AUBURN, Ala. – With the conclusion of the Women's College World Series, D1 Softball complied its D150 Player Rankings, breaking down the top softball student-athletes of the 2022 season. SEC Freshman of the Year and Auburn slugger Bri Ellis made the cut at No. 94.
Rankings were compiled on numerous factors including offensive stats, defensive impact, and the merit each student-athlete brought to their team's success in both the regular season and the postseason.
The most powerful bat in the Tiger lineup, 20 of Ellis's 45 hits were home runs. Ellis leads all SEC freshmen and ranks third in the conference in both total home runs and home runs per game (0.36). Her home run total is also good for 13th in Division I softball.
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 surpassed three-time Auburn All-American Kasey Cooper for the program's freshman home run record. Ellis closed her freshman campaign tied for the second most home runs hit in a single season at Auburn.
Adding eight doubles and a triple to her power numbers, Ellis closed the season tied for fifth in Auburn single-season history with a .772 slugging percentage. The mark is the seventh highest slugging clip among SEC hitters.
Ellis led the team with 49 RBI, averaging 0.88 runs batted in per game to rank 12th in the conference. She ended the season with 115 total bases, the 13th most in the SEC. Ellis also added 32 runs scored. Behind 13 walks, she held a .378 on-base percentage. Starting 56 games at first base, Ellis turned in an .989 fielding percentage with 251 putouts, 11 assists and just three errors.
She rounded out her debut season with the program's second highest slugging percentage, total bases and RBI recorded by an Auburn freshman.
Adding to her SEC Freshman of the Year honors, Ellis was also tabbed All-SEC Second Team and to the Extra Inning Softball All-Freshman Team. She was also a top 10 finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year.