Madison Garza and Cassandra Valdez Honored as NFCA-NAIA All-Americans
LOUISVILLE, KY. (June 6, 2024) – Cassandra Valdez and Madison Garza of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) have been selected to the 2024 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NAIA All-America team, the Association revealed on Thursday afternoon.
Valdez also was named to the First Team last year, while Garza was named to the Second Team. Valdez was earlier named to the NAIA All-American First Team, and she received NAIA Pitcher of the Year honors.
First-time national champion Our Lady of the Lake University led a group of six schools with two All-America selections, which included fellow World Series participants Madonna University, Oregon Institute of Technology and the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. Marian University Indianapolis and Midland University also had two winners.
Sixteen teams honored one player each, including World Series runner-up Jessup, fifth-place finisher University of the Cumberlands and ninth-place team Georgia Gwinnett College.
Regions IV and VI had the most selections of any region, with eight apiece, followed by Region III with seven, Region I with five, and Regions II (OLLU) and V with four.
Cassandra Valdez, a graduate student from Brownsville, Texas, played in her last season with the Saints. She logged 56 games, including 36 appearances as a pitcher. Valdez had 144 at-bats, 50 hits, nine doubles, and a team-leading 62 runs, four triples, 15 home runs, 45 RBIs, 46 walks, 30 stolen bases, and a slugging percentage of .778. She batted .347 and had an on-base percentage of .513. In the circle, Valdez recorded 30 wins, one loss and three saves in 24 complete games. She pitched 197 innings and had 286 strikeouts for an ERA of .53 and a WHIP of .70. On the field, she had a team-leading 73 assists as a third baseman and pitcher.
Madison Garza, a senior from Danbury, Texas, played in her last season with the Saints. She logged 56 games with 145 at-bats, 36 runs, 57 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, four runs, 33 RBIs, 13 walks, 10 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of .593. She batted .393 and had an on-base percentage of .470. She led the team in hit-by-pitch with nine and sacrifice hits with 12. Garza had 46 putouts, 40 assists and a fielding percentage of .977 as the starting third baseman.
The Association's All-America Committees vote on the NFCA All-America teams. In the NAIA, the committee is comprised of one member head coach from each of the NAIA's six regions. All student-athletes nominated by a member head coach and voted to the first or second team All-Region squads were eligible for All-America consideration.
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