Six Ohio Valley Conference softball student-athletes were named to National Fast Pitch Association (NFCA) All-Region teams. Southeast Missouri’s Abigail Rickermann was named to the All-Mideast first team while Eastern Illinois’ McKenzie Oslanzie and Jadin Justman earned All-Mideast second team honors. EIU’s Kendall Grover and SIUE’s Paige Rocha received a spot on the All-Midwest third team. Southern Indiana's Josie Newman was selected to the All-Midwest third team.
Rickermann led the Redhawks with a .361 batting average in 49 games and ranked second with 11 stolen bases. The senior scored 25 runs while collecting 44 hits, five doubles, 10 RBI and 13 walks. The second team All-OVC selection led SEMO with a ,431 on base percentage.
Oslanzie led the league with a 14-1 record, finished second in with 102.2 innings pitched, third with 73 strikeouts and fifth with a 1.64 ERA. The OVC Freshman of the Year also batted .277 in 65 at bats and hit three doubles, one home run and drove in 16 runners. The hurler was also an All-OVC first team pick and All-Newcomer.
Justman earned her third overall All-Region honor and her first at Eastern Illinois. The senior earned All-Region honors twice while playing at Green Bay. This season she ranked in the top three in the OVC in OPS while hitting .350 with eight home runs and 34 RBI. She set the school single season record for sacrifice flies with seven which ranked in the NCAA Top 10 for the season. Justman was a first team All-OVC selection and was selected as a member of the OVC All-Tournament team.
Grover adds the All-Region nod to her list of honors this season, along with All-OVC first team and OVC All-Tournament as well as being named OVC Co-Player of the Year. The sophomore ranked second in the league with 34 hits and 6 home runs during conference play. She finished in the top five in runs (22), RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.629).
Rocha, an OVC Co-Player of the Year, led the league with 41 hits and 30 runs in OVC play. She tied for the top batting average in OVC play hitting at a .418 clip and had a .602 slugging percentage in league action to rank second. The All-OVC first team pick finished in the top five of the conference with 10 doubles and a .458 on base percentage in Conference play.
Newman, the OVC Pitcher of the Year, finished OVC play with a league-leading 141 strikeouts while ranking second with 13 wins and opponents’ batting average (.198). The All-OVC first-team selection, tossed a league leading 131.2 innings. The junior was also selected to the OVC All-Tournament team.
A total of 376 student-athletes from 160 programs received 2024 NFCA Division I All-Region accolades. The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association’s 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region nominated student-athletes (eight maximum) and voted for the teams. All awarded student-athletes now become eligible for the 2024 NFCA Division I All-America squads. The 2024 NFCA Division I All-America teams, voted on by the NFCA DI All-American Committee, will be announced on Wednesday, May 29.
Mideast Region
First Team
2B - Abigail Rickermann, Southeast Missouri
Second Team
P - McKenzie Oslanzi, Eastern Illinois
DP or UT/Non-P – Jadin Justman, Eastern Illinois
Third Team
3B – Kendall Grover, Eastern Illinois
SS – Paige Rocha, SIUE
Midwest Region
Third Team
P – Josie Newman, Southern Indiana