Talley, Robinson named All-American by NJCAA, NFCA

Butler softball recently had two players – sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brianna Robinson and freshman outfielder Taliya Talley – receive All-American status by both the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

The NJCAA announced its selections on Monday, placing Talley on the first team while Robinson earned second-team status. Talley took second-team honors on the NFCA All-American squad, while Robinson was named to the third team.

Robinson becomes the fourth Grizzly player in program history to receive All-American honors in both seasons, joining Regan Mergele (2016-17), Brynn Minor (2016-17) and Kenzie Young (2017-18).

With two players earning All-American honors, it marks the fourth consecutive season that Butler softball has placed multiple players receiving All-American status. Butler was one of 10 Division I programs that had multiple selections on both the NJCAA and NFCA All-American teams.

The Grizzlies now have a total of 26 softball All-American selections under head coach Doug Chance since the 2005 season.

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Taliya Talley, OF, freshman / Midwest City, Okla.

In her freshman season, Talley slugged her way to a .463 batting average and 22 home runs – both team-high marks – while starting all 51 games. Talley also led the Grizzlies in doubles (14), hits (74), runs scored (57) and slugging percentage (.963).

Talley's .463 average is the seventh-best single-season mark at Butler. Her 22 home runs is the third-best mark for a Butler freshman and tied her for fifth on the Grizzly single-season leaderboard. After just one season, Talley ranks tied for 10th on the Butler career record books in home runs.

Talley also ranked second on the team in runs batted in (71) and on-base percentage (.519). The 71 RBI ranks Talley tied for ninth-place all-time in Grizzly single-season marks.

From March 26 to April 14, Talley had a 12-game hitting streak, as she hit .565 (26-of-46) with eight home runs, 22 RBI and scored 21 runs during that span.

Named the Co-MVP of the Jayhawk East Division, Talley also received first-team All-KJCCC East and All-Region VI. Talley was also named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team, after hitting .500 (6-of-12) with three home runs, five RBI and five runs scored in just three games.

Brianna Robinson, P/1B, sophomore / Henderson, TX

Playing all 51 games, Robinson hit .436 with 18 home runs and a team-high 77 runs batted in. The sophomore led the Grizzlies in on-base percentage (.520) and walks (28), while ranking second in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage (.840) and hits (71).

During her two seasons at Butler, Robinson clubbed 42 home runs – which ties Becca Schulte (2016-17) for most career home runs as a Grizzly. She finishes second behind Schulte with 162 career RBI and ranks fourth all-time at Butler in both hits (143) and batting average (.458). Robinson also ranks seventh all-time in runs scored with 107.

In 2019, Robinson's 18 home runs ranks her eighth on the Butler single-season leaderboard, while the 77 runs batted in puts her at sixth all-time. After her freshman season, Robinson held the third-best single-season mark in both home runs (24) and runs batted in (85). She joins Schulte as the only two Grizzlies to currently hold top 10 single-season marks in both home runs and RBI from both seasons.

In addition to receiving All-American honors, Robinson also was named to the All-KJCCC East Division and All-Region VI first team squads at utility.