McMichael Garners First Team NFCA All-South Region Honors
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State all-American outfielder Iyhia McMichael was among 12 players named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association all-South Region first team on Wednesday, the organization announced.
The honor now makes the Nacogdoches, Texas, native eligible for Louisville Slugger/NFCA all-American honors which will be announced prior to the NCAA Women's College World Series, May 21-26. McMichael earned second team all-region honors from the NFCA in 2002 and earned Easton all-American honors in both 2001 and 2002.
"This is a great honor for Iyhia, as well as Mississippi State," said head coach Jay Miller. "Obviously this is something she has earned with her outstanding play throughout the course of this season. It's nice to see that her hard work is being rewarded with this honor that will, hopefully, lead to an all-American award next week."
McMichael was one of nine players from the Southeastern Conference on the first and second teams, joining Alabama's Jackie McClain, Stephanie VanBrakle and Ashley Courtney, Tennessee's Lauren Mattox and Kristi Durant, Kentucky's Nikki Jones, LSU's Kristin Schmidt and Mississippi's DeDe Justice. She was just one of four players from the SEC on the first team.
Named as one of the United States' top 10 players by the Amateur Softball Association on April 29, McMichael became the first softball player from Mississippi State to garner SEC Athlete of the Year honors this season and was the only league player to be voted first team all-SEC by a unanimous vote. An academic, as well as, athletic standout, she earned the first academic all-conference award of her career in late April as well.
McMichael and her Mississippi State teammates will again be in action on Thursday morning when the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (33-28) begin play in the NCAA Region 5 Tournament with a 10 a.m. contest against fifth-seeded Florida International (37-25).
NFCA First Team All-South Region
P: Kristin Schmidt - LSU
P: Brooke Mitchell - Louisiana-Lafayette
C: Casey Goodman - Louisiana-Monroe
1B: Jackie McClain - Alabama
2B: Shelly Floyd - Western Kentucky
3B: Becky McMurtry - Louisiana-Lafayette
SS: Courtney Mitchell - Middle Tennessee State
OF: Iyhia McMichael - Mississippi State
OF: Kristen Zaleski - Southwest Texas State
OF: Danyele Gomez - Louisiana-Lafayette
UT: Stephanie VanBrakle - Alabama
DP: Janae Bonin - Jacksonville State
NFCA Second Team All-South Region
P: Sarah Pauly - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
P: Nicole Neuerburg - Southwest Texas State
P: Katy Cox - Texas-Arlington (automatic selection as Southland Pitcher of the Year)
P: Jonelle Csora - Eastern Kentucky (automatic selection as Ohio Valley Pitcher of the Year)
C: Kristi Durant - Tennessee
1B: Krystal Gibson - Texas-San Antonio
2B: Nikki Jones - Kentucky
3B: Kristen Glowacz - Houston
SS: Erin Flater - Troy State
OF: Ashley Courtney - Alabama
OF: Stephanie Dallman - Tennessee Tech
OF: Melanie Williams - Texas-Arlington
UT: Lauren Mattox - Tennessee
DP: DeDe Justice - Mississippi