D1 Defensive Player of the Year: Jayda Coleman
Top StoriesFollowing Oklahoma’s NCAA record-run to a third straight national title at the Women’s College World Series, it’s time to sit back and celebrate the best and the brightest of the 2023 season. D1Softball will be handing out its postseason awards over the next few days.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jayda Coleman, Oklahoma
Jayda Coleman has never seen a home run she didn’t think she could rob or a runner she didn’t believe she could throw out. The Big 12 Player of the Year showed all season that she’s a game-changer for Oklahoma in center field.
Coleman finished the season with a perfect fielding percentage and three assists. She showed how much she can impact a contest in the championship series, and unfortunately for Florida State’s Kalei Harding. In Game 1, Coleman erased one of the FSU’s two hits by throwing a strike to second base to prevent a double from Harding. The next day, Coleman kept Game 2 scoreless by robbing a would-be three-run homer off the bat of Harding.
The throw:
Don’t 👏 run 👏 on 👏 @jaydac00 👏#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/6dFpqpE1mX
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 8, 2023
The catch:
Game changer 😤 @jaydac00#WCWS #SCtop10 x @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/7DhaWAI6vl
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 9, 2023
It truly does feel like Coleman has a shot at catching any ball at the wall as she has displayed plenty of times during her career. For more about Coleman’s impact, read “A Catch That Changed a Game and Explained a Season” by our Graham Hays.