GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Off the heels of being named a finalist for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, Auburn softball's Bri Ellis was honored as the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year as announced by the league office announced Friday.
The freshman first baseman was also one of two Tigers to earn 2022 All-Southeastern Conference selections as Ellis was tabbed All-SEC Second Team. Behind her record-shattering performance in the circle, sophomore Maddie Penta was selected to the All-SEC First Team by the league's coaches.
Ellis is first Tiger in program history to be name the outright SEC Freshman of the Year. In 2002, Sara Dean was Co-Freshman of the Year with Florida's Mandy Schuerman. Ellis and Dean are the only student-athletes in program history to ever win the award.
The most powerful bat in the Tiger lineup, 18 of Ellis's 42 hits this season are home runs. Ellis leads all SEC freshmen and ranks third overall in the league for home runs. Ellis ranks 13th nationally in total home runs and is currently fifth in the SEC with a 0.35 home runs per game average.
Ellis is just the second Auburn freshman in program history to slug at least 10 home runs in their debut season. The Houston, Texas, native is tied with three-time Auburn All-American Kasey Cooper for the program's freshman home run record. Ellis is also tied for fifth overall in Auburn single-season history for home runs.
Adding eight doubles and a triple to her power numbers, Ellis currently stands seventh in Auburn single-season history with an .757 slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage is good for 10th in the SEC. Ellis is currently 15th among all active and qualifying Division I batters for career slugging percentage.
Ellis leads the team with 45 RBI and her 106 total bases is good for 12th in the SEC. She has scored 30 runs this season. Behind 13 walks, she holds a .383 on-base percentage. Starting 52 games at first base, Ellis holds a .988 fielding percentage with 238 putouts, 11 assists and just three errors.
She currently holds the program's second highest slugging percentage by a freshman. She also boasts the second most RBI and total bases by a freshman in school history.
Penta is the student-athlete to earn All-SEC First Team honors since the 2017 season and is the first pitcher to do so since Kaylee Carlson (2017).
The right-hander led the SEC and ranks 10th nationally with 23 wins in the circle, which include a streak of nine consecutive winning decisions to set a program record. Her 23 victories are tied for the fifth most by an Auburn pitcher in a single season. Penta has earned a win in 22 of her 33 starts.
Ranking in the top 15 in the nation, Penta sits second in the SEC with 258 total strikeouts. She is one of just seven pitches in program history to ever record 250 strikeouts in a season and is the first to do so since Anna Thompson in 2010. Her strikeout total has set the program's sophomore record and ranks sixth overall in Auburn single-season history. She has recorded eight double-digit strikeout games this season.
Having to shoulder the workload in the circle, Penta has allowed just 46 earned runs over 182.0 innings of work for a 1.77 earned run average. She has given up just 50 walks compared to her 258 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .181 average at the plate.
The Chesapeake City, Md., native also leads the SEC in innings pitched and ranks second in earned run average and strikeouts per seven innings (9.9). Penta is fourth in the league in both hits allowed per seven innings (4.62) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.16).
To go along with her sophomore strikeout record, Penta holds the fifth lowest earned run average and the fifth most innings pitched by a sophomore. Penta also ranks tied for second in Auburn single-season history in games started, fourth in strikeouts per seven innings, tied for fifth in opponent batting average, seventh in combined shutouts (6), and eighth in strikeouts looking (53).
In just her sophomore season, Penta ranks sixth in Auburn career history with 363 strikeouts.
All-SEC First Team
Montana Fouts, Alabama
Ashley Prange, Alabama
Chenise Delce, Arkansas
Hannah Gammill, Arkansas
Danielle Gibson, Arkansas
Mary Haff, Arkansas
Linnie Malkin, Arkansas
KB Sides, Arkansas
Maddie Penta, Auburn
Skylar Wallace, Florida
Lacey Fincher, Georgia
Jayda Kearney, Georgia
Sara Mosley, Georgia
Erin Coffel, Kentucky
Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky
Lauren Johnson, Kentucky
Ali Kilponen, LSU
Mia Davidson, Mississippi State
Kimberly Wert, Missouri
Brooke Wilmes, Missouri
Haley Lee, Texas A&M
All-SEC Second Team
Bailey Dowling, Alabama
Ally Shipman, Alabama
Hannah McEwen, Arkansas
Bri Ellis, Auburn
Cheyenne Lindsey, Florida
Sydney Kuma, Georgia
Renee Abernathy, Kentucky
Tatum Spangler, Kentucky
Clara Briggs, LSU
Georgia Clark, LSU
Danieca Coffey, LSU
Taylor Pleasants, LSU
Chloe Malau'ulu, Mississippi State
Jenna Laird, Missouri
Ivy Davis, Tennessee
Erin Edmoundson, Tennessee
Kelcy Leach, Tennessee
Kiki Milloy, Tennessee
Zaida Puni, Tennessee
Katie Dack, Texas A&M
Makinzy Herzog, Texas A&M
SEC All-Defensive Team
P – Tatum Spangler, Kentucky
C – Kayla Kowalik, Kentucky
1B – Danielle Gibson, Arkansas
2B – Hannah Adams, Florida
SS – Ivy Davis, Tennessee
3B – Hannah Gammill, Arkansas
LF – Casidy Chaumont, Missouri
CF – Ciara Briggs, LSU
RF – Rylea Smith, Kentucky
Player of the Year: KB Sides, Arkansas
Pitcher of the Year: Chenise Delce, Arkansas
Freshman of the Year: Bri Ellis, Auburn
Coach of the Year: Courtney Deifel, Arkansas