RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Ahead of the Conference Tournament on Thursday, the GAC office announced that Kayleigh Jones, Reagan Ford, Samantha Campos, and Sammie Greene earned All-GAC recognitions.
Jones and Ford were named to the First-Team, while Campos earned Second-Team and Greene Honorable Mention.
This is the most Bison to be tabbed a part of the GAC's end of the year awards in program history.
For Jones, it is the first, First-Team honor of her career and second overall All-GAC nod after last season's Second-Team recognition. The acknowledgment comes as no surprise after Jones led the nation in strikeouts for most of the year.
Jones finished the regular season with 296 strikeouts, currently third in the nation, and by far the most in the GAC. The closest person in the league had 196. She made 40 appearances, resulting in a league-best 21 wins and five saves. Additionally, she produced no-hitters against Henderson State and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, becoming the second Bison to record multiple in a season since 1984. It was the first of her career.
The Claremore, Okla., native broke the single-season school record for strikeouts on April 5, surpassing Destini Anderson's mark of 210. It only took Jones 144.1 innings to reach the feat, while it took Anderson 229.0 in 1998. She also tied to OBU record for strikeouts in a single game after fanning a career-high 16 on April 23 against Arkansas-Monticello.
Jones was named the GAC Pitcher of the Week three times this season, following outstanding performances against Northwestern Oklahoma State, Henderson State, and at the Hawkins-McGhee Invitational. Then, on March 15, she became the first Bison to earn the Wilson/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Pitcher of the Week in the Division II era. Furthermore, she was the sixth pitcher from the GAC to earn the award since the 2017 season.
Ford earned her first career All-GAC nod after a spectacular regular season where she led the Bison in batting. She found her stride in the back end of the season, following a five-hit series against NWOSU that put her batting average over .300.
After just 15 hits in 2021, Ford has improved to 42 hits and a team-high .359 batting average this season. She also heads the team in on-base percentage (.427), which ranked in the top-20 of the conference. Furthermore, Ford's 18 stolen bases ranked fourth in the GAC, a significant jump from her five stolen bags last season, and she was one of four players in the conference to steal three bases in a single game.
Campos and Greene burst onto the scene in 2022, becoming the first Bison freshman since 2018 to earn All-GAC recognition.
Campos led the squad in hitting for the majority of the season, finishing with a .306 batting with five home runs. Campos' 49 hits were a team-best, while her RBIs (26) and slugging percentage (.494) ranked second.
The Texan collected a season-high four hits against Southwestern Oklahoma and was one of two Bison to record two home runs in a single game. Campos had 314 putouts from the catcher's position, the second-most in the GAC.
Greene made noise in the batter's box and around the bases, ranking third on the team in hitting (.291) and first in stolen bases (26). Her stolen bags led the GAC and were the most by a Bison in the Division II era. Furthermore, Greene was 26-27 in stolen base attempts.
Greene also ranked third on the squad in hits (43), tallied one home run, and collected 21 RBIs. Additionally, she earned Player of the Week honors after hitting .714 and slugging 1.000 against UAM. Greene also posted a .750 on-base percentage, collected two RBIs, and stole two bags in the series.
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