GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina graduate outfielder Taylor Edwards has been named to the 2023 All-American Athletic Conference Second Team while freshman third baseman Mackenzie Kila has earned a spot on the AAC All-Rookie Team, according to an announcement by the league on Wednesday.
The pair are the seventh and eighth Pirates to earn spots on the All-AAC teams since ECU joined the American prior to the 2015 season, joining Casey Alcorn (first team/2015), Lydia Ritchie (second team/2017), Erin Poepping (all-rookie/2018), Rachel McCollum (second team/2021), Taudrea Sinnie (second team/2022) and Jordan Hatch (all-rookie/2022). It is also the second straight season that the Pirates have earned multiple All-AAC selections in the same season, both under head coach Shane Winkler.
Edwards joined the Pirates as a mid-year transfer from UCLA and immediately made an impact in the lineup. She currently leads the Pirates at the plate with a .373 batting average, produced a team-high 12 multi-hit games and held a team-best stretch of eight consecutive games with a hit. In AAC play, she batted 12-for-51 with three doubles and five RBI including going 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run in ECU’s road win over Houston on April 8.
Kila has been consistent and steady at third base in her first year as a Pirate with 20 assists and 10 putouts for a .909 fielding percentage in league play. She went 9-for-36 at the plate in AAC play including a double and a home run with her best performance coming at home against Memphis where she went 2-for-2 with a run and a walk drawn.
East Carolina faces third-seeded host South Florida as the No. 6 seed in the opening round of the AAC Softball Championship on Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN+ inside USF Softball Stadium.
2023 American Athletic Conference Softball Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year
Sydney McKinney, Wichita State
Pitcher of the Year
Sarah Willis, Jr., UCF*
Defensive Player of the Year
Kathy Garcia-Soto, South Florida
Sami Hood, Wichita State
Rookie of the Year
Alex Aguilar, Wichita State*
Coaching Staff of the Year
Wichita State*
All-Conference First Team
P – Sarah Willis, UCF*
P – Gabriella Nori, South Florida
C – Jada Cody, UCF
1B – Zoe Jones, Wichita State
1B – Shannon Doherty, UCF
2B – Micaela Macario, UCF
3B – Turiya Coleman, Houston*
SS – Sydney McKinney, Wichita State*
SS – Imani Edwards, Tulsa
OF – Kennedy Searcy, UCF
OF – Haley Morgan, Tulsa
OF – Addison Barnard, Wichita State
OF – Lauren Lucas, Wichita State
DP/U/P – Vivian Ponn, South Florida
DP/U/Non-P – Bree Cantu, Houston*
All-Conference Second Team
P – Alex Aguilar, Wichita State
P – Lauren Howell, Wichita State
C – Lainee Brown, Wichita State
IF – Jasmine Williams, UCF
IF – Kathy Garcia-Soto, South Florida
IF – Marissa Trivelpiece, South Florida
IF – Sami Hood, Wichita State
OF – Chloe Evans, UCF
OF – Taylor Edwards, East Carolina
OF – Jordyn Kadlub, South Florida
OF – MacKenzie Denson, Tulsa
DP/U – Aubrey Evans, UCF
DP/U – Kylee Nash, Tulsa
All-Rookie Team
P – Alex Aguilar, Wichita State*
2B – Sami Hood, Wichita State
3B – Mackenzie Kila, East Carolina
SS – Kathy Garcia-Soto, South Florida
OF – Neely Taylor, Memphis
OF – Taylor Sedlacek, Wichita State
DP/U – Aubrey Evans, UCF
*Denotes unanimous selection
