KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The National Athletic of Intercollegiate Association (NAIA) national office released the 2018 NAIA Softball All-America teams, selected by the NAIA All-America committee, on Friday.
Sophomore shortstop, Hannah Steeby (SO/St. Joseph, Mo.) received First Team All-American honors for her performance on the field this season. This is Steeby's first All-American nod.
A native of Saint Joseph, Mo., Steeby played in all 55 games this year for the Eagles, while leading her team to an overall 43-12 record; 38-8 in the regular season, and 28-6 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference play. She helped guide the team to a runner-up finish in the Heart tournament championship to earn a bid in the 2018 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.
Steeby finished the season with the team's second-best batting average at .371. She concluded her season with a team and nation's best 24 homeruns, while leading her team with 76 RBIs and .880 slugging percentage. She obtained a .465 on-base percentage and was a perfect 7-of-7 in stolen bases.
She is ranked in the top ten on the national scale in seven different statistical categories; first in home runs per game (.436), first in home runs (24), second in slugging percentage (.880), second in runs batted in per game (1.382), fourth total runs batted in (76), fifth in total total bases (147), and seventh in total bases per game (2.673).
"Hannah had a great year! She worked extremely hard not only on the field, but off the field by making herself stronger," mentioned head coach Pat Reardon. "I look forward to her continued growth and seeing how good she can become. This is a great honor and we are proud of her."
As the regular season concluded, Steeby claimed the highest recognition among field players, by being named the Heart Conference Player of the Year. She also earned First Team All-Conference honors, for the second time. She claimed the top spot in the program's history book, as she became the all-time leader in home runs in a season against Columbia College in the NAIA Softball Opening Round on May 14.
For her career, she has 114 home runs and 120 RBIs. She has a career batting average of .361 and a slugging percentage of .801. She joins an elite club of All-Americans at Central Methodist as she becomes the eighth different softball player to join the list.
