AUSTIN, Texas - The Concordia Texas softball team had nine members named to the SCAC All-Conference Teams. Kylie Kirk was deemed the SCAC Co-Player of the Year. Malarie Mican also received an individual honor as the SCAC Newcomer of the Year, the league announced on Friday.

Joining Kirk & Mican on the All-SCAC First Team was Kylie Denaro & Taylor Smrt. A pair of Tornados in Addison Lehew & Molly Olivarez were named to the All-SCAC Second Team, while the trio of Christian Everett, Karlee Mathis, & Kylie Pavlicek were recognized as All-Conference Honorable Mentions. 

Kirk a sophomore utility player from Liberty Hill, Texas is the first Tornado to be named conference Player of the Year since Jessica Rattan in 2011. She has put together one of the most dynamic seasons of recent memory in the SCAC sitting at the top of several of both hitting and pitching statistical categories heading into this weekend's conference tournament. At the plate, Kirk currently sits in the top five in the SCAC in batting average (.437 – 5th), home runs (6 – T2nd), triples (4 – T4th), RBI (37 – 3rd), doubles (13 – 3rd) and slugging percentage (.796 – 2nd).

Kirk has scored 32 runs on the season, currently eighth-most in the SCAC, while her 45 total hits and .488 on-base percentage both sit 11th in the league going into the weekend. In the circle, Kirk has been equally impressive, currently ranked tied for second in complete games (12), fourth in wins (11), fifth in strikeouts (76), eighth in ERA (2.49) and ninth in both innings pitched (81.2) and WHIP (1.27). In total, Kirk is currently ranked top-10 or better in 14 different hitting and pitching categories. Kirk is the first player since former member Rhodes' Sara Bowen in 2011 to reach 35 plus RBI at the plate and 75 plus strikeouts in the circle. 

Mican has been outstanding in her first year as the lead off hitter with the Tornados. Mican is the first Tornado to earn the Newcomer of the Year award since Jorden Russell in 2018. A junior from Weimar, Texas, Mican leads the SCAC in walks (23) and on-base percentage (.547) leading into the SCAC Tournament.

She broke the program's single-season stolen bases record & is third in stolen bases (37), tied for fourth in both triples (3) and hits (46) and her 43 runs scored is good enough for fifth currently in the league. This season, Mican has hit safely in 25 of her 37 games played with an impressive 13 multi-hit efforts and enters the SCAC Tournament riding a five-game hit streak.

Denaro, a junior outfielder from League City has been a stalwart at the top of the lineup for the Tornados. Boasting a .410 batting average, Denaro ranks second on the team & seventh in the SCAC with 22 stolen bases. 

Denaro also ranks seventh in runs scored with 37 & eighth in the conference with an on-base percentage of .492. Showing discipline at the plate, she is also second on the team with 19 walks this season. 

Smrt, a grad senior transfer from the University of Memphis was spectacular at the short stop position. Sporting a .387 batting average, she ranked seventh with 10 doubles, tied for ninth with a .548 SLG percentage, and tied for eighth with a pair of triples among the conference's best.

Lehew, a senior hailing from Deer Park, Texas proved to be one of the most explosive designated players in the conference as she leads the SCAC with 15 doubles this season. 

She also ranks fifth with 34 RBIs & 10th with 56 total bases in the conference. She was deemed the SCAC Hitter of the Week for her dominant series against Centenary, and she also posted her first career grand slam at Schreiner on March 29th.

Olivarez, a catcher from Columbus, Texas served as an iron woman for CTX as she started in 37 of the 39 regular season contests. She caught six runners stealing, which marked as the seventh most in the SCAC this season.

Recording steady splits of an .380 BA, a .530 SLG%, and a .475 OB%, Olivarez also exhibited power where her three homers were second most on the team.

Everett, a second-year second baseman from Coahoma, was one of the talented batters in the lineup for CTX with a .373 average. She also was perfect on the base pads, going 12-12 which was third most on the team this season.

Everett was also recognized as the SCAC Character & Community Student Athlete of the Week in April for her efforts and role in the community.

Mathis, a true freshman from Columbus, made splashes as an utility player as she pitched and played first base this season. Mathis, won eight games in the circle, the second most for the Tornados this season.

Her 72.0 innings pitched, 4.38 ERA, and 29 strikeouts all served as the second best on the team this season. Earning the trust of her coaches & peers, all of Mathis' offensive & defensive stats are the best on the team.

Pavlicek (Cypress, Texas), the best fielding third baseman in Texas, was a human highlight reel at the hot stop. The senior recorded a team-high & career-best 94 assists on put outs in the regular season. 

Click here to view the full story from the SCAC.
 

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the CTX softball program, follow us on social media (@ctxathletics) and visit athletics.concordia.edu.