LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas softball picked up several Big 12 postseason honors Wednesday, led by freshman catcher Ella Boyer and senior infielder Hailey Cripe.
Boyer was named the unanimous Big 12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the third Jayhawk to earn the honor. Cripe was selected as the league’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Kansas player to receive that award.
Kansas was also well represented on the All-Big 12 teams. Boyer and junior Anna Soles were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, marking the first time since 2015 that Kansas had multiple first-team selections. Senior Presley Limbaugh earned second-team honors.
Boyer, Blakely Barber and Lila Partridge were named to the All-Freshman Team, while Cripe and Limbaugh were selected to the Big 12 Defensive Team.
Boyer, a catcher from Spring, Texas, has put together one of the top freshman seasons in program history. She has hit 18 home runs, which is tied for fourth in the Big 12, and broke the Kansas single-season freshman home run record. She is four home runs shy of the Jayhawks’ single-season record of 22.
Boyer also leads Kansas with 56 RBIs, a 1.275 OPS, a .794 slugging percentage, 35 walks and a .481 on-base percentage.
Cripe, a senior shortstop from Royal Center, Indiana, has started every game for Kansas this season and has committed just four errors in 187 total chances. She has recorded 98 assists and 85 putouts. The defensive honors are the first Big 12 awards of her career.
Soles, a junior first baseman from League City, Texas, has been one of Kansas’ most steady hitters. She has started all but one game and is batting .363 with a 1.193 OPS and a career-high 12 home runs. Defensively, Soles has a .980 fielding percentage with 278 putouts and 11 assists in 295 chances.
Limbaugh, a senior outfielder from Cooper, Texas, has helped set the tone at the top of the Kansas lineup. She is one of three Jayhawks to start all 52 games and leads the team with a .390 batting average and 13 stolen bases. She has also been perfect defensively in center field with 79 putouts and one assist in 80 chances.
Limbaugh is one of five Big 12 players with a perfect fielding percentage and enters the conference tournament having reached base in 16 straight games.
Barber, a freshman pitcher from Georgetown, Texas, has been a key piece of the Kansas pitching staff. She owns a 3.36 ERA and has been one of two Jayhawk freshmen with an ERA under 4.00. Her season included a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win over Baylor, when she allowed four hits in seven innings.
Partridge, a freshman pitcher from Petaluma, California, has also been a steady arm for Kansas. She leads the Jayhawks in innings pitched with 73, appearances with 25, WHIP at 1.42 and complete games with five. She recently won four straight complete-game starts from April 19 to May 2, helping Kansas beat UCF, Iowa State, Wichita State and Oklahoma State.
Kansas is the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will face No. 4 seed UCF at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 7, at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. The game will stream on ESPN+.