LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Fresh off their 2023 NJCAA National Championship, four Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have been named to the 2023 NFCA All-South Region Teams. Sophomores Belle Sardja, Feline Poot, and Shenita Tucker were all named 1st Team selections while freshman Sydney McCray was a 2nd Team All-Region pick.
Leading the way for the Bucs was ace Belle Sardja who was a 1st Team selection after a huge sophomore season for FSW. Sardja was 25-2 in the circle while posting a 0.88 ERA which has set a new bar in FSW single season history while also ranking 3rd in the NJCAA Division I ranks in 2023. Sardja was once again a warrior in the circle for the Bucs during their run to a National Championship, starting seven of eight postseason games and all five at the NJCAA World Series. For her efforts she was named the World Series Most Outstanding Pitcher at tournament's end.
Making her third straight appearance on the NFCA All-South Region 1st Team is shortstop Feline Poot. Poot had another monster season with the bat for the Bucs, hitting .403 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs while posting an .889 slugging percentage. Poot's 18 home runs on the season break her own program single season record of 17 in 2021 while her 55 career home runs are more than double of anyone else in program history. Even with all of the gawdy numbers, she saved her best for last, finishing her FSW career going 5-6 with four home runs and nine RBIs in her final two games as a Buc which just happened to come in the NJCAA World Series semifinals and finals to lead the Bucs to their third straight crown, for which she was rightfully named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
Joining Sardja and Poot on the 1st Team was fellow sophomore Shenita Tucker who combined her two way prowess to earn the honors. Tucker had another big year for the Bucs in 2023, hitting .409 with 53 stolen bases and 38 RBIs. She closes her FSW career second in career stolen bases with 119, fifth in runs with 121, and sixth in hits with 148. She was electric in postseason play for the Bucs, hitting in all eight contests, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the FCSAA State Tournament before going on to collect hits and score runs in all five FSW games at the NJCAA World Series. Along with her stick and her speed on the offensive side of the ball, Tucker also showed an elite defensive makeup, routinely making highlight reel plays from her centerfield position.
The lone freshman to receive All-Region honors for the Bucs was outfielder Sydney McCray who was a 2nd Team pick. McCray filled up the stat sheet in her first season for the Purple and Aqua, hitting .410 and reaching base at a .500 clip while swiping 26 bases and driving in 44 on the year. McCray had 18 multi-hit games as a freshman including three straight to begin the Bucs run at their third straight National Championship at the NJCAA World Series in Oxford, Alabama for which she was named as an All-Tournament Team selection.
With their All-Region selections, the quartet will now be on the ballot for NFCA All-American honors which will be announced next week.