PROVO, Utah—Senior shortstop JC Clayton garnered PCSC Player of the Year accolades, while newcomer Gordy Bravo was named Freshman of the Year and head coach Gordon Eakin was given his fourth Coach of the Year nod.
Clayton was named Player of the Year alongside Loyola Marymount’s Sterling Shuster. The Cougars had a conference-high eight players on the All-PCSC team. In addition to Clayton and Bravo, senior outfielder Alexandra Hudson Shamo, senior utility player Bailie Hicken and junior pitcher-utility Katie Manuma were also named to the all-conference first team.
Senior pitcher Hannah Howell, junior third baseman Madisen Robb and freshman second baseman Coco Taualii also picked up second-team honors to round out the all-conference awards for BYU.
Second in the PCSC in batting average at .383, Clayton also led the conference in hits with 77 and runs scored with 45. She was also a perfect 12 for 12 in stolen bases and broke the all-time hits and stolen bases records at BYU during conference play.
Bravo made an immediate impact on the team as a freshman and led the conference in batting average, hitting a .389 clip. She was second in hits with 70, RBI with 43 and runs scored at 35. Another freshman, Taualii, came on strong at the end of the season to finish with a .313 batting average and was third on the team in RBI with 29.
Pitcher-utility player Manuma started the season as a first baseman, but was called upon to pitch midway through the year. In conference play, she led the team with a 1.02 ERA alongside a 5-1 record and a team-high three saves. She also led the team in RBI with 44 on the season and home runs with six.
Shamo, Hicken, Robb and Howell each earned their first all-conference honors. Shamo led the team and conference in on-base percentage and set career highs in almost every batting category for the Cougars. Hicken led the team with a .387 average in conference play and scored 13 runs on 13 hits. Pitcher Howell ended conference play with a 7-2 record and a 2.22 ERA. She highlighted the season and her career with the second perfect game in BYU history against LMU on Apr. 13.
Eakin’s Coach of the Year award is his fourth at BYU. He earned three-straight MWC awards from 2009-2011. In his 11 years at the helm of the BYU softball program, he’s won seven conference championships and has led his team to nine-straight postseason appearances. Clayton is his ninth Player of the Year and Bravo is his fourth Freshman of the Year.
Loyola Marymount’s freshman pitcher Sydney Gouveia earned unanimous selection for PCSC Pitcher of the Year. Utah Valley earned the second-highest amount of all-conference selections with seven.
Below is a complete list of the all-conference awards.
2013 ALL-PACIFIC COAST SOFTBALL CONFERENCE
FIRST TEAM
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Megan Smith SR Saint Mary’s
1B Amanda Robinson -# JR Utah Valley
2B Sterling Shuster SO Loyola Marymount
3B Meghan Harman JR Loyola Marymount
SS J.C. Clayton -! SR BYU
SS Shay Fryer -! JR CSU Bakersfield
OF Gordy Bravo FR BYU
OF Karissa Veiga** JR CSU Bakersfield
OF Alexandra Shamo SR BYU
UTL Bailie Hicken SR BYU
P-UTL Katie Manuma JR BYU
P Sydney Gouveia FR Loyola Marymount
P Cassidy Coleman JR San Diego
SECOND TEAM
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Jamie North SO Utah Valley
1B Caitlin Rooney SO San Diego
2B Coco Tauali’i FR BYU
3B Madisen Robb JR BYU
SS Krystin Jachim SR Utah Valley
OF Brittany Sabatini JR Saint Mary’s
OF Kylee Brinkerhoff SR Utah Valley
OF Hannah Montalban FR Loyola Marymount
UTL Mary Grabowski FR San Diego
P-UTL Amber Mills FR CSU Bakersfield
P Tiffany Mills SR Utah Valley
P Hannah Howell SR BYU
HONORABLE MENTION
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Charly Swanberg JR San Diego
C Nicole Clowdus FR Loyola Marymount
1B Kelly Scribner JR Santa Clara
3B Chloe Kaneko SO San Diego
OF Laura King SR CSU Bakersfield
UTL Kelli Fox SO Utah Valley
UTL Olivia Alvarez SR Loyola Marymount
P Josi Summers SO Utah Valley
P Kelsie Monroe SO CSU Bakersfield
*- Number of first team selections
# - Unanimous selection.
! – Tie
Co-PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JC Clayton (SR, SS), BYU; Sterling Shuster (SO, 2B), Loyola Marymount
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Sydney Gouveia (FR), Loyola Marymount
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Gordy Bravo (OF), BYU
COACH OF THE YEAR: Gordon Eakin, BYU