OKLAHOMA CITY - On the eve of the NCAA Division II National Championship in Oklahoma City, Anderson University standout softball catcher Cailah Niles has been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II All-America Second-Team and the Daktronics All-America Third Team, as announced by the two organizations on Wednesday.
Niles, who was one of the top three top three finalists for the inaugural NFCA Division II National Player of the Year award, captured the accolades All-America accolades following a postseason that has seen the hard-hitting catcher garner First-Team All-Southeast Region honors from both groups and First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference accolades. Dixie State's Janessa Bassett was named the nation's top newcomer after leading the fourth-ranked Red Storm and the PacWest Conference in batting average (.464), runs (74), triples (9) and stolen bases (42).
At the conclusion of the regular season, Niles became the Black and Gold's fourth newcomer in five seasons to earn SAC Freshman of the Year recognition. She helped power AU to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015, as the Trojans reached the 40-win plateau for the third straight season.
The Phenix City, Ala., native led the SAC with a school record 22 home runs on the season, while coming up just one shy of equaling the league record that was set during the 2010 campaign. Niles also paced the SAC with a school-record 69 RBI, 142 total bases and ranked second with a .826 slugging percentage that also set a new AU benchmark. She posted a nine-game hitting streak from early-to-mid April, while posting 18 multiple-hit contests during the season and leading the squad with 19 multiple-RBI outings.
Niles punctuated a stellar regular season with a remarkable performance in the conference tournament, as she went 8-for-10 at the plate, with five home runs, nine RBI, six runs scored, 10 walks, a 2.400 slugging percentage and a .900 on-base percentage over a six-game span.
She currently stands third in the nation in home runs and fifth in RBI, while ranking as the only freshman in the nation in the top-seven overall nationally in home runs and the lone newcomer in the country in the top six in RBI.
In all 46 players from 27 different institutions were chosen to one of three 2015 NFCA Division II All-American teams.
No. 2 West Texas A&M and fourth-ranked Dixie State led all schools with four total All-Americans, while No. 10 Indianapolis, No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay and No. 9 Augustana took home three first-team nods. Five institutions, the second-ranked Lady Buff, fourth-ranked Red Storm, fifth-ranked Otters, No. 7 North Georgia and the 10th-ranked Greyhounds boasted the most first-team selections with two each. Of the eight teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship to be held over May 21-25 in Oklahoma City, six of those, California (Pa.), Dixie State, Indianapolis, Shorter, St Mary's (Texas) and North Georgia, had representation among this year's NFCA All-American squads.
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to view the entire DAKTRONICS All-America
teams
2015 NFCA Division II All-American Teams
First Team
Pos. Player School
P Morgan Foley*~ University of Indianapolis
P Courtney Poole University of North Georgia
P Hannah Perryman%# University of Missouri, St. Louis
C Lacey Taylor West Texas A&M University
C Marla Reiter Dixie State University
1B Kim McMillan University of North Georgia
2B Brooklyn Waddell West Virginia Wesleyan College
3B Nicki Sprague! Azusa Pacific University
SS Sarah Kennedy Augustana College (S.C.)
OF Janessa Bassett Dixie State University
OF Renee Erwin# West Texas A&M University
OF Stephanie Goodwin$ Emporia State University
DP Bianca Noriega Cal State University, Monterey Bay
UT/P Jenelle Trautmann$# Augustana College (S.D.)
UT/Non-P Ancia Purdy Sonoma State University
At-Large/UT-P Cori Reinhardt+~ Cal State University Monterey
Bay
Second Team
Pos. Player School
P Michelle Duncan Dixie State University
P Caitlyn Calhoun Valdosta State University
P Vianna Gutierrez Touchtone St. Mary's University (Texas)
C Cailah Niles Anderson University (S.C.)
C Dee Espinosa Barry University
1B Madison Casto Cal State University Monterey Bay
2B Peyton Roth Armstrong State University
3B Caitlin Nichol Augustana College (S.D.)
SS Alexis Mercer~ Armstrong State University
OF Casey Williamson+^ University of Indianapolis
OF Kelsey Coleman Notre Dame College of Ohio
OF Courtney Albritton*$~ Valdosta State University
DP Taylor Russell University of Indianapolis
DP Paige Daino Cameron University
UT/P Lyndsay Butler Wayne State University (Mich.)
UT/Non-P Taylor Davis East Central University
At-Large/SS Nicole Nobbe! Cal State University, San Bernardino
Third Team
Pos. Player School
P Alex Sagl! California University of Pennsylvania
C Alyssa Morris Concord University
1B Lindsay Reicoff California University of Pennsylvania
2B Tiffany Gillaspy Missouri Western State University
3B Nicole Sardelich St. Mary's University (Texas)
SS Stacey Ramirez West Texas A&M University
OF Keeley Ray Sonoma State University
At-Large/OF Niki Cook Shorter University
At-Large/1B Brianna Butler University of Missouri, St. Louis
At-Large/2B Nicole Chavez Dixie State University
At-Large/2B MacKenzi Dorsam University of Southern Indiana
At-Large/DP Allie Smith West Texas A&M University
At-Large/2B Brittany Johnson Rollins College
~ 2014 NFCA Division II First-Team All-American
# 2014 NFCA Division II Second-Team All-American
! 2014 NFCA Division II Third-Team All-American
^2013 NFCA Division II First-Team All-America
*2013 NFCA Division II Second-Team All-America
%2013 NFCA Division II Third-Team All-America
+2012 NFCA Division II First-Team All-America
$2012 NFCA Division II Second-Team All-America
&2012 NFCA Division II Third-Team All-America
