Texas catcher Reese Atwood takes home Player of the Year honors

Reese Atwood is racking up the awards.

It shouldn’t be a shock to see star Texas Longhorns softball catcher Reese Atwood earn some national recognition after the season she has had.

This season for the No. 1 Longhorns, Atwood has an impressive slash line of .435 (batting average)/.505 (on base percentage)/.904 (slugging). She has set Texas single-season records with her 23 home runs and 90 RBIs, which also led the country this season. She was recently named Big 12 Play of the Year and national Player of the Year by Softball America. Now D1 Softball has also named her as their national Player of the Year.

Last season Atwood played in 58 games with 56 starts slashing .291/.313/.529. She doubled her home run and rbi output while also showing more patience at the plate with 23 walks as opposed to her three walks last season with 12 more strikeouts.

Here is what D1 Softball had to say about Atwood:

One of 2024’s best breakout stars, Atwood earns National Player of the Year honors after a stellar season. Establishing herself as one of the nation’s most feared hitters, Atwood owns a .435 batting average and a 1.409 OPS. She led top-seeded Texas with 23 home runs, nearly doubling the total of her next-closest teammate. Atwood leads the nation with 90 RBIs and has earned 33 free passes, including 23 walks and 10 hit-by-pitches. Defensively, she owns a .972 fielding percentage and has been a rock behind the plate for the Longhorns.

Texas will face off with Stanford in their first matchup of the Women’s College World Series, where they will see the D1 Softball national Pitcher of the Year, NiJaree Canady who holds an ERA of 0.65 with 310 strikeouts.

You can catch Atwood and the Longhorns in Game 3 on ESPN2. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.