Player of the Year - Maya Brady, UCLA
Pitcher of the Year - NiJaree Canady, Stanford
Co-Defensive Player of the Year - Tayler Biehl, Arizona
Co-Defensive Player of the Year - Paige Sinicki, Oregon
Freshman of the Year - Kaitlyn Terry, UCLA
Coach of the Year - Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA
Batting Champion - Abby Dayton, Utah
In a vote of the league’s nine softball head coaches, UCLA’s Maya Brady was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Stanford’s NiJaree Canady was tabbed the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, Arizona’s Tayler Biehl and Oregon’s Paige Sinicki are the Co-Defensive Players of the Year, UCLA’s Kaitlyn Terry was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Utah’s Abby Dayton is this season’s Pac-12 Batting Champion after hitting a league-high .444.
In addition to the major awards, the Conference's All-Pac-12, All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams were named in advance of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 8 at Stanford’s Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Maya Brady, R-Sr., UTIL, UCLA (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
Brady picked up where she left off last season, putting together another stellar campaign by hitting .410 with 58 RBI and 15 home runs in 2024 to earn consecutive Pac-12 Player of the Year accolades. The shortstop paced the league in slugging percentage (.836) and in RBI, was tied for the Conference lead in runs scored (45), and ranked second in home runs. Brady’s 69 home runs are the second most in Bruin history, and her 263 career runs scored and 236 RBI each rank in the top-five in UCLA history. Brady was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week three times this season, and is one of 26 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. product is the sixth Bruin to win multiple Pac-12 Player of the Year honors: Rachel Garcia (2018, 2019, 2021), Ally Carda (2014, 2015), Stacey Nuveman (1999, 2001, 2022), Lisa Fernandez (1991, 1992, 1993) and Lisa Longaker (1987, 1988, 1990).
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
NiJaree Canady, So., P/UTIL, Stanford (Topeka, Kan.)
Canady appeared in 29 games for the Cardinal this season, going 17-4 while striking out a career-high 243 over 158.2 innings for a Pac-12-best 10.7 strikeouts per seven innings. The sophomore’s 0.53 ERA not only leads NCAA DI this season but is also on pace to be the best by a Pac-12 pitcher since 2002 (UCLA’s Keira Goerl - 0.48). Canady’s five saves are tied for the Conference lead, and her 9.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the third-best mark nationally. The Topeka, Kan. native has recorded 15 double-digit strikeout performances this season, eight of which have come against top-25 teams. Canady becomes the first-ever Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year for Stanford, and is one of 26 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tayler Biehl, So., INF, Arizona (Folsom, Calif.)
Biehl has a team-best 103 assists this season and a .977 fielding percentage. Her 57 assists in Pac-12 play leads the league, while her seven double plays in Conference action are tied for the third most. As a team, Arizona leads the Pac-12 and ranks second nationally with a .982 fielding percentage which is tied for the second best mark in program history. The sophomore becomes the fifth Wildcat to earn Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining teammate Allie Skaggs (2023), Hallie Wilson (2015), Kellie Fox (2014) and head coach, Caitlin Lowe (2007).
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Paige Sinicki, Jr., INF, Oregon (Henderson, Nev.)
Sinicki had 41 errorless games this season while posting a .972 fielding percentage on the year. The junior has 97 assists this season, the third most in the Pac-12, to lead an Oregon squad which boats a .975 fielding percentage which is the third highest in Duck history. Offensively, Sinicki hit a career-high .274 and 11 stolen bases this season. Sinicki becomes the second-ever Oregon player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Janelle Lindvall (2016).
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Kaitlyn Terry, Fr., P/OF, UCLA (Glendale, Ariz.)
Terry appeared in 31 games for the regular-season champion Bruins, going 16-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 125 strikeouts, which are the fifth-most in the league. The southpaw ranks third in the Pac-12 in innings pitched (139.0) and in complete games (13), and her five shutouts are the second most in the Conference. Terry earned back-to-back Pac-12 Freshman of the Week accolades (March 18 & 25), which was headlined by her complete-game shutout of then-No. 8 Washington to become the first Bruin freshman since Rachel Garcia in 2017 to throw a complete-game shutout against a NFCA top-10 opponent. Terry is UCLA’s 10th Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA
A four-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Inouye-Perez becomes the first back-to-back winner since Oregon’s Mike White (2013, 2014). Inouye-Perez led the Bruins to a 34-10 record and their 13th regular-season Pac-12 title, which is the fifth Pac-10/12 crown in her tenure. On April 19 she earned her 800th career win, joining Washington’s Heather Tarr as the only active Pac-12 coaches with 800 career victories. UCLA, who is the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament for the second straight year, enters the postseason having won five straight games and 12 of its last 13. Inouye-Perez becomes the third coach in Conference history to be voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year at least four times: Arizona's Mike Candrea (11), UCLA's Sharron Backus (4).
BATTING CHAMPION
Abby Dayton, So., OF, Utah (Riverside, Calif.)
Dayton is Utah’s first Pac-12 Batting Champion since 2017 (Hannah Flippen) after hitting .444 this season, which is the 10th best average in NCAA DI. The sophomore recorded a hit in 38 games, including 20 multi-hit performances. Dayton also leads the league in triples (6) and on-base percentage (.522).
2024 PAC-12 SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Name |
Year |
Position |
School |
Tatum Anzaldo |
Sr. |
INF |
California |
Maya Brady |
R-Sr. |
SS |
UCLA |
NiJaree Canady |
So. |
P/UTIL |
Stanford |
Ariel Carlson |
5th |
OF |
Oregon |
Abby Dayton |
So. |
OF |
Utah |
Haley Denning |
Gr. |
UTIL |
Utah |
Megan Grant |
So. |
UTIL |
UCLA |
Rylee Holtorf |
Jr. |
INF |
Washington |
Emily Jones |
So. |
INF |
Stanford |
Dakota Kennedy |
So. |
OF |
Arizona |
Mariah Lopez |
Sr. |
P |
Utah |
Kai Luschar |
R-Jr. |
OF |
Oregon |
Ruby Meylan |
So. |
P |
Washington |
Brooke Nelson |
Gr. |
P/1B |
Washington |
Sharlize Palacios |
R-Sr. |
C |
UCLA |
Allie Skaggs |
Sr. |
UTIL |
Arizona |
Regan Shockey |
Fr. |
UTIL |
Arizona |
Kaitlyn Terry |
Fr. |
P/OF |
UCLA |
Taylor Tinsley |
So. |
P |
UCLA |
Jordan Woolery |
So. |
INF |
UCLA |
SECOND TEAM
Name |
Year |
Position |
School |
Jadelyn Allchin |
Gr. |
OF |
UCLA |
Acacia Anders |
Jr. |
INF |
California |
Aliya Belarde |
Sr. |
INF |
Utah |
Elon Butler |
So. |
INF |
California |
Alana Johnson |
So. |
UTIL |
Washington |
Taryn Kern |
So. |
INF |
Stanford |
Regan Krause |
Sr. |
P |
Stanford |
Kaylah Nelsen |
Jr. |
OF |
Utah |
Carlie Scupin |
Sr. |
INF |
Arizona |
Aissa Silva |
So. |
P |
Arizona |
Elise Sokolsky |
R-So. |
P |
Oregon |
THIRD TEAM
Name |
Year |
Position |
School |
Haylei Archer |
Sr. |
P |
California |
Tianna Bell |
So. |
INF |
California |
Tayler Biehl |
So. |
INF |
Arizona |
Jillian Celis |
Gr. |
INF |
Washington |
Kyra Chan |
So. |
OF |
Stanford |
Alyssa Daniell |
Sr. |
INF |
Oregon |
Hanna Delgado |
Sr. |
OF |
Oregon |
Ava Gall |
Fr. |
C |
Stanford |
Kelsey Hall |
Gr. |
OF |
Arizona State |
Aly Kaneshiro |
Sr. |
C |
Stanford |
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Name |
Year |
Position |
School |
Tatum Anzaldo |
Sr. |
3B |
California |
Tayler Biehl |
So. |
SS |
Arizona |
NiJaree Canady |
So. |
P |
Stanford |
Jillian Celis |
Gr. |
2B |
Washington |
Haley Denning |
Gr. |
OF |
Utah |
Dakota Kennedy |
So. |
OF |
Arizona |
Sharlize Palacios |
R-Sr. |
C |
UCLA |
Carlie Scupin |
Sr. |
1B |
Arizona |
Regan Shockey |
Fr. |
OF |
Arizona |
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Name |
Position |
School |
Giselle Alvarez |
INF |
Washington |
Jade Berry |
INF |
Stanford |
Paige Doerr |
OF |
Oregon State |
Katie Flannery |
INF |
Oregon |
Ava Gall |
C |
Stanford |
Reese Lee |
OF |
Utah |
Shonty Passi |
UTIL |
Utah |
Sidne Peters |
P |
Washington |
Lagi Quiroga |
C/OF |
California |
Emily Schepp |
C/UTIL |
Arizona |
Regan Shockey |
UTIL |
Arizona |
Taylour Spencer |
P |
Oregon |
Kaitlyn Terry |
P/OF |
UCLA |
Libby Walsh |
INF |
Arizona State |