Golden Gators: Florida softball's Falby, Erickson Gold Glovers again, Shumaker earns top honor
In her maiden voyage with the Gators, she set not only freshman records, but also overall program records.
Tuesday night, on the sport's biggest stage, she added one more, and it was more prestigious one of all.
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Shumaker was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Freshman of the Year on Tuesday in Oklahoma City – two days before the Gators kick off the WCWS vs. Texas.
Shumaker became the second freshman to claim the award for the Gators – joining Amanda Lorenz. Lorenz, a UF legend, grew up in Moorpark in Southern California, not far from Shumaker's hometown of Fullerton. The two played in many of the same AAU circuits.
She currently sits at 23 home runs and 86 RBIs. Both of those tie program records. For home runs, she ties with Brittany Schutte in 2011, and RBIs with Jocelyn Erickson last season.
During Florida's pre-WCWS press conference Wednesday, Shumaker touched on what the experience of OKC has been like.
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'It's all really surreal. It's crazy to think I'm here after watching it for so many years,' Shumaker said. 'It's an unreal venue, so many amazing softball fans. We're growing the game we have been playing since we were five, six years old.'
Shumaker wasn't the only Gator to leave Wednesday with hardware. Kendra Falby and Erickson made history by going back-to-back with Gold Gloves, becoming just the second and third player to do so.
Falby was a no brainer. She awed players, coaches and fans alike with a new home run-stealing catch almost every week. This season, though, came with the new honor of All-American as she was named a second teamer – the first of her career.
The speedster said she credits her teammates more than anyone for her success.
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'The numbers that I've been able to put up when it comes to runs wouldn't be any help without Jocelyn and Taylor Shumaker and like the list goes on,' Falby said. 'It's really thanks to my teammates and pushing me every single day.'
Erickson credited outfielders like Falby for pushing her. Falby, along with fellow outfielders Shumaker and Korbe Otis, have mentioned how competitive the outfielders are in practice. Erickson said that mantra rubs off on the rest of the team.
'Our team feeds off of each other. When the outfield makes insane plays, like when Kendra robs a home run, it just makes me want to be so much better,' Erickson said. 'Having teammates around you that want to push you to be your best is honestly surreal.'
In total, Shumaker was named as a first team All-American by the NFCA, and Falby and Mia Williams were named second team.
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Florida begins its WCWS journey vs. Texas at 12 p.m. ET from Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators' national championship basketball season in 'CHOMP-IONS!' — a hardcover coffee-table collector's book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida softball's Kendra Falby, Jocelyn Erickson, Taylor Shumaker win awards
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