Stokes Named to Player-of-the-Year Watch List

Nebraska senior center fielder Kiki Stokes was among an elite group of 50 players nationally named to the 2016 USA Softball College Player of the Year watch list, announced on Wednesday.

Stokes was one of 14 outfielders named to the watch list, including two from the Big Ten Conference. Overall, the Big Ten placed five student-athletes on the 50-player watch list. Stokes is the fourth Husker to be named to the top-50 watch list in the past five seasons.

Stokes earned third-team All-America honors as a junior in 2015, becoming the second Husker outfielder to be recognized as an All-American. In addition to being an All-American, Stokes was a first-team All-Midwest region honoree and she earned spots on the All-Big Ten first team and the Big Ten Tournament team.

Stokes was one of only six players nationally to record 10 home runs and five triples in 2015, and she also hit for average, posting a .407 average that ranked sixth in school history. Stokes also set Nebraska records with 66 runs, 17 hit-by-pitches and a .532 on-base percentage in 2015. She also became just the second Husker to produce 60 hits and 60 runs in the same season, while becoming one of four players in school history to total 50 hits, 50 runs and 50 RBIs in the same season. Stokes finished her junior season with 72 hits in 58 games, including nine doubles and five triples, while also drawing 34 walks, stealing 18 bases and driving in 51 runs.

A native of Olathe, Kan., Stokes served as a team captain in 2015 and she will fill that role again this spring. The Huskers open their 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 12 against Northern Iowa at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.