BELLEVUE, Wash. – Southern Arkansas sophomore outfielder Brooke Goad has claimed her third All-American honor this year after an outstanding 2016 campaign as HERO Sports tabbed the Waxahachie, Texas, native to the media outlet's 14-player team on Thursday morning.
 
Goad helped anchor a Lady Mulerider batting lineup that finished the season in the top-15 nationally in home runs per game (8^th | 1.13), and slugging percentage (11^th | .501). After aiding Southern Arkansas to a historic 53 win season that saw the program capture its second Great American Conference Tournament Championship, its first Central Region Championship and an inaugural berth to the NCAA DII Women's College Softball World Series, Goad capped her tournament tour in Denver by garnering DII College World Series All-Tournament Team honors after hitting .400 (4-for-10) with three RBI, three runs scored, three walks, two doubles and a homerun.
 
No stranger to adversity, Goad overcame seemingly insurmountable odds after an injury-plagued first two years as a Lady Mulerider and finished the 2016 season as Southern Arkansas' leader in single-season homeruns with 23.
 
In her first full season, Goad played and started all 64 games for SAU in left field and batted.364 with 67 hits including the nation's second-most homeruns at 23 as well as 13 doubles. She scored 65 runs, tallied 56 RBI and collected 149 total bases, while producing the nation's 16^th-highest slugging percentage at .810. The All-GAC First Team performer totaled an on-base percentage of .510 and also tallied 52 walks, four hit-by-pitches and was successful on all five of her five stolen base attempts. In the field, the sophomore tallied 72 putouts and one assist for a .948 fielding percentage.
 
Goad collected 20 multi-hit games, 15 multi-RBI games, tallied a 10-game hitting streak and a 25-game reached base safely streak, while spending the season's first 27 games at the lead-off position before being moved to a more run-producing spot as the three-hole hitter for the club's final 37 games.     
 
For a complete statistical breakdown of Goad's season, follow this link: http://muleriderathletics.com/custompages/Current%20Statistics/Softball/plyr_44.htm.
 
Thursday's honor can be added to the sophomore's first two All-American nods this season: an NFCA All-America Second Team accolade and a D2CCA All-America Second Team award. Goad is one of three Great American Conference players to be named to the HERO Sports All-America team joining Southeastern Oklahoma's Jessica Simmons and Henderson State's Ashlyn White.
 
The HERO Sports release can be found here: http://herosports.com/news/ncaa-d2-womens-softball/2016-hero-sports-d2-softball-all-america-team.