BIG RAPIDS —Gaylord High School alum and Ferris State University softball first baseman Alexis Kozlowski was chosen as a national finalist for the 2024 Schutt Sports/NFCA DII Freshman of the Year Award.
The list of finalists for the prestigious award were announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Kozlowski is one of eight honorees in consideration for the award, representing the Midwest region.
Eight finalists, one from each of the NCAA’s eight regions, have been selected by the association’s Division II All-America Committee for the 2024 TUCCI/NFCA Division II Freshman of the Year award.
East Stroudburg’s Sarah Davenport (Atlantic), Augustana’s Desi Cuevas (Central), College of Saint Rose’s Kelsey Higgins (East), Ferris State’s Kozlowski (Midwest), Nova Southeastern’s Maliyah Lawson (South), UT Tyler’s Makayla Garcia (South Central), North Greenville’s Emily Blackwell (Southeast) and Western Washington’s Alli Kimball (West) are now in the running for the award, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 21.
Kozlowski was named to the NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team as determined by the national coaches’ organization, becoming the first Bulldog softball player to earn NFCA all-region first-team honors since both Amanda Harrington and Holly Bruntjens claimed the same distinction in 2009.
Kozlowski also was named to both the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team and chosen as the GLIAC Freshman of the Year. The FSU freshman was one of only three players from the GLIAC named to the all-region first-team squad.
Kozlowski led the Bulldogs to a top-four finish in the GLIAC and a spot in the conference tournament. She had a team-leading .361 batting average overall this year with a team-best 61 hits and 48 runs batted in to go with 19 doubles, six triples and six home runs in 52 games.
She scored 26 runs and recorded a .651 slugging percentage and .404 on-base figure. The Gaylord native led the conference with 19 doubles and six triples while ranking second in both hits and RBI this year in regular-season action.
She was also listed among the league’s top 10 performers in batting average and home runs. Kozlowski has also recorded two hits or more in 23 outings this season and totaled 31 extra-base hits while accounting for 110 total bases.
The Bulldogs closed the 2024 campaign with 25 victories, which represents the most wins for FSU in eight years. Ferris State had a single senior on a young playing roster this spring. The rest of the FSU roster is eligible to return next year.