LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Texas A&M junior Emilee Boyer and Southern Arkansas senior Brinson Rogers were voted the 2025 NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. This marks the second Player of the Year award from the Lady Buffs program (Shanna McBroom, 2021) and the first from Southern Arkansas and the Great American Conference.
Boyer, a three-time NFCA All-American, earned unanimous first-team recognition at the Joan Joyce Utility/Pitcher position in 2025. A two-way threat, Boyer finished the 2025 season with a .470 batting average, to go along with an NCAA DII-leading 22 home runs, 90 RBI and .952 slugging percentage (35 extra-base hits). The Lone Star Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year also generated 79 hits, reached base at a .581 clip with 44 walks and scored 59 runs. In the circle, Boyer was 28-4 in 40 appearances with a 2.40 ERA and 236 strikeouts. She recorded five shutouts, two saves and held her opponents to a .206 batting average in 183.2 innings of work.
A first-team NFCA All-American, Rogers capped off her final year with a 30-5 record and 0.93 ERA in 233.1 innings of work. She set program records with 18 shutouts, a .149 opponent’s batting average and 309 strikeouts, while her victories and ERA are the second-best in the SAU annals. Rogers is the first Mulerider pitcher to eclipse the 300-strikeout mark. Nationally, the Great American Conference Pitcher of the Year ranked second in Division II in wins, hits per seven innings allowed (3.60) and shutouts, fourth in strikeouts and WHIP (0.80), fifth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts per seven innings (9.3).
The Player of the Year award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year.
The awards are voted on by the elected members of the NFCA Division II All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the eight NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member.
Previous Player & Pitcher of the Year Winners
2024 – Lauren Harris, McKendree (Player) / Kenzee Smith, Indianapolis (Pitcher)
2023 – Zoe Willis, Georgia Southwestern State (Player) / Tatum Goff, UT Tyler (Pitcher)
2022 – Kayson Boatner, Anderson (Player) / Andrea Morales, Rogers State (Pitcher)
2021 – Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M (Player) / Morgan Perry, Saint Anselm (Pitcher)
2019 – Julia Seader, LIU Post (Player) / Allison Lipovsky, Grand Valley State (Pitcher)
2018 – Kylee Smith, North Georgia
2017 – Coley Ries, Minnesota State
2016 – Lindsay Butler, Wayne State University
2015 – Courtney Poole, North Georgia
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded NFCA Player & Pitcher of the Year Awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining over 7,000 coaches today!
