Megan Good is the first athlete to earn Player and Pitcher of the Year honors in the same season.
Good Selected Softball Player And Pitcher of the Year
Tim McDonnell
Championship Central |
2017 Championship Preview
RICHMOND, Va. – James Madison junior
Megan Good became the first student-athlete in conference history to earn CAA Player and Pitcher of the Year honors in the same season, headlining the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball all-conference awards and honors announced by the league on Tuesday.
A product of Mount Sidney, Va., Good received CAA Pitcher of the Year honors for the third consecutive season, but the Player of the Year accolade was the first of her sensational career. The remaining top honors featured two other representatives from the Dukes. Head coach
Mickey Dean won his fourth straight Coach of the Year award, while freshman pitcher/infielder
Odicci Alexander was selected as the Rookie of the Year – the Dukes’ fifth recipient of the top freshman award in the last six seasons. UNCW junior shortstop/second baseman
Kelsey Bryan made program history as the Seahawks’ first Defensive Player of the Year honoree, and just the second major award winner for the school all-time.
The All-CAA teams and major awards were determined via a vote by the league’s eight head coaches.
While primarily drawing attention with her dominant pitching numbers, Good has been equally consistent at the plate this spring. She finished the regular season batting .394 (second in the CAA) with 11 doubles, 10 homers and a league-high 51 RBI. Good has also drawn the most walks in the conference (24) and has struck out just 11 times in 160 total at-bats. The junior has already set single-season career-highs for her RBI total, along with scoring 30 runs.
In the circle, the right-handed Good continues to establish herself as one of the top pitchers in Division I. The junior leads the nation in wins with a 34-1 record and is second in Division I with a 0.47 earned run average. Over 202.7 innings of work, she has struck out 244 batters to go with a national-best 13 shutouts. Good’s wins and strikeouts totals are the most for a Duke in single-season history, while her 95 career victories currently ranks second in CAA history.
Good’s selection marked the sixth straight season that the CAA Player of the Year has come from JMU. Her three Pitcher of the Year awards are tied for second in league history behind Hofstra’s Olivia Galati, who took home four from 2010-13.
Bryan’s role for the Seahawks during a memorable 2017 campaign is hard to go unnoticed. The junior has been stout as UNCW’s starting shortstop, committing only six errors in 196 chances for an impressive .969 fielding percentage. She not only helped her team reach the postseason for the first time since 2007, but also is tied for the league lead with 119 assists over 48 starts this year. At the plate, she enters the championship tournament batting .325 on 41 hits to go with 28 runs scored. Bryan joins Carley Hughes (2007 Co-Player of the Year) as the only other Seahawk to take home one of the major individual conference honors.
Dean, now in his fifth year at the helm of the Dukes, has guided his program to four straight NCAA Softball Championship appearances, as well as a pair of CAA titles in the last three seasons. Including the 2017 squad, each of his five teams at JMU has won at least 40 games. Madison won 18 games in league play (versus two losses) for the second time in as many years and maintained a spot in both national polls for the entirety of the regular season, including a current No. 12 ranking. The Dukes have set single-season wins records every year under Dean, while their 47 victories in 2017 are three away from tying the record of 50 wins set one year ago. JMU has gone 88-9 in conference play since 2013, including an 11-4 showing in postseason league competition during that span.
Alexander contributed all over the field for JMU during her first collegiate season. The freshman registered a .341 average over 50 games, on top of making 27 appearances in the circle over 88.1 innings of work. She posted a 10-5 record (2.46 ERA) while sharing pitching duties with Good, and also chipped in seven home runs, seven doubles, and 33 RBI this spring.
In addition to the major awards, the conference also recognized its all-conference first and second teams, the all-rookie squad, and the 2017 all-academic team.
2017 All-CAA Softball Teams
| First Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Anna Steinmetz |
Delaware |
So. |
C |
Glen Mills, Pa. |
| Morgan Tolle |
James Madison |
Jr. |
1B |
Hudson, Fla. |
| Madison Naujokas |
James Madison |
Fr. |
2B |
Chicago, Ill. |
| Niki Prince |
James Madison |
Sr. |
SS |
Ashburn, Va. |
| Taylor DuPree |
College of Charleston |
Jr. |
3B |
Evans, Ga. |
| Taylor Newton |
James Madison |
Sr. |
OF |
Bradenton, Fla. |
| Kendyl Scott |
Towson |
Jr. |
OF |
La Quinta, Calif. |
| Kara Shutt |
Elon |
Jr. |
OF |
Greensboro, N.C. |
| Taylor Belfiore |
College of Charleston |
Fr. |
DP/UTIL/NP |
Summerville, S.C. |
| Megan Good |
James Madison |
Jr. |
UTIL/P |
Mount Sidney, Va. |
| Peyton Jordan |
UNCW |
Sr. |
P |
Waxhaw, N.C. |
| Kiandra Mitchum |
Elon |
Jr. |
P |
Mechanicsville, Va. |
| Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Carey Million |
Elon |
Sr. |
C |
Roebling, N.J. |
| Mariah Kondravy |
Delaware |
Jr. |
1B |
Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lauren Moore |
UNCW |
Sr. |
2B |
Farmville, N.C. |
| Kristin Hallam |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
SS |
Hamilton, N.J. |
| Kelly Sinclair |
College of Charleston |
So. |
SS |
Marietta, Ga. |
| Madyson Moran |
James Madison |
Sr. |
3B |
Taylor Mill, Ky. |
| Sara Garcia |
College of Charleston |
Jr. |
OF |
Santa Monica, Calif. |
| Brielle Pietrafessa |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
OF |
Pennsauken, N.J. |
| Alaina Hall |
Elon |
Sr. |
OF |
Suwanee, Ga. |
| Jordin Jones |
College of Charleston |
Jr. |
OF |
Inez, Texas |
| Holiday Cahill |
Towson |
Sr. |
DP/UTIL/NP |
Cypress, Calif. |
| Sarah Cornell |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
P |
Westbury, N.Y. |
| Sarah Davis |
UNCW |
Jr. |
P |
Burlington, N.C. |
| All-Rookie Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Odicci Alexander |
James Madison |
Fr. |
P/INF |
Boydton, Va. |
| Cambry Arnold |
James Madison |
Fr. |
INF/OF |
Mt. Gilead, Ohio |
| Taylor Belfiore |
College of Charleston |
Fr. |
C |
Summerville, S.C. |
| Izzy Berouty |
College of Charleston |
Fr. |
P |
Redondo Beach, Calif. |
| Sarah Cornell |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
P |
Westbury, N.Y. |
| Kristin Hallam |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
SS |
Hamilton, N.J. |
| Alyssa Irons |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
P |
Rock Creek, Ohio |
| Madison Naujokas |
James Madison |
Fr. |
INF |
Chicago, Ill. |
| Kierstin Roadcap |
James Madison |
Fr. |
INF/C |
Harrisonburg, Va. |
| Linda Rush |
Drexel |
Fr. |
SS |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
2017 Player of the Year: Megan Good, James Madison
2017 Coach of the Year: Mickey Dean, Jams Madison
2017 Rookie of the Year: Odicci Alexander, James Madison
2017 Pitcher of the Year: Megan Good, James Madison
2017 Defensive Player of the Year: Kelsey Bryan, UNCW
| All-Academic Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Megan Dejter |
Towson |
Jr. |
P |
Silver Spring, Md. |
| Leanna Gearhart |
Delaware |
Jr. |
SS |
Robbinsville, N.J. |
| Izzy McCluskey |
College of Charleston |
So. |
OF |
Columbus, Ga. |
| Lauren Moore |
UNCW |
Sr. |
SS/2B |
Farmville, N.C. |
| Erin Okoniewski |
Drexel |
R-Sr. |
OF/INF |
Reading, Pa. |
| Jessica Peslak |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
P |
Livingston, N.J. |
| Emily Roper |
Elon |
Sr. |
C/INF |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Ashley Samuels |
James Madison |
Jr. |
UTIL |
Doswell, Va. |