McMurtrey Caps Freshman Campaign with Rawlings Gold Glove Award

LOUISVILLE, Ky.– On Wednesday afternoon, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), announced the winners for the inaugural NAIA Rawlings Gold Glove Award, and Malea McMurtrey was selected as the top defensive shortstop in the country after an impressive freshman campaign for the Drovers.

McMurtrey was productive on offense and was the squad's leadoff hitter for a good portion of the season, she has a lot of speed and puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses, but her biggest impact she makes is on defense at the shortstop position. The freshman produced a stellar fielding percentage of .969 and only committed five errors out of 159 total chances. As the season progressed her defense continued to improve, and she did not commit any fielding errors over the team's final 14 games of the 2023 season.

Earlier in May, the Sooner Athletic Conference recognized McMurtrey with a first-team all-conference selection, as well as the conference's Gold Glove Award.

Offensively, she concluded the season with an impressive .346 batting average, along with 54 hits, four doubles, four triples, and 26 runs batted in. McMurtrey used her blazing speed to score 54 runs and she stole 33 bases, which ranked fifth in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

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