CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Following a 54-3 campaign that included a dominating run to a fourth straight Suncoast Conference Championship, a school record four Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers were named NJCAA All-Americans on Monday as announced by the NJCAA National Office. Earning First Team honors were Kelsi Collins, Rebeca Laudino, and Owen Bowers, joining Courtney Gettins as the only first teamers in program history, while Paris Woods was named to the Third Team.
Collins' numbers made her a sure shot first teamer during her sophomore season. She picked up her sophomore year right where she left off her freshman campaign when she was the FCSAA State Tournament MVP. Collins finished the year with the second best ERA in the country at 1.15, allowing just 26 earned runs in 158 innings on the year. Her 25 wins were seventh most in the NJCAA Division I ranks while her 8.28 strikeouts per seven innings ranked 13th.
The Bucs had two of just the six freshmen named to the First Team in Laudino and Bowers.
Laudino lit the softball world on fire this season, hitting safely in the first 49 games of her career to set an all-time collegiate softball record. She maintained better than a .500 batting average throughout the course of the year, finishing at .527 which was good for third in the country while her 98 hits were fourth most. A unique blend of speed and power, Laudino wrapped up 2019 with 18 extra base hits to go along with a team best 43 stolen bases.
Bowers provided the thump in the middle of the order for FSW all season, cranking out a team leading 17 home runs a year after the State Champion Bucs hit just 23 as a team. Her 79 RBIs led the state of Florida and put her fourth nationally in the category. Bowers wasn't your typical power hitter though, combining a .411 average and .500 on base percentage to go along with her 35 extra base hits on the year.
Woods put together her second straight big year for the Bucs, hitting .406 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 49 RBIs on the season while also swiping 30 bases. She finished the year as one of just a handful of players nationwide to drive in 45 or more runs and steal 30 or more bases. Her legacy will go down with one word, consistency, as she wrapped up her two seasons with the Bucs with nearly identical numbers, hitting .402 with a .445 on base percentage and a .574 slugging mark for FSW.
The Bucs three First Team selections were more than any other NJCAA Division I squad, in fact, only one other school had more than one, which was National Champions Chipola who had a pair in catcher Candela Figueroa and utility player Amy Woodham.
Including Laudino and Bowers, FSW will return 12 players and seven starters to the fold in 2020 and will be the early favorite once again for their fifth straight Suncoast Conference crown.