A former executive director of ZES Educational Services, Lori Manning is pursuing a master of business administration at Western Governors University. Lori Manning previously earned a bachelor's in family psychology from Oklahoma Baptist University, where she was an award-winning member of its varsity softball team.
The highest individual honor in college softball is the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year. The 2017 trophy was awarded to Kelly Barnhill of the University of Florida. Barnhill, who also won the 2017 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Pitcher of the Year, helped Florida return to the NCAA Women's College World Series for the eighth time in school history with an impressive pitching win-loss record of 24-3 to go along with 333 strikeouts. In fact, the sophomore only allowed nine earned runs and recorded a 0.36 earned run average through Super Regional play.
Barnhill didn't allow a single hit on four occasions in 2017 and earned SEC Pitcher of the Week five times, which set a University of Florida record. She didn't simply thrive off weaker competition; rather, the second-year pitcher recorded 14 wins and 9 shutouts against top 25-ranked teams. Megan Good of James Madison and Meghan Gregg of Tennessee were the other two finalists for the award.
