This is the third time Romero earns the Big Ten Player of the Year accolade, doing so in 2013 and 2014 at short stop. She becomes only the second softball player in conference history to earn the honor three times as Northwestern’s Garland Cooper did so from 2005-07. During her senior campaign, Romero led the Big Ten in multiple statistical categories, including batting average (.485), slugging percentage (.947), on-base percentage (.600) and RBI (70). She recorded a team-leading 16 home runs, was successful in 13-of-14 stolen base attempts and contributed with a .964 fielding percentage at second base. The Murrieta, Calif., native leads the nation with 1.46 RBI per game, is second with 1.40 runs per outing and holds the third-highest on-base percentage. She records the 19th Player of the Year distinction for Michigan.

Earning the honor for the second consecutive season, Betsa paced all conference pitchers with a 13-2 record and 135 strikeouts in Big Ten play, holding opposing hitters to a conference-leading .142 batting average. The McDonough, Ga., native recorded a 1.76 earned run average in conference contests with four shutouts and two saves. She is the third player in conference history to earn the honor in back-to-back years, with this season marking the 14th time that a Michigan player has been named Pitcher of the Year.

In conference play, Houlihan recorded a .464 batting average, ranking second in the Big Ten and claimed four Freshman of the Week honors. The utility player started all 50 games, recording a team-leading 11 home runs and going 8-for-9 in stolen bases. The Plymouth, Minn., native recorded 267 putouts in the field for a .972 fielding percentage. She becomes the fourth Gopher to claim Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Sara Groenewegen in 2014.Hutchins helped guide the Wolverines to their ninth consecutive Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. She became the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history as Michigan finished the season with a 21-2 conference mark, and 44-4 record overall, and enters the postseason ranked No. 2 in the major polls.

Hutchins has been named Coach of the Year in seven of the last nine seasons and 16 times overall. Romero, Betsa and Houlihan were each named first-team All-Big Ten performers and were joined on the 18-member squad by Michigan’s Sierra Lawrence and Kelsey Susalla, Minnesota’s Groenewegen and Sam Macken, Nebraska’s MJ Knighten and Kiki Stokes, Northwestern’s Andrea Filler and Amy Letourneau, Ohio State’s Alex Bayne and Cammi Prantl, Penn State’s Macy Jones, Lexi Knief and Alyssa VanDerveer, Purdue’s Lilly Fecho and Wisconsin’s Kelsey Jenkins.

Betsa, Lawrence, Romero and Greonewegen were all unanimous first-team selections. Eighteen players were named second-team All-Big Ten honorees, while nine players were named to the conference’s All-Defensive Team. The Big Ten also announced the 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees from each institution. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These players must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

2016 Softball All-Conference Teams and Individual Awards

First Team All-Big Ten

MEGAN BETSA, Jr., P, MICH
SIERRA LAWRENCE, Sr., OF, MICH
SIERRA ROMERO, Sr., 2B, MICH
Kelsey Susalla, Sr., OF, MICH
SARA GROENEWEGEN, Jr., P, MINN
Maddie Houlihan, Fr., 1B, MINN
Sam Macken, Jr., 3B, MINN
MJ Knighten, Jr., 3B, NEB
Kiki Stokes, Sr., OF, NEB
Andrea Filler, Sr., SS, NU
Amy Letourneau, Sr., UT, NU
Alex Bayne, Jr., OF, OSU
Cammi Prantl, Sr., UT, OSU
Macy Jones, Sr., OF, PSU
Lexi Knief, Sr., OF, PSU
Alyssa VanDerveer, So., C, PSU
Lilly Fecho, Sr., P, PUR
Kelsey Jenkins, So., 3B, WIS

Second Team All-Big Ten

Allie Bauch, Sr., 2B, ILL
Nicole Evans, Jr., OF, ILL
Rebecca Blitz, So., OF, IND
Shannon Cawley, Sr., OF, IND
Holly Hoffman, Sr., C, IOWA
Sarah Calta, Jr., OF, MD
Tera Blanco, So., 1B, MICH
Sara Driesenga, Sr., P, MICH
Aidan Falk, So., C, MICH
Lindsay Montemarano, Jr., 3B, MICH
Sydney Dwyer, So., UT, MINN
Taylor LeMay, Sr., C, MINN
Mattie Fowler, Sr., 1B, NEB
Morgan Nelson, Fr., 3B, NU
Sabrina Rabin, So., OF, NU
Maddy McIntyre, Sr., SS, OSU
Taylor White, So., OF, OSU
Taylor-Paige Stewart, Sr., P, WIS

Players in ALL CAPS denote unanimous selection

All-Defensive Team

P: Amy Letourneau, Sr., NU
C: Taylor LeMay, Sr., MINN
1B: Mattie Fowler, Sr., NEB
2B: Allie Bauch, Sr., ILL
SS: Maddy McIntyre, Sr., OSU
3B: Lindsay Montemarano, Jr., MICH
OF: Carly Thomas, So., ILL
OF: Sammi Gyerman, Jr., IOWA
OF: Alex Bayne, Jr., OSU

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sierra Romero, Sr., MICH

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Megan Betsa, Jr., MICH

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Maddie Houlihan, MINN

COACH OF THE YEAR: Carol Hutchins, MICH

Player in ALL CAPS denote unanimous selection

Sportsmanship Award Honorees: Jill Nicklas, ILL; Michelle Huber, IND; Sarah Kurtz, IOWA; Brenna Nation, MD; Lauren Connell, MICH; Kelly Zackrison, MSU; Paige Palkovich, MINN; Lotte Sjulin, NEB; Aubrie May, NU; Jayla Saibene, OSU; Shannon Good, PSU; Paris Andrew, PUR; Stephanie Huang, RU; Ashley Van Zeeland, WIS