ST LOUIS -- UNI softball has been recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference in their post-season awards.
The Panthers had six players named to All-Conference teams, tied for the most in program history since 2021 and 2017. Along with several players on All-Conference teams, UNI has won four specialty awards. Those awards include the second year in a row with the MVC Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.
Coach of the Year Ryan Jacobs/ Monica Wright/ Garrett Furnal For the second year in a row, the UNI Coaching Staff has been honored as the MVC Coach of the Year. Ryan Jacobs, Monica Wright, and Garrett Furnal in their first year as a staff put up a 31-13 overall record and 22-1 conference record, shattering several program records in the process. This is Head Coach Ryan Jacob's fifth Coaching Staff of the Year honor, winning in 2009, 2012, 2017, and 2021 while it is Assistant Coach Monica Wright's second year with the honor. The Panthers have won 30 games for the seventh time in Jacobs's tenure in 2022 and won a league-high 22 conference games. The Panthers took home 4 of the 6 MVC Specialty Awards (Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year).
Player of the Year/ Defensive Player of the Year/ First Team All-MVC/ All-Defensive Team C- Emmy Wells Sophomore catcher Emmy Wells earned the first specialty awards of her career as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. This is the first time that one athlete has been awarded both honors since the inception of the MVC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. Wells had a historic regular season for the Panthers, as she is in the top 3 in program records in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage. Wells finished the regular season on offense with a .319 batting average, 19 home runs, seven doubles, 51 RBIs, and a .857 slugging percentage. On defense, Wells made a team-high 372 putouts 24 assists, and a .988 fielding percentage. Wells was also named to the All-MVC First Team and the All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row. During the season, Wells was named the MVC Player of the Week twice on April 12 and April 26.
Freshman of the Year/ First Team All-MVC DP/UT-NP- Mya Dodge In her first year as a Panther, Mya Dodge made an immediate impact on the team with a team-leading batting average, runs, hits, and total bases. Dodge also made history for the Panthers as their first NFCA/Schutte Sports Freshman of the Year Top 25 candidate since the award's inception in 2014. Dodge led the team with a .367 batting average helped by 54 hits, eight doubles, and 13 home runs. Along with leading the team at the plate, Dodge led UNI in stolen bases with 20 through the regular season on 24 attempts. Dodge helped the Panthers have their best year on the bases since 1996. Dodge also helped in the field with 13 appearances in the outfield, making 11 putouts and 2 assists for a team-best 1.000 fielding percentage. Dodge was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week twice this season on March 8 and March 22.
First Team All-MVC 2B- Taylor Hogan Redshirt sophomore Taylor Hogan's success at the plate was recognized by the MVC for the first time in her collegiate career. Hogan led the Panthers in both doubles and triples with 10 and two respectively. Hogan also had a career-high batting average at .312 with 34 hits, 24 runs scored, four home runs, 23 RBIs, and a .550 slugging percentage. Hogan was also a strong force in the field for UNI with 67 putouts, 60 assists, and part of two double plays. Along with her work on the softball team, Hogan also balanced a successful diving season with UNI Swim and Dive through the non-conference portion of the season.
First Team All-MVC P- Kailyn Packard Redshirt junior Kailyn Packard continued her winning ways from the 2021 season into 2022. The former Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year shined again in 2022 with a 19-6 record and a league-leading 1.66 ERA. In her second year leading the Panthers from the mound, Packard pitched 20 complete games with five shutouts and one save. Packard pitched 164 innings for UNI with 196 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP. Packard was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week once this season on April 5.
Second Team All-MVC OF- Madison Parks Redshirt sophomore Madison Parks was recognized by the MVC for the first time as a Panther, being named to the All-MVC Second Team. Parks helped UNI on both sides of the ball, having one of the best eyes in the country and solid play in center field. In the 2022 season, Parks set career highs in batting average, (.319), hits (38), home runs (7), RBIs (25), slugging percentage (.543), and walks (33). Parks was also a force in the outfield, making 51 putouts and three assists for a .964 fielding percentage.
Second Team All-MVC P- Samantha Heyer Redshirt sophomore Samantha Heyer had a strong season in the circle as the Panthers number two pitcher. Heyer pitched in almost a third of UNI's games with a 10-3 record and 14 relief appearances. Heyer had the best season of her career with a 1.89 ERA, 142 strikeouts in 92.2 innings pitched, and MVC-leading strikeouts per seven innings at 10.7. On defense, Heyer didn't make a single error while fielding during the season with seven assists and nine stolen base attempts.
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