series banquet on May 29.
Prebble is one of four first basemen on the list, joining Patricia Awald (Kennesaw State), Danielle Gibson (Arizona State) and Alison Seng (Boise State)
Below is the complete list of freshman named to the National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list.
NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25
Hannah Adams, 2B, Florida
Jocelyn Alo, DP/OF, Oklahoma
Patricia Awald, 1B, Kennesaw State
Meghan Beaubien, P, Michigan
Payton Buresch, P, James Madison
Georgina Corrick, P, USF
Sophie Dandola, P, Hofstra
Mia Davidson, C, Mississippi State
Danielle Gibson, 1B, Arizona State
Mary Haff, P, Arkansas
Naomi Hernandez, OF, Long Beach State
Mary Iakopo, C/DP, Oregon
Janae Jefferson, 2B, Texas
Aaliyah Jordan, OF, UCLA
Rachel Lewis, 2B, Northwestern
Kelsey Oh, P, South Carolina
Briana Perez, SS, UCLA
Gabbie Plain, P, Washington
Katie Prebble, 1B, Gardner-Webb
Paige Rauch, 2B/P, Fordham
Alison Seng, 1B/DP, Boise State
Sydney Sherrill, 2B, Florida State
Kaylee Tow, OF, Alabama
Sadie Wise, OF, Saint Louis
Brooke Yanez, P, UC Davis
