IRVING, Texas – Wichita State dominated the awards cycle by taking home four of the five major regular-season awards during the 2021 American Athletic Conference softball season. The conference unveiled its major award winners, all-conference teams and all-rookie team on Wednesday as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
Wichita State’s Sydney McKinney became the second Shockers player to ever earn American Player of the Year, while USF’s Georgina Corrick extended her own conference mark with a third straight American Pitcher of the Year trophy. Wichita State’s Kaylee Huecker and Addison Barnard claimed the first American Defensive Player of the Year and American Rookie of the Year honors in program history, and Kristi Bredbenner and her staff at Wichita State were named the unanimous American Coaching Staff of the Year.