West Texas A&M third baseman Diana Murtha claimed Lone Star Conference Softball Player of the Year honors to highlight the 2024 softball awards, it was announced Wednesday by LSC officials at the championship reception.
A graduate student from Summerlin, Nev., Murtha opens postseason play leading the LSC with a .480 batting average to power a conference-best 17 home runs and 59 RBI. She ranks among the top 5 in doubles (20), runs scored (52), slugging percentage (1.064), walks (45), and on-base percentage (.615).
Angelo State junior Cheyenne Floyd was named LSC Pitcher of the Year after going 20-7 with a 1.75 ERA. Floyd struck out 148 batters over 144 innings of work in 32 appearances she logged 8 complete games and 1 save.
UT Tyler's Makayla Garcia was voted LSC Freshman of the Year. The utility player batted .361 with 22 RBI and 26 runs scored. Garcia also led the 10-player LSC All-Freshman Team.
The LSC Newcomer of the Year award was presented to UT Tyler junior pitcher Christin Haygood. The junior posted a 14-0 record with a 1.63 ERA and three saves.
West Texas A&M's coach Michael Mook was named LSC Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Buffs to the conference regular season co-championship and No. 1 ranking in the NFCA Coaches Poll.
The softball all-conference awards are determined by vote of the league’s head coaches, who select a 25-player first team with 16 recognized by position and nine at-large selections, followed by 15 players on the second and third teams.
2024 LSC SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
Special Recognition
Player of the Year: Diana Murtha, West Texas A&M
Pitcher of the Year: Cheyenne Floyd, Angelo State
Freshman of the Year: Makayla Garcia, UT Tyler
Newcomer of the Year: Christin Haygood, UT Tyler
Coach of the Year: Michael Mook, West Texas A&M
[The first 16 players on the First Team are the top-vote getters at their position; the next nine are at-large selections sorted in alphabetical order by team. The Second and Third Teams are at-large picks sorted in alphabetical order by team.]
First Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos |
Yr. |
Hometown |
|
| Samantha Gutierrez |
Eastern New Mexico |
C |
Jr. |
San Diego, Calif. |
|
| Victoria Gonzalez |
Texas A&M International |
1B |
Jr. |
Harlingen, Texas |
|
| Ericka Gomez |
St. Mary's |
2B |
Sr. |
Stafford, Texas |
|
| Courtney Plocheck |
UT Tyler |
SS |
Gr. |
Deer Park, Texas |
|
| Diana Murtha |
West Texas A&M |
3B |
Gr. |
Summerlin, Nev. |
|
| Reba Reyes |
St. Mary's |
OF |
Sr. |
Brownsville, Texas |
|
| Sam Schott |
UT Tyler |
OF |
Jr. |
Longview, Texas |
|
| JT Smith |
UT Tyler |
OF |
Jr. |
Decatur, Texas |
|
| Lauren Granger |
West Texas A&M |
OF |
So. |
Minnetonka, Minn. |
|
| Brittni Rufus |
West Texas A&M |
OF |
Sr. |
Mansfield, Texas |
|
| Cheyenne Floyd |
Angelo State |
P |
Jr. |
Liberty Hill, Texas |
|
| Genesis Armendariz |
UT Tyler |
P |
Gr. |
Hobbs, N.M. |
|
| Heidi Vortherms |
West Texas A&M |
P |
Jr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D. |
|
| Taighen Whitzel |
Eastern New Mexico |
DP |
Sr. |
Carlsbad, N.M. |
|
| Alondra Vasquez |
Eastern New Mexico |
UTL |
Sr. |
Santiago, Dominican Republic |
|
| Emilee Boyer |
West Texas A&M |
UTL/P |
So. |
Harrisburg, S.D. |
|
| Taylor Rowley |
Cameron |
SS |
Sr. |
Valley City, Kansas |
| Tiarra Delrosario |
Lubbock Christian |
OF |
Gr. |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Skylar Herrera |
Lubbock Christian |
SS |
Gr. |
Odessa, Texas |
| Jill Dickson |
Oklahoma Christian |
P |
So. |
Edmond, Okla. |
| Alyssa Leblanc |
Texas Woman's |
UTL |
Sr. |
Katy, Texas |
| Kayla Gonzales |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
SS |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Aaliyah Ortiz |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
3B |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Christin Haygood |
UT Tyler |
P |
Jr. |
Huffman, Texas |
| Nicole Price |
UT Tyler |
2B |
Jr. |
Baytown, Texas |
Second Team
| Keilei Garcia |
Angelo State |
C |
Sr. |
Hemet, Calif. |
| Tatiana Trotter |
Angelo State |
OF |
So. |
Lubbock, Texas |
| Mikenzey Patterson |
Eastern New Mexico |
OF |
Sr. |
Roswell, N.M. |
| Hope Banales |
Lubbock Christian |
OF |
Sr. |
Tucson, Ariz. |
| Maxine Valdez |
Lubbock Christian |
P |
Gr. |
Buda, Texas |
| Whitney Walde |
Oklahoma Christian |
C |
Sr. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Savannah Youngblood |
St. Mary's |
P |
Jr. |
Kingwood, Texas |
| Breana Carr |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
OF |
Sr. |
Kingsville, Texas |
| Lindsey Evans |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
OF |
Jr. |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Michelle Arias |
UT Tyler |
3B |
Gr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Audrey Escamilla |
UT Tyler |
C |
Gr. |
Welsaco, Texas |
| Makayla Garcia |
UT Tyler |
DP |
Fr. |
Lubbock, Texas |
| Cassidi Mullen |
UT Tyler |
OF |
Sr. |
Royse City, Texas |
| Gabriella Valforte |
West Texas A&M |
UTL |
Sr. |
Keller, Texas |
| Ramona Fossum |
Western New Mexico |
C |
Sr. |
Mescalero, N.M. |
Third Team
| Laylonna Applin |
Angelo State |
OF |
Fr. |
Stamford, Texas |
| Averie Gunther |
Angelo State |
3B |
Jr. |
Sachse, Texas |
| Kaiden Boren |
Cameron |
C |
Jr. |
Harrah, Okla. |
| Tinley Schmidgall |
Cameron |
DP |
Jr. |
Yuma, Ariz. |
| Cecilia Jurado |
Eastern New Mexico |
OF |
Gr. |
El Monte, Calif. |
| Marissa Rodriguez |
Eastern New Mexico |
P |
So. |
Buena Park, Calif. |
| Riley Flores |
Lubbock Christian |
2B |
So. |
Lubbock, Texas |
| Kamryn Gibbs |
Lubbock Christian |
OF |
Sr. |
Slaton, Texas |
| Grace Anderson |
Oklahoma Christian |
P |
Jr. |
Tishomingo, Okla. |
| Kiley Brewster |
Oklahoma Christian |
UTL |
So. |
Wichita, Kansas |
| Aaliyah Brown |
Oklahoma Christian |
1B |
Sr. |
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Lauren Gonzales |
St. Mary's |
OF |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Kennedy Griego |
Texas A&M International |
3B |
So. |
Covina, Calif. |
| Megan Guericke |
West Texas A&M |
1B |
Sr. |
Alexandria, S.D. |
| Ashley Mandell |
West Texas A&M |
P |
Fr. |
Lindstrom, Minn. |
All-Freshman Team
[Sorted in alphabetical order by team name]
| Laylonna Applin |
Angelo State |
UTL |
Stamford, Texas |
| Addison Lindemann |
Midwestern State |
P |
Holliday, Texas |
| Gabriela Banda |
St. Mary's |
INF |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Kylie Goad |
Texas A&M International |
RHP |
Henderson, Texas |
| Piper Morton |
Texas Woman's |
SS/C/OF |
Kilgore, Texas |
| Crimson Bryant |
UT Tyler |
P |
Sulphur Springs, Texas |
| Makayla Garcia |
UT Tyler |
UTL |
Lubbock, Texas |
| Ashley Mandell |
West Texas A&M |
P |
Lindstrom, Minn. |
| Emily Liskai |
West Texas A&M |
OF |
Waterville, Ohio |
| Hannah Martinez |
Western New Mexico |
MID/UTL |
Carlsbad, N.M. |