Butler's Minor named Dudley® NJCAA DI Player of the Year

Butler's Minor named Dudley® NJCAA DI Player of the Year
June 15, 2017

Butler sophomore outfielder/pticher Brynn Minor has been named as the 2017 Dudley® NJCAA DI Softball Player of the Year, which was announced on Thursday by the Division I Softball Committee.

Minor joins teammate Regan Mergele as the only two Butler softball players to win a national player of the year award in the program's history. Mergele was named the top pitcher of the year on Tuesday. Minor helped the Grizzlies to a 58-1 record and back-to-back NJCAA Division I national championships this season, along with finishing 111-5 in two seasons at Butler.

"Honestly, it still hasn't hit me that we just won our second national championship," Minor said. "The fact that I received this award gives me reassurance that I chose the right school. I could not have been blessed with a better school, teammates, or coaches these past two years that put me in a phenomenal position to succeed."

"It honestly doesn't feel real that these past two years happened," Minor added. "I never would have dreamed of only losing five games in two years with two national championships."

Minor led the Grizzlies in numerous offensive categories this season, including setting single-season records in batting average (.497) and home runs (30). Minor led all NJCAA D-I hitters in extra base hits (57) and slugging percentage (1.158) and led the Grizzlies in hits (91) and doubles (23). Shealso finished second on the team in RBIs (98) and fourth in runs scored (81).

In the circle, Minor made 34 appearances with eight starts and had a 13-0 record with a 1.07 earned-run average, throwing 78 2/3 innings with 71 strikeouts and just nine walks. Minor allowed 12 earned runs on 54 hits on the season and recorded a team-high five saves.

Minor ends her Butler career as the Grizzlies' all-time leader in batting average (.478), hits (174), doubles (41) and earned-run average (1.03). She also finished second all-time in RBIs (144) and third in both home runs (36) and runs scored (132) at Butler.

Minor had a team-high 30-game hitting streak (Feb. 25 to Apr. 23), hitting .589 (53-for-90) with 18 home runs, 59 RBI, 50 runs scored, 13 doubles, triples and five stolen bases. She was named the NJCAA Player of the Week (April 10-16) after hitting .692 with four home runs, six RBI and two doubles. She was also a two-time recipient of the Jayhawk Conference Division I Player of the Week honors.

Along with being named All-American first-team in both the NJCAA and the National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation (NFCA), Minor received Jayhawk Conference Most Valuable Player honors this season. Minor was also named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team, as she hit .471 (8-of-17) with four home runs and eight RBIs. She also made three tourney appearances with two starts in the circle, going 1-0 with a 2.27 ERA, six strikeouts and no walks in 12 1/3 innings pitched. Minor also tied a tournament record by hitting three home runs in the championship game against Salt Lake (UT).

Last season, Minor was a NFCA All-American third-team selection, a first-team all-Jayhawk Conference selection and named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team. She became the fourth Grizzly under head coach Doug Chance to receive Jayhawk Conference MVP honors (Clarissa Navarro, 2011; Mac Millspaugh, 2012; Maggie Ham, 2013). Minor also received the Junior College Female Athlete of the Year by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission and is nominated for the award again this season.