Dalton and Ellyson Headline Sun Belt Awards ListIf you had to describe the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns softball team in one word, it’d have to be dominant. That was honored on Tuesday when the Sun Belt Conference placed a league-high nine individuals on the All-Sun Belt Conference team and nearly swept all the major awards that were handed out.
Alissa Dalton was named Sun Belt Player of the Year thanks to an incredible increase in her batting average from .312 on March 8th to batting .410 entering the Sun Belt Tournament. Meanwhile, Summer Ellyson was named Pitcher of the Year thanks to her Division I-leading 34 victories, the first Ragin Cajun to reach 30 wins since the 2013 season. Ellyson also is among the best in the country in several categories, including strikeouts (303, third), ERA (0.98 ERA), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.45, ninth).
Sarah Hudek was named Newcomer of the Year and has already made a major impact, currently tied for the conference lead in total bases. The Sugar Land, Texas native also leads the Cajuns in home runs (10) and multiple-hit games (15).
Finally, Gerry Glasco was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, guiding the Cajuns to top-10 rankings in all three national polls and maintained a top 20 RPI for much of the regular season. In his second season as the coach of the Ragin Cajuns, the program amassed a perfect 25-0 record in conference play, becoming the second team in program and Sun Belt history to finish league play undefeated.
Below is the complete list of Postseason honor with Louisiana Ragin Cajuns listed in Bold.
All-Sun Belt First Team
Kenzie Longanecker, Appalachian State (Jr., P, Sanford, Fla.)
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (Jr., P, Lafayette, La.)
Leanna Johnson, Troy (Fr., P, Brantley, Ala.)
Julie Rawls, Louisiana (Jr., C, Hallsville, Texas)
Katie Webb, Troy (Jr., 1B, Salem, Ala.)
Keeli Milligan, Louisiana (Sr., 2B, Vidor, Texas)
Hannah Farrell, Georgia Southern (Sr., 3B, Jesup, Ga.)
Alissa Dalton, Louisiana (Jr., SS, Cypress, Texas)
Whitney Walton, UTA (Jr., SS, Lake Jackson, Texas)
Sarah Hudek, Louisiana (Jr., OF, Sugar Land, Texas)
Sydney McKay, ULM (Sr., OF, Pearland, Texas)
Victoria Ortiz, South Alabama (Fr., OF, Mobile, Ala.)
Brittani Reid, South Alabama (Jr., OF, Kansas City, Mo.)
Laura Curry, UTA (Sr., OF, Temecula, Calif.)
Lexie Comeaux, Louisiana (Sr., DP, Tomball, Texas)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Kaitlin Beasley-Polko, Coastal Carolina (So., P, Leonardtown, Md.)
Randi Phillips, UTA (So., P, Jefferson, Texas)
Meagan King, Texas State (So., P, Mont Belvieu, Texas)
Reagan Wright, UTA (Jr., C, Mansfield, Texas)
Kourtney Gremillion, Louisiana (So., 1B, Gonzales, La.)
Aileen Garcia, UTA (Jr., 1B, Houston, Texas)
Taylor Sweigart, Coastal Carolina (So., 2B, Mertztown, Pa.)
Kara Gremillion, Louisiana (Sr., 3B, Gonzales, La.)
Keri White, Appalachian State (Jr., 3B, Hampstead, N.C.)
Tara Oltmann, Texas State (So., SS, Giddings, Texas)
Courtney Dean, Coastal Carolina (So., OF, Indian Trail, N.C.)
Raina O’Neal, Louisiana (So., OF, Richmond, Texas)
Krista Rude, UTA (Sr., OF, Arlington, Texas)
Christiana McDowell, Texas State (Jr., OF, Round Rock, Texas)
Bailey Taylor, Troy (So., DP, Winnsboro, S.C.)
Sun Belt Player of the Year
Alissa Dalton, Louisiana (Jr., SS, Cypress, Texas)
Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year
Summer Ellyson, Louisiana (Jr., P, Lafayette, La.)
Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Leanna Johnson, Troy (Fr., P, Brantley, Ala.)
Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
Sarah Hudek, Louisiana (Jr., OF, Sugar Land, Texas)
Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Gerry Glasco, Louisiana
-Clint Domingue