Montana Fouts from the University of Alabama, UCLA’s Rachel Garcia, Dejah Mulipola of the University of Arizona and Iowa State University’s Sami Williams are the four finalists for the Class of 2021 Honda Sport Award for Softball as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 45 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2021 Honda Cup which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network, on June 28th, at 9 pm ET.
The softball were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Honda Sport award winner for softball will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Fouts, a junior pitcher from Grayson, Ky., was a 2021 unanimous first-team NFCA All-American selection and the 2021 SEC Co-Pitcher of the Year. She led her team to the 2021 SEC Championship title and was named the 2021 SEC Tournament MVP. She set a tournament-record 39 strikeouts over 20.2 innings pitched including a complete-game shutout in the championship game and enters the WCWS as the No. 3 seed.
A redshirt senior pitcher from Palmdale, Calif., Garcia is the Class of 2019 Honda Cup winner, a two-time Honda Sport Award winner for Softball and a three-time Honda Award finalist. She was named the 2021 Senior CLASS Award winner for Softball and the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the third time in a row. She is a four-time NFCA first-team All-American and All-Pac-12 first-team honoree and will be a 2021 Olympian with Team USA.
A two-time NFCA Catcher of the Year, Mulipola is a redshirt senior from Garden Grove, Calif., and a two-time NFCA first-team All-American with a unanimous selection in 2021. She won the 2019 Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year award and is a three-time Pac-12 All-Defensive team honoree. Entering the WCWS, she leads the Pac-12 and is top-10 nationally in both home runs (21) and RBI (63) while hitting .401 on the season. She will be a 2021 Olympian with Team USA.
Williams, a senior shortstop from Laguna Niguel, Calif., was named a 2021 NFCA first-team All-American and is the first-ever Cyclone to be named a first-team All-American. Also a Senior CLASS first-team All-American, she rewrote the ISU record books after becoming the program’s all-time leader in hits (329), doubles (79), home runs (67), RBI (180), runs scored (212), at-bats (833) and games played (253).
The CWSA, celebrating its 45th anniversary year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility
For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. Honda’s mission is to create products and services that improve the lives of people while conducting its business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Accordingly, Honda believes in helping people reach their life’s potential through its focus on improving children’s health, inspiring underrepresented students, preserving the environment for future generations, creating safety for everyone, and strengthening our communities. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.