(MSUB Athletics release)
BILLINGS – Adding to her collection of honors for the 2018 season, Montana State University Billings softball standout Heather Tracy was recognized by both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association as an all-American on Wednesday.
Tracy was named a third team all-American selection by the NFCA and an honorable mention all-American by D2CCA. She is the second-ever Yellowjacket to be named an NFCA all-American following fellow third team pick Theresa Campbell from the 2005 season. With her honorable mention status, Tracy becomes the first Yellowjacket to earn an all-American selection by the D2CCA.
“Heather left a tremendous impact on the program both on and off the field during her time here,” head coach Jessica Rayman said of Tracy’s contributions to MSUB softball. “She consistently had standout performances on the field and her talent and athleticism will be hard to replace in right field next year. She deserves every bit of the honors that she has received throughout the season. It is exciting to have her named the second all-American in MSUB history and the first to be an all-American with both the D2CCA and the NFCA.”
Tracy was the only Great Northwest Athletic Conference player to make either team after earning the conference’s player of the year this season. She is the tenth D2CCA pick in GNAC history and the 12th conference player selected by the NFCA. She is the fourth player in GNAC history to be recognized as an all-American by both organizations in the same season.
A leader at the plate and in the field, Tracy finished the season with MSUB records for batting average (.488), hits (82), stolen bases (22) and triples (4). She leaves the program with a career .426 average, 270 hits, 10 triples, 61 steals, 379 total bases and 634 at-bats in 192 games played and 188 starts, which are all MSUB-career records.
In addition to being named the GNAC Player of the Year, Tracy has also been recognized as a first team all-region performer by both the D2CCA and the NFCA this season. She is the second-ever Yellowjacket to be a three-time first team all-GNAC selection along with Kelly Parsons and the first to make all-region in three seasons.
Texas A&M-Commerce’s Mariah Jameyson was tabbed the Division II Player of the Year by the D2CCA while North Georgia’s Kylee Smith claimed Pitcher of the Year. The NFCA announced Jameyson as the Diamond Sports / NFCA Catcher of the Year and University of Montevallo’s Darbi Duke as the New Balance/NFCA Golden Shoe award winner. Concordia University Irvine’s Callie Nunes was named the 2018 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II National Freshman of the Year.
