Malyiah Smith named one of eight finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Standout shortstop Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been selected as a finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year award by the Association’s Division II All-America Committee.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Standout shortstop Malyiah Smith (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been selected as a finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year award by the Association's Division II All-America Committee.
She is one of eight finalists, one from each of the NCAA's eight regions. The other finalists include:
Slippery Rock University's Maddie Cavenaugh (Atlantic), Augustana University's Kierra Lubovich (Central), Franklin Pierce University's Camryn Van Valkenburgh (East), University of Indianapolis' Caitlin Bunte (Midwest), Saint Leo University's Abigail Hynes (South), West Texas A&M University's Brooke Janning (South Central), Carson-Newman University's Malyiah Smith (Southeast) and California State University San Marcos' Deleah Cardenas (West) are now in the running for the award, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 26.
Smith burst onto the scene and has put together an outstanding freshman season. She has filled the void left by graduate assistant and former All-American Hayden Dye at shortstop, winning SAC Freshman of the Year and earning first-team all-conference honors. Additionally, she was named second-team All-Region by NFCA and D2CCA.
"It's such an honor to be named a finalist for freshman of the year. The NFCA is recognizing her as one of the top eight freshmen in the nation. She definitely has the offensive stats to back up this nomination, but if people could actually see that kid play on the field, I think she would win hands down," head coach Michael Graves said. "She won us a lot of games with her glove and so many coaches complimented her to me after games. She plays with so much fire and competitiveness. I love being able to watch that kid play every day!"
The Knoxville native tallied 82 hits, the fifth most in a single season at Carson-Newman and tied for 16th nationally. She finished fourth on the team with a .402 batting average, adding 23 RBIs, reaching base at a .453 clip. Smith is just as dangerous on the bases, scoring 49 times, second-most on the team and led C-N with 25 stolen bases. The freshman has posted 29 multi-hit games, featuring 11 three-hit performances. In the field, Smith had 95 putouts with 107 assists, with plenty of spectacular plays at shortstop.
Created in 2015, the award honors the outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. To be eligible, student-athletes must come from an NFCA member institution.
Smith continues a lineage of stellar freshman seasons as Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) previously won the award in 2023. Bailey saw plenty of similarities between herself and Smith throughout the season.
"I had a talk early on with Malyiah about how I'm okay for you to show some emotion towards the game, but I still need you in the field," Bailey said. "I've seen so much improvement from her, and I cannot express how proud I am of her. It's been a long time since we had a freshman of the year here, and just for it to be her, it's like passing down the torch. I'm really glad it was her cause she really worked, and she deserves it."
Past winners include: 2025: Carliegh Knowles, North Georgia; 2024 – Sarah Davenport, East Stroudsburg; 2023 - Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman; 2022 - Caleigh Rister, PennWest California; 2021 - Kenzee Smith, Indianapolis; 2019 - Bailey McKittrick, Central Oklahoma; 2018 - Callie Nunes, Concordia; 2017 - Autumn Humes, Harding; 2016 Charlotte Romero, Colorado Christian; 2015 - Janessa Bassett, Dixie State.
2026 NFCA DII National Freshman of the Year Finalists
Atlantic – Maddie Cavenaugh, Slippery Rock University
Central – Kierra Lubovich, Augustana University
East – Camryn Van Valkenburgh, Franklin Pierce University
Midwest – Caitlin Bunte, University of Indianapolis
South – Abigail Hynes, Saint Leo University
South Central – Brooke Janning, West Texas A&M University
Southeast – Malyiah Smith, Carson-Newman University
West – Deleah Cardenas, California State University San Marcos
