VALLEY CITY – Three Valley City State University softball players have been honored with All-American recognition, the NAIA National Office announced Tuesday.
VCSU junior pitcher Emily Smith was named Second Team All-American, while senior infielder Voni Culp and freshman pitcher Emilee Wilson were both named Honorable Mention All-American.
The 2019 Softball All-America teams are selected by the NAIA All-America committee.
Complete NAIA Softball All-America Teams
Smith set a new school record for wins after posting a 33-1 pitching record this season. Smith had a 1.18 ERA and struck out 262 batters in 195.2 innings. Smith finished the season ranked third in the nation in wins, ninth in opponent batting average (.177) and ninth in earned run average. At the plate, she batted .398 with 10 doubles and 30 RBIs. Smith was previously named 1st Team All-Conference, NSAA Pitcher of the Year, NFCA 1st Team All-Region and Google Cloud Academic All-American.
Culp had a monster senior season for the Vikings, wreaking havoc on the basepaths and playing stellar defense at second base. Culp scored a school-record 69 runs this season as she batted .398 with 10 doubles, four triples and 27 RBIs. Culp had a .464 on-base percentage and stole 37 bases in 43 attempts. Defensively, Culp earned the NSAA Gold Glove Award at second base after committing just two errors all season and recording a .988 fielding percentage. She was also named 1st Team All-Conference.
Wilson had a phenomenal freshman season in the circle, finishing the year with a 19-3 pitching record and a 1.40 ERA. She struck out 146 batters in 139.2 innings and allowed just one home run all season. Wilson was also named 1st Team All-Conference, NSAA Newcomer of the Year and NFCA 2nd Team All-Region.
As a team, Valley City State University just wrapped up the best season in school history. The Vikings advanced to the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2006 and finished the season with a program-record 54 wins. VCSU was ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll and won the NSAA regular season and tournament championships. The Vikings also won the NAIA Opening Round Championship and finished the year with a 54-5 overall record.
