Kansas Wesleyan’s Mia Hernandez (FR/Hanford, Calif.) was selected as the KCAC Softball Player of the Year headlining the Coyotes’ 2022 Softball All-Kansas Conference selections as selected by conference coaches and announced by the conference office.

Hernandez was also a first-team selection, along with Carmen Angulo (SR/Long Beach, Calif.) at pitcher. Paige Anderson (JR/Lakeville, Minn.) and Lauren Blue (SR/Arlington, Texas) were selected to the honorable-mention team both at outfield.

During conference play, Hernandez led the KCAC in slugging average at an impressive .853. She also led the KCAC in homeruns with 10 during conference play and was ranked second in RBI with 27. She had 31 hits in 24 games that ranked sixth in the conference. Her batting average of .413 in conference play also ranked sixth in the conference. Hernandez also had a streak of seven straight games with a homerun, which would have broken the NCAA Division III record, tied the Division I record, and was one off the Division II record. The feat is also likely a NAIA record, but could not be verified.

Angulo led the KCAC in innings pitched during the conference portion of the season with 91. She posted an 11-2 record in conference play with a 1.69 ERA, which ranked third in the conference. She struck out 103 batters in 24 games and only walked 14. She also recorded a save, and had a 7.92 strikeouts per seven innings average that ranked fourth in the KCAC.

Anderson hit .212 for the Coyotes in conference play, appearing in all 24 conference games for the Coyotes. She hit .259 overall. She had 17 hits in conference play and had four stolen bases. She ranked 17th in the KCAC in runs scored.

Blue hit .314 for the Coyotes in conference play, and had a .471 slugging average. She had 16 hits in conference play, which included six doubles and a triple. It was Blue’s third All-KCAC selection during her career at KWU.

KWU is 21-20 overall and 15-9 in the Kansas Conference. Wesleyan is the No. 5 seed in the KCAC Tournament, and will face No. 4 seed McPherson on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The start of the tournament has been delayed from Wednesday to Friday due to forecast severe weather in the region.