Nia Carter capped a historic senior season with a well-deserved reward. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., product was recognized as a third-team All-American by Softball America.
The 5-foot-1 senior from Cali tallied a remarkable 101 hits on the season. That figure was good for second nationally, trailing only Wichita State shortstop Sydney McKinney’s 103 hits.
It’s also just the second time in Big Ten history that a player topped the 100 hits mark. Carter joins Ohio State‘s Anna Smith in that distinction. Smith had 105 hits during the 2002 season.
๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ & ๐ด๐ผ๐น๐ฑ.https://t.co/mnfUnR87CD x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/9LPyYvgjmS
— Iowa Softball (@iowasoftball) June 1, 2023
Carter also finished the 2023 season with a .479 batting average, which ranked third nationally behind only McKinney and Ashley Trierweiler of Santa Clara. She also tallied 45 runs scored, 30 RBIs, 23 walks, and eight stolen bases.
Carter helped Iowa softball (35-27, 10-13 Big Ten) rally with a wild five-run seventh inning to top BYU, 9-7, in the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championships title game. She came home to score on Iowa sophomore Tatianna Roman’s infield single for the go-ahead run.
๐๐๐ช๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐ข๐ฃ!@tatiannaroman x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/2pZKOPMYT7
— Iowa Softball (@iowasoftball) May 20, 2023
As a result, Carter joined Iowa freshman pitcher Jalen Adams, junior second baseman Grace Banes, and junior designated player Denali Loecker on the NISC’s All-Tournament Team. Banes was named the NISC’s Most Valuable Player after hitting .385 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Carter was also a NFCA All-Region first team selection and was named to the 2023 Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
Carter joined the following Big Ten players among Softball America’s All-American teams: Indiana freshman second baseman Taryn Kern was named first team, Ohio State sophomore outfielder Melina Wilkison was named second team, Indiana sophomore designated player Taylor Minnick was named second team, Minnesota senior pitcher Autumn Pease was named third team, Nebraska shortstop Billie Andrews was named third team, and Northwestern graduate student pitcher Danielle Williams was named to the third team.
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