Lexi Kilfoyl Named Top 3 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

Fresh off taking over an NCAA Regional, Lexi Kilfoyl has another honor to her name.

Kilfoyl is one of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, it was announced Monday. Texas catcher Reese Atwood and Stanford Pitcher NiJaree Canady joined Kilfoyl with the honor. The award is given out based on outstanding play over the course of the entire season. The winner will be announced before the Women’s College World Series. It has been given out since 2002, and no Cowgirl has ever won the award.

“Honestly, I try not to look at those (honors) too hard because I’m an overthinker, and once it gets to my head, it’s not good for me,” Kilfoyl said. “So, I try not to make it more than it is. It’s honestly so amazing to be called all these things, but at the end of the day, it’s a title, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t show who I am.

“It’s obviously an honor to be named all those things, but if I accept it and move on, I think it doesn’t get to my head too much.”

Kilfoyl ranks fourth nationally in ERA at 1.08. She’s 24-3 this season having thrown 162 innings, where she’s given up just 25 earned runs while striking out 140 and walking only 29. Kilfoyl leads the Big 12 — a conference with four teams in the Super Regionals — in ERA, victories and shutouts while ranking second in the conference in strikeouts.

She dominated the Stillwater Regional this past weekend, leading the Cowgirls back to Supers. Over the course of the weekend, Kilfoyl threw 19 of a possible 21 innings where she gave up three runs (two earned) off 10 hits while striking out 21 batters and walking no one.

Kilfoyl was unanimously named the Big 12’s Pitcher of the Year and was a NFCA All-Region First Team selection. A few weeks back, Kilfoyl was also one of 15 athletes selected in the Athletes Unlimited College Softball Draft, becoming the 25th Cowgirl to be selected in a professional draft.

Out of Land O’ Lakes, Florida, Kilfoyl started her college career at Alabama, where she spent three seasons before joining the Cowgirls in 2023. She was a third-team All-American in her first year with the Cowgirls, boasting a 16-5 record with a 1.70 ERA.

Finalists

Kilfoyl: 24-3, 1.08 ERA, 162 innings pitched, 140 strikeouts, 29 walks

Canady: 21-4, 0.52 ERA, 187.2 innings pitched, 292 strikeouts, 32 walks

Atwood: .433 batting average, 40 runs scored, 88 RBIs, 22 home runs