2018 All-PacWest Softball Team

IRVINE, Calif. – Fresh off discovering they would make their first NCAA Division II postseason appearance in program history, Academy of Art University Softball received its largest number of 2018 Pacific West Conference awards to date as six Urban Knights and one coach were honored in the conference's announcement on Tuesday. Head coach Sonja Garnett was named PacWest Coach of the Year and freshman pitcher/utility Brooke Larsen (21-4) captured an All-PacWest First Team selection. A trio of ART U student-athletes, freshman infielder Jayda Alaan, senior infielder Samantha Klune, and senior utility Brenna Mitchell were selected to the All-PacWest Second Team while sophomore infielder Gracie Sotomayor and sophomore outfielder Gabi Hirsch earned All-PacWest Third Team honors.

"This year's results have come from multiple contributors and I think that these seven awards exemplify that," said head coach Sonja Garnett.

This season, the PacWest coaches or designated representatives from each school selected a total of 42 student-athletes for All-Conference accolades. The squad consisted of a First Team, Second Team, Third Team, as well as Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Freshman of the Year as well as Coach of the Year.

In her fourth season with the program, Garnett guided the Urban Knights to their best season in Academy of Art's 10-year history. After defeating No. 15 Cal State Monterey Bay in mid-February, ART U would split with Azusa Pacific, Biola, and No. 17 Concordia across a crucial Southern California roadtrip. That final win over an Eagles team that would go on to win the PacWest Conference regular season title sparked what became a 10-game win streak that saw the Knights sweep through five matchups (including a shutout of No. 13 Sonoma State) in the Tournament of Champions for the first time ever. Shortly thereafter, Academy of Art would unleash a 13-game win streak, the longest by any team in athletic department history, which culminated with an incredible 30 runs scored in a doubleheader sweep of Holy Names on Senior Day. Along the way, Garnett accomplished her milestone 100th win with the program and now, on the verge of a 40-win season, navigates the team through their first NCAA Regional to date.

Fueling a historic year for the Urban Knights, Larsen proved to be one of the toughest pitchers to face in the country. She finished the regular season as the PacWest leader with 10 shutouts (fifth in NCAA Division II) and innings pitched (178.1), ranked second in strikeouts (207, 11th in NCAA DII), wins (21, 19th in NCAA DII), and fourth in earned run average (1.41, 23rd in NCAA DII). One of the most dynamic talents in the conference, as a hitter, she also finished second in the PacWest in doubles (18) and tied for ninth in batting average (.359). She would set single-season program records in shutouts, strikeouts, ERA, and doubles.

"Brooke has been such a fierce competitor for us anywhere we put her," said Garnett. "She has been a huge game-changer for this program."

Truly dominant as a freshman, Larsen did not allow more than three earned runs in any of her first 30 collegiate appearances. After shutting out Central Washington in her third start of the year, Larsen collected the first of what would be seven PacWest Freshman of the Week honors, one Player of the Week honor, and eventually the program's first Louisville Slugger/NFCA DII National Pitcher of the Week selection. She struck out a career-high 13 (one shy of the program's single-game record) against Notre Dame de Namur on Mar. 9 then later delivered 38.1 consecutive scoreless innings that covered a stretch where she was named 2018 Tournament of Champions MVP, Top Pitcher, & All-Tournament Team. Larsen proved her elite talent with the bat as well, leading the team in batting average for much of the year and doubling six times over a six-game stretch en route to the program's record for a single season.

A sparkplug for the Urban Knights on both sides of the softball, Alaan showed she was fearless as a freshman. She completed the regular season ranked seventh in the PacWest in on-base percentage (.479) and ninth in runs scored (36) while hitting .322 with three homers, nine doubles, and 24 runs batted in. Standing just 5-2, the native of Diamond Bar, California became perhaps best known for, in a single season, breaking the Academy of Art career record for times hit by a pitch. After being hit eight times in her first five games, Alaan would take over as the NCAA Division II leader in hit-by-pitch and has not relinquished that title since.

"Jayda is such a fun student-athlete to coach and brings positive energy to the field every day," said Garnett. "Her stats speak for themselves and she really gets a lot of things going for us offensively."

One of Alaan's early highlights was her first collegiate home run which came along with her tying the program's single-game record with four runs scored against Dominican on Feb. 19. From that point, she would record at least one hit in 14 of her next 18 games, driving in five along the way. She then caught fire during ART U's final homestand, hitting .625 (5-for-8) with 11 RBIs through sweeps of UH Hilo and Holy Names before being named PacWest Freshman of the Week.

An All-PacWest Second Team selection as a freshman in 2015, Klune broke out once again as a senior. One of the team's two captains, the Acting major ended the regular season tied for fourth in the PacWest in triples (3), tied for 12th in doubles (11), 14th in extra-base hits (18), 18th in batting average (.344), and 20th in slugging percentage (.521). A career .312 hitter, she is tied for fourth on the program's all-time list in career doubles (33), tied for fifth in home runs (13), and third in assists (324).

"Sam has grown so much over these four years and she is having an incredible senior season," said Garnett. "She is a true leader on defense and is one of the reasons we continue to improve offensively."

One of three Knights to start all 55 contests, Klune homered twice and drove in four over the team's first five games in the Desert Stinger, remained a consistent force for ART U hitting in the cleanup spot, and closed the year as one of the team's hottest hitters. Through the final 28 games of the regular season (23 of which were Academy of Art victories), Klune raised her batting average by 70 points, hitting .398 with 20 RBIs including a 6-for-7 performance on Senior Day that featured another home run and six RBIs. She cranked her fourth homer of the year, a three-run shot, on national television at No. 19 Dixie State on May 5.

Mitchell, an All-PacWest Third Team honoree alongside Klune as a freshman in 2015 and again in 2016, returned to her dynamic self as a senior in 2018. She wrapped up the regular season tied for fourth in the PacWest in doubles (14) and tied for fifth in RBIs (39) while ranking 17th in NCAA DII in sacrifice flies and setting a single-season. The Interior Architecture & Design major also led team with 11 multi-RBI games.

"Brenna has been such a great asset to this program as a student-athlete and a leader," said Garnett. "She is so versatile on defense and has consistently produced runs all year."

Starting against No. 15 Cal State Monterey Bay, Mitchell posted the Knights' longest hit streak of the year with hits in 12 consecutive games and 12 RBIs over eight contests in that stretch. She finished the year, hitting .318 with a team-high 25 RBIs over the team's final 28 games (23 of which were ART U victories). Additionally, after an injury kept her out of the pitcher's circle in 2016, she hit her stride after four appearances, allowing just one earned run in her final 26.2 innings while throwing a shutout versus Hawaii Pacific on Apr. 22.

Coming off an All-PacWest Third Team honor last year, Sotomayor remained one of the most consistent second basemen in the conference, ranking eighth in the PacWest in triples (2), was tied for 12th in doubles (11), 18th in RBIs (32), and 19th in stolen bases (9). She was one of three Knights to start all 55 games.

"Gracie has swung the bat well for us and come up clutch several times this year," said Garnett. "Her composure and ability to pick her teammates up has helped keep us steady throughout."

Sotomayor started the season extremely productive with eight RBIs in her first nine games and essentially never slowed down. She steadily increased her batting average to .336 over the course of the next 24 games, doing so by tying the program's single-game hits record with a 4-for-4 performance against Cal State Dominguez Hills that featured a triple and three RBIs. She would go on to be named to the 2018 Tournament of Champions All-Tournament Team shortly thereafter and finished the regular season 6-for-15 with two doubles and five RBIs in her final five contests.

A dangerous hitter atop the Academy of Art lineup, Hirsch demonstrated her speed in essentially all 55 of the games she started this season. Completing the regular season ranked fourth in the PacWest in stolen bases (29), she was also fourth in total hits (62) and sixth in runs scored (41). Additionally, the Interior Architecture & Design major led ART U with 18 multi-hit games.

"Gabi has made game-changing plays in the outfield all year and is consistently putting us in position to score by starting things on the base-paths," said Garnett.

Intent on giving her team additional scoring opportunities right away, Hirsch stole 15 bases in her first 22 games of 2018. An eight-game hit streak helped get her going midway through before finishing strong. Like Klune and Mitchell, Hirsch did quite a bit of damage in the team's final 28 games, hitting .382 with 27 runs scored and 14 stolen bases during that stretch. In that timeframe, she would deliver both a team-best 12-game hitting streak and 25-game reached base streak which was tied for the second-longest in program history.

This is the second All-PacWest honor in Klune, Mitchell, and Sotomayor's respective careers and the first in the careers of Larsen, Alaan, and Hirsch.