Big Ten Conference Announces 2023 Softball Postseason Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. (May 10, 2023) – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2023 All-Big Ten Softball Teams and individual awards Wednesday, with Big Ten champion Northwestern, as well as runner-up Indiana and third-place Minnesota earning individual accolades through a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches.
 
Indiana infielder Taryn Kern was selected as both the Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, earning the latter award unanimously. Minnesota fifth-year senior Autumn Pease was chosen as the Pitcher of the Year, while Northwestern’s Kate Drohan earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.

Kern is the fifth student-athlete to sweep both the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year awards in the same rookie season and the first since Minnesota’s Kendyl Lindaman in 2017. The others to accomplish this rare feat were Iowa’s Karen Jackson (1991) and the Michigan duo of Sara Griffin (1995) and Sierra Romero (2013). Kern, Lindaman and Michigan’s Meghan Beaubien (2018) are also the only unanimous Big Ten Freshman of the Year honorees this century.
 
Kern joins Michelle Venturella (1994) as the only Indiana softball student-athletes to be named Big Ten Player of the Year. Similarly, Kern is the second Hoosier to receive Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades along with Tammy Connor, who earned the inaugural award in 1985.
 
Pease becomes the fourth Minnesota student-athlete selected as Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, following the footsteps of recent honorees Sara Groenewegen (2014 and 2017) and Amber Fiser (2019).
 
This marks the fifth Big Ten Coach of the Year honor for Drohan, and third in four seasons, having previously earned recognition from her peers in 2005, 2006, 2019 and 2022 (there were no awards presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It’s also the seventh time Northwestern has produced the Big Ten Coach of the Year, with Sharon Drysdale receiving the award in 1987 and 1995.
 
A native of San Jose, California, Kern leads the Big Ten in nine main offensive categories — home runs (22), RBI (67), runs scored (65), total bases (140), walks (41), hit by pitch (20), on-base percentage (.605), slugging percentage (1.022) and OPS (1.627) — while also ranking third in batting average (.438) and sixth in hits (60).
 
Kern is in position to challenge several Big Ten records before the 2023 season is over. With a nation-leading 22 home runs, she is currently two shy of the record held by Illinois’ Angelena Mexicano (2008) and one off the Big Ten freshman home run mark set by Romero in 2013. In addition, Kern’s current slugging percentage (second in the nation) would surpass the Big Ten record of 1.007, set by Penn State’s Cassidy Bell in 2013, and Kern’s 67 RBI (third in the nation) are closing in on the top 10 in Big Ten single-season history and within range of the conference record set by Romero (83 in 2015).
 
During conference play, Kern hit 11 home runs, one away from the Big Ten record for most in a non-COVID season (Romero in 2013 and Northwestern’s Rachel Lewis last year). She also led the conference with a .620 on-base percentage, 1.113 slugging percentage, 1.733 OPS and 69 total bases, while ranking second with 31 RBI and third with a .452 batting average. Her 69 total bases just missed the Big Ten record for a non-COVID season (71 by Illinois’ Carly Thomas in 2015).

Pease is on pace to win the Big Ten’s Triple Crown of pitching, currently leading the conference with a 25-6 record (fourth nationally in wins), a 1.31 ERA and 243 strikeouts (fifth nationally). The Murrieta, California, resident has also tossed 17 complete games and a conference-high eight shutouts (plus two combined), while holding opponents to a .188 batting average. Of late, Pease has been exceptionally dominant, winning her last 11 decisions while allowing just two earned runs in her last 64.0 innings in the circle (a 0.22 ERA).
 
In conference games, Pease, who was chosen as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, came within an eyelash of the Triple Crown, leading the Big Ten with a 13-3 record and 119 strikeouts, while finishing second with a 1.28 ERA, just behind Wisconsin’s Maddie Schwartz (1.27). Pease also threw eight complete games and six shutouts (plus two combined) during the Big Ten slate.
 
Drohan has guided Northwestern to a 35-11 record (20-3 in conference play) and its ninth Big Ten championship, as well as its second in a row. Coming off a trip to the NCAA Women’s College World Series in 2022, the Wildcats are ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and lead a hearty contingent of nine Big Ten schools among the top 55 in the RPI entering this week’s Big Ten Tournament. Winners in 25 of its last 28 games, Northwestern has consistently been ranked among the top 25 in all major national polls this season, currently standing 19th in both the NFCA/USA Today and the USA Softball/ESPN.com polls.
 
Kern and Pease were also the only unanimous first-team All-Big Ten performers this season. Pease was one of a conference-high four first-team selections for Minnesota, along with Kayla Chavez, Taylor Krapf and Jess Oakland. Nebraska was next with three first-team honorees (Billie Andrews, Brooke Andrews and Katelyn Caneda), followed by four schools with two recipients — Indiana (Kern and Taylor Minnick), Northwestern (Nikki Cuchran and Danielle Williams), Ohio State (Kami Kortokrax and Melina Wilkison) and Wisconsin (Schwartz and Katie Keller).
 
Rounding out the All-Big Ten First Team were Iowa’s Nia Carter, Michigan’s Lexie Blair and Penn State’s Emily Maddock. Of note, Carter became the first Hawkeye since 2012 (Megan Blank, Kayla Massey and Liz Watkins) to be a first-team all-conference selection, while Maddock (an infielder) was the first Nittany Lion position player to receive first-team accolades since 2017 (Tori Dubois).
 
Nine of the 14 conference schools placed at least one player on the 20-person All-Big Ten Second Team, which was expanded due to ties in the voting. Nine student-athletes were voted to the conference’s All-Defensive Team and 11 chosen for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, including Kern, who was the lone unanimous selection.
 
The Big Ten also announced the 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees from each institution. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

The complete All-Big Ten teams and individual honorees can be found below.
 
2023 BIG TEN CONFERENCE SOFTBALL POSTSEASON HONORS
 
Player of the Year: Taryn Kern, Fr., 2B, Indiana
Pitcher of the Year: Autumn Pease, 5th-Yr., RHP, Minnesota
Freshman of the Year: TARYN KERN, 2B, Indiana
Coach of the Year: Kate Drohan, Northwestern
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
TARYN KERN, Fr., 2B, Indiana
Taylor Minnick, So., DP, Indiana
Nia Carter, Sr., OF, Iowa
Lexie Blair, Grad., OF, Michigan
Kayla Chavez, So., 3B, Minnesota
Taylor Krapf, So., C, Minnesota
Jess Oakland, Fr., SS, Minnesota
AUTUMN PEASE, 5th-Yr., RHP, Minnesota
Billie Andrews, Jr., SS, Nebraska
Brooke Andrews, Jr., OF, Nebraska
Katelyn Caneda, Fr., 2B, Nebraska
Nikki Cuchran, Grad., 1B, Northwestern
Danielle Williams, Grad., LHP, Northwestern
Kami Kortokrax, So., SS, Ohio State
Melina Wilkison, So., OF, Ohio State
Emily Maddock, Jr., 3B, Penn State
Katie Keller, Grad., 1B, Wisconsin
Maddie Schwartz, Grad., RHP, Wisconsin
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN*
Kailee Powell, 5th-Yr., 1B, Illinois
Kelly Ryono, Sr., OF, Illinois
Cora Bassett, RS-Jr., OF, Indiana
Avery Parker, Fr., OF, Indiana
Sarah Stone, So., 1B, Indiana
Mackense Greico, 5th-Yr., 1B, Maryland
Courtney Wyche, Sr., RHP, Maryland
Jaeda McFarland, Jr., OF, Maryland
Lauren Derkowski, So., RHP, Michigan
Indiana Langford, Fr., 2B, Michigan
Natalie DenHartog, Grad., OF, Minnesota
Hannah Cady, Jr., 3B, Northwestern
Jordyn Rudd, Grad., C, Northwestern
Skylar Shellmyer, Grad., OF, Northwestern
Sam Hackenbracht, Sr., DP, Ohio State
Lexie Black, Sr., 1B, Penn State
Bailey Parshall, 5th-Yr., LHP, Penn State
Payton Lincavage, Sr., 3B, Rutgers
Kyleigh Sand, Jr., SS, Rutgers
Morgan Smith, Jr., OF, Rutgers
 
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
TARYN KERN, 2B, Indiana
Cassidy Kettleman, OF, Indiana
Avery Parker, OF, Indiana
Jalen Adams, RHP, Iowa
Indiana Langford, 2B, Michigan
Mandy Esman, 2B, Michigan State
Jess Oakland, SS, Minnesota
Katelyn Caneda, 2B, Nebraska
Kelsey Nader, OF, Northwestern
Kansas Robinson, 2B, Northwestern
Ryann Orange, DP, Rutgers
 
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
P: Trinity Schlotterbeck, Sr., Maryland
C: Jordyn Rudd, Grad., Northwestern
1B: Mya Felder, Sr., Nebraska
2B: Katelyn Caneda, Fr., Nebraska
SS: Kami Kortokrax, So., Ohio State
3B: Delaney Rummell, Sr., Illinois
OF: Jaeda McFarland, Jr., Maryland
OF: Lexie Blair, Grad., Michigan
OF: Morgan Smith, Jr., Rutgers
 
SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Miranda Gallardo, Sr., Illinois
Brianna Copeland, So., Indiana
Nia Carter, Sr., Iowa
Taylor Liguori, Sr., Maryland
Keke Tholl, Jr., Michigan
Anna Fox, Sr., Michigan State
Nani Valencia, So., Minnesota
Abbey Newlun, Jr., Nebraska
Kendall Peterson, Sr., Northwestern
Meggie Otte, Sr., Ohio State
Morgan Farrah, 5th-Yr., Penn State
Emilee Cox, Sr., Purdue
Kiersten Withstandley, Sr., Rutgers
Kate Linkletter, So., Wisconsin
 
ALL CAPS indicates unanimous selections
* - additional players due to ties in voting
 
Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching, and public service. Founded in 1896, Big Ten Conference has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten Conference institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013.