Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin Junior Kassidy Wilbur, a Bridge City native, has been named the 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, according to a release from the Southland Conference on Monday as part of its softball all-conference teams release. Wilbur was joined in receiving superlative honors by redshirt freshman Shavlon Govan, who was named the league’s Hitter of the Year in the same release. Monday’s release marks the first time in program history that the league’s Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Hitter of the Year have all been Ladyjack athletes. It also marks the second Player of the Year honor, fifth Hitter of the Year and third Pitcher of the Year accolade in program history.

In addition to Wilbur and Govan, five other Ladyjacks were recognized as part of the Southland All-Conference Teams. Bryana Novegil (2B) joined Wilbur and Govan on the First Team, making the second All-Conference appearance of her career, while Mackenzie Bennett (DP) was also named a First Team selection. Gaby Garcia (UTL) and Camryn Middlebrook (SS) were chosen as Second Team honorees for their first league nod, while Alex Hedspeth (3B) was selected to the Third Team.

Wilbur,the 2017 and 2018 Orange Leader Female Athlete of the Year, left no doubt in the minds of the voters by putting forth a stellar 2021 regular season that has personally etcher her name in the SFA record books and put her on track to own several other records when all is said and done. The right-hander from Bridge City, Texas has posted a 29-4 record across 40 appearances (31 starts), with 21 complete game efforts and 13 shutouts. Her 0.86 ERA, 212.2 innings pitched, 253 strikeouts and .171 average for opponents are all conference-best marks, while she ranks first in wins (29), second in shutouts (12) and sixth in strikeouts (253) on the national scale. She was a four-time Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week selection and set the program’s single-season record for pitching wins with her 29th victory over the weekend.