The first season in the Big 12 was a successful one for Arizona softball. Big 12 Player of the Year Devyn Netz was the driving force, but it took a team. Conference voters noticed by honoring almost the entire starting lineup for the 12th-ranked Wildcats with postseason awards on Wednesday morning.
Arizona’s seven all-conference selections were the most for the program since 2021, when the pandemic-created “super senior” class placed eight players on the Pac-12’s three all-conference teams. The Big 12 only has two all-conference teams.
Netz led the way with Big 12 Player of the Year, All-Big 12 First Team, and Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors. It is the first time she has been named to a conference first team, although she was on the All-Pac-12 Second Team in 2023.
Netz became the sixth Wildcat to win a conference player of the year award. The last came in 2017 when third baseman Katiyana Mauga was Pac-12 co-Player of the Year. Arizona has a total of seven such awards with Alison McCutcheon being the lone two-time winner.
Netz played in 51 of Arizona’s 53 games, splitting time between pitcher and first base. She went 20-5 in the circle with career lows in ERA (2.00) and WHIP (0.89). Her WHIP led the team. She walked just 21 batters in 133.0 innings pitched. Her 17 home runs surrendered were the lowest in any season with qualifying stats, trailing only the three she gave up in 21.1 IP her freshman season.
Netz’s biggest individual accomplishment came on Mar. 27 when she threw a perfect game and hit a home run in an 8-0 Arizona win at BYU. She was the first Wildcat to perform that feat and the 11th Arizona pitcher to throw a perfect game.
Fellow pitcher/infielder Miranda Stoddard, outfielder Dakota Kennedy, and catcher Sydney Stewart joined Netz as unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 First Team. It was Kennedy’s third straight selection to an all-conference first team.
Kennedy was also named to the defensive team. The All-Defensive team is a playable team, meaning Netz was picked as the best defensive pitcher and Kennedy was one of three outfielders selected to the team.
Outfielders Regan Shockey and Kaiah Altmeyer were joined by freshman third baseman Jenna Sniffen on the All-Big 12 Second Team. Sniffen was also one of four freshmen to be a unanimous selection to the Big 12 All-Freshman team. She was the only freshman to start for Arizona this season.
The Wildcats get underway at the Big 12 Softball Tournament on Thursday, May 8 at 3 p.m. MST in Oklahoma City. They will face either No. 7 seed UCF or No. 10 seed Utah.
Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire