Pair of Jayhawks Earn NFCA Honors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – More postseason accolades continue to roll in for Kansas softball, a team which is a little over 24 hours away from its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2006. Sophomores Chaley Brickey and Kelsey Kessler earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors as announced by the NFCA Thursday.
 
A 2014 All-Big 12 Second Team selection, Brickey earned her first NFCA accolade after being named All-Region First Team in the Midwest Region. The Haltom City, Texas native is batting a team-high .375 after 54 starts with a team-best 11 home runs. She has also collected 10 doubles and 38 RBIs. During the 2014 season, Brickey set a new KU single-season record in walks with 39 after surpassing the previous mark of 36 on April 18 at Baylor.
 
Kessler earned All-Region Third Team honors for the Midwest Region and it’s the first NFCA accolade for the pitcher from Blue Springs, Missouri. Kessler has thrown 21 complete games in 33 starts and recorded seven shutouts. She has a 2.41 ERA with 244 strikeouts in 206.1 innings pitched. Earlier this season, Kessler set a single-game record with 15 strikeouts against Chattanooga (2/9), one of 12 opponents KU faced in 2014 that is competing in the NCAA Tournament. She also hurled 24.1 consecutive scoreless innings from March 7-15.
 
After earning an at-large bid, Kansas is set to make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons. The Jayhawks are headed to the Columbia Regional, which features host Missouri, Bradley and Nebraska.

UP NEXT
Kansas faces No. 19 Nebraska on Friday, May 16 with first pitch is slated for 12:30 p.m. Fans can listen to all the regional action on Jayhawk Digital Passport and watch the games from University Field in Columbia on the Mizzou Network.
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.