(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran Athletic Communications)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Texas Lutheran outfielder Kelly Jurden has been named a finalist for the 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III Player of the Year award.
Fifteen student-athletes have been chosen as finalists for the 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Pitcher and Player of the Year.
The award, which was established in 2016 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements of softball players in NCAA Division III, was split into separate Player and Pitcher of the Year awards in 2019.
Jurden, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and TLU all-time record-holder for steals (currently 160) and runs (currently 169), is a two-time SCAC Offensive Player of the Year and the 2021 TLU Female Student-Athlete of the Year and 2021 TLU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Jurden is hitting .485 this year with 47 stolen bases (third-most in NCAA Division III and most per game in DIII). She has scored 51 runs in 32 games and has 25 walks. Her on-base percentage is .597.
Jurden and the Bulldogs are the top seed in the 2021 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Seguin, Texas Regional, which begins Friday at TLU's Ed Kruse Stadium. The Bulldogs are 28-4 overall and ranked second in the latest NFCA poll for NCAA Division III.
TLU is the defending national champion of NCAA Division III. The Bulldogs won the 2019 national championship.
The list of student-athletes is represented by 13 different programs and 13 conferences. The group consists of two graduate students, three seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and one freshman.
Two schools — George Fox and Virginia Wesleyan — have two finalists. Among those four, Virginia Wesleyan graduate student Hanna Hull is a two-time Player of the Year honoree.
The Old Dominion Athletic Conference and Northwest Conference had two selections each, while the American Southwest Conference, Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, Little East Conference, Middle Atlantic Conference, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, North Atlantic Conference, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and University Athletic Association all had one representative apiece.
The 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Pitcher and Player of the Year, selected by the NFCA Division III All-America Committee, will be revealed on June 3.
Past winners of the award are Lynchburg's Mackenzie Chitwood (Player) and Illinois Wesleyan's Ally Wiegand (Pitcher) in 2019, Hull in 2017 and 2018, and Texas-Tyler's Kelsey Batten in 2016. The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
