The Sun Conference regular season champions were well-represented on the conference’s postseason awards list, released this afternoon.
Leading the way was Jamie Mead as The Sun Conference Player of the Year. In her first year with the Fire, the second baseman led the Fire and the conference in batting average at .432. Mead posted a .533 on-base percentage, 16 extra-base hits, and an OPS of 1.128.
Freshman of the Year honors went to Riley Sanders who posted a .414 batting average during her first season at Southeastern with 61 hits and 65 runs scored. She also leads the NAIA in stolen bases with 62.
Kayla Watkins was selected as the Coach of the Year after the Fire won their first Sun Conference regular season title since 2016. Watkins helped take the Fire from 29 wins in 2021 to 43 during the regular season in 2022.
Hannah Federico was named the Sun Conference Champion of Character, marking the third consecutive year the Fire have won the award. Federico has spent the last two and a half years pouring into the student-athlete community. She along with a few other leaders developed a plan to engage student-athletes and provide a space for them to explore and grow in their faith.
Joining Mead and Sanders on the All-Sun Conference First-Team were freshman infielder Chapel Cunningham, graduate outfielder Haleigh Harrell, freshman pitcher Claire Sekinger, and senior infielder Katie Atkins.
Second team honors went to sophomore pitcher Autumn Hunter and junior outfielder Erica Stahl.
The Fire will begin play in The Sun Conference Tournament on Thursday at 4 p.m. against Thomas or Ave Maria.
Original source can be found here.
