RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The list of awards and accolades has grown long and impressive for Southern Arkansas softball player
Maddie Dow over her standout four-year career, and on Wednesday, the Bonham, Texas native added another prestigious honor to her resume as she was named as the 2016-17 Great American Conference Female Athlete of the Year.
The top athletic honor for the GAC came in response to a senior campaign for the record books by Dow.
"Maddie is the definition of a student-athlete, not only does she perform at a very high-level on the softball field, she also understands what it takes to succeed academically," remarked SAU Head Softball Coach
Jason Anderson. "Maddie is one of the best hitters to ever play at the Division II level, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach her while she was at SAU. I expect great things out of her moving forward and no matter the path she chooses, I have no doubt she will be very successful."
Recognized as the first player in GAC history to be a consensus All-America First-Team selection on the field, Dow also became just the second player in GAC lore to be named as the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for Division II Softball as she received that high academic honor in late May.
The GAC's Player of the Year, Dow ended her illustrious career at the top of 12 career records at SAU and is now the all-time leader major offensive categories such as Batting Average (.363), On-Base Percentage (.522), Hits (244), Home Runs (74), RBIs (224), Walks (175) and Total Bases (502)
Perhaps more impressive than her place in Mulerider Softball history is the fact that Dow now ranks in the Top-20 All-Time in Division II Softball in Walks (2nd), Home Runs (4th), Total Bases (T-10th), and RBIs (T-20th).
A league-leader in the GAC this year in Batting Average (.423), Slugging Percentage (.899), On-Base Percentage (.598), Home Runs (22), Total Bases (151), Walks (54), and Hit-By-Pitch (24). Dow was also named a Top-25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Player of the Year Award.
All of those stat categories were season bests in Dow's career, and her marks in Average, Slugging Percentage, On-Base Percentage, Total Bases, Walks and Hit-By-Pitch were all new single-season records at SAU.
At the conclusion of the season, Dow ranked in the Top-10 nationally in Home Runs (1st – 22), On-Base Percentage (2nd - .598), Walks (5th – 54), Slugging Percentage (5th - .899), and Total Bases (7th – 151).
Other nominees for the 2016-17 GAC Female Athlete of the Year award included Arkansas-Monticello senior McKenzie Rice (Softball), Arkansas Tech senior Jalissa Gum (Softball), East Central sophomore Anna Mora (Cross Country/Track & Field), Harding senior A'ndrea Haney (Basketball), Henderson State junior Sarah Wright (Golf) Northwestern Oklahoma State junior Madison Garza (Softball), Oklahoma Baptist senior Olivia Charvat (Tennis), Ouachita senior Ashley Wake (Volleyball), Southeastern Oklahoma State senior Anna Bulukian (Tennis), Southern Nazarene senior Abbey Bell (Volleyball) and Southwestern Oklahoma State senior Carly Zak (Volleyball).
