Courtney has won some pretty prominent awards during her softball career.
COURTESY PHOTO: MICHAEL P. REESE/UTEP ATHLETICS - Glencoe graduate and current UTEP sophomore Courtney smiles during a Conference USA game against North Texas on May 1.
This one has to rank near the top of the list.
A 2014 Glencoe graduate and currently a sophomore at Texas-El Paso, Courtney was named the Conference USA Player of the Year for softball last week. She is the first Miner to earn the award since Camilla Carrera did so in 2012.
“I am very proud of everything that Courtney accomplished this year,” third-year head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said in a release on utepathletics.com. “I couldn’t think of a more deserving kid. She has definitely put in the work, so it is so nice to see it pay off.”
Much like in high school, Courtney is turning into a dominant offensive player at UTEP. Through May 8, the sophomore was tied for first in the conference in doubles (20); second in batting average (.421), hits (77) and total bases (120); fifth in slugging percentage (.656); sixth in runs scored (44); and eighth in on-base percentage (.443).
Another aspect of her game that carried over from her high school days is that she is a tough out, striking out just nine times in 190 at-bats.
With conference tourney stats thrown in, Courtney finished the season batting .416 with 21 doubles — a UTEP single-season record — plus 45 runs scored, 125 total bases, a .658 slugging percentage, a .438 on-base percentage and 79 hits, the latter total also establishing a new single-season school record.
In conference play, Courtney ranked first in hits (43), doubles (12) and total bases (64), and second in hitting (.467). She also had a season total of 35 RBIs and hit safely in 21 straight games from March 13 through May 7.
On the defensive side of the ball, Courntey, a middle infielder, put up 119 assists — tops all-time at UTEP. She had just seven errors for a .968 fielding percentage and started all 55 games this season.
With Courtney leading the way, an on-the-rise Miners squad went 23-32 overall, posted its first-ever winning record in C-USA (13-11), and made its first conference tournament appearance since 2010. Sixth-seeded UTEP won its first round game, 5-4 against No. 7 Florida International, last week before ending its season with a 10-4 loss to No. 4 Southern Miss.
In addition to being recognized for her on-field play, Courntey was also highlighted for her work in the classroom this year. Earlier this month she was selected to the C-USA All-Academic Team as well as the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. She is also a two-time C-USA Academic Medalist and C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll designee.
Courtney carries a 3.92 grade-point average in health promotions.
Before her move to Texas, Courtney was named the Class 6A player of the year for the Crimson Tide in 2013 and 2014. She helped Glencoe win three consecutive Pacific Conference titles from 2011-2013 and also led the Tide to the state championship game in 2013.
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