As one of the most coveted and prestigious awards handed out by the NCAA, former Fresno State softball All-American Jamie Southern (Clovis, Calif.) became the university's second and fourth Division I softball player to be selected as a NCAA Top VIII Award winner, as announced by the NCAA this morning.
Joining Bulldog All-American and 2000 U.S. Olympic softball alternate Amanda Scott (2001), Southern is now amongst an elite group of student-athletes to be recognized as a NCAA Top VIII recipient. While all NCAA Division I, II and III student-athletes are considered, the Top VIII Award yearly singles out the top eight student-athletes who demonstrate athletics success, academic achievement and community service.
Among all NCAA Division I schools in the last six years that have had NCAA Top VIII honoree, Fresno State is one of eight universities to boast two or more winners. The Bulldogs join the elite ranks of schools such as Alabama, Georgia and Stanford, which has three, and Auburn, Penn State, Nebraska and UCLA, which all have two. Among current Western Athletic Conference members, Fresno State boasts the most awardees with two in Southern and Scott.
Southern wrapped up her stellar collegiate career by ranking in nine of 11 NCAA Division I career softball pitching categories, including four Top 10 marks: shutouts (No. 4, 79), complete games (No. 8, 141), strikeouts (No. 10, 1321) and wins (No. 10, 118). Ranked among the nation's best since her first year, she was ranked all 33 weeks in ERA, 29 times in victories and 16 times in strikeouts per 7/IP while being the national leader in ERA in 15 of the 33 weeks.
The two-time NCAA ERA statistical champion became the first player in conference history to be a four-time WAC Pitcher of the Year selection as well as being the only league player to garner rookie and player of the year honors in the same season. As the third freshman in NCAA Division I history to collect 400 or more strikeouts in a season, Southern finished among the nation's top three in ERA all four years and, as a rookie, was the second freshman in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in ERA.
The four-time All-American and two-time Academic All-American also was the university's third No. 1 overall draft pick by a professional organization. Last May, Southern graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and sported a 3.53 GPA. A current member of the U.S. Women's National Softball Team, she was selected as the 2005 WAC Female Athlete of the Year (Joe Kearney Award) while garnering her second Fresno State Female Athlete of the Year honor.
"The NCAA Top VIII Award is one of the most prestigious awards a student-athlete can achieve by the NCAA," Fresno State softball head coach Margie Wright said. "Fresno State is so honored to have had Amanda Scott be the first and now Jamie Southern to be the second to achieve such a tremendous honor.
"Jamie is the epitome of what the award means," said Wright, who is the NCAA's all-time winningest softball coach. "She is at the top academically, athletically and, in the community, has represented herself and her institution with great pride. I am very proud of Jamie for this honor and congratulate her for such perseverance and dedication to her career as a softball player and teacher."