Florida State’s Alex Powers Wins 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in Softball

May 31, 2017

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (May 31, 2017) – All-American infielder Alex Powers from Florida State has been selected as the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® winner in softball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Powers is the third student-athlete from Florida State to win a Senior CLASS Award since its inception in 2001.

“Receiving the Senior CLASS Award is a great honor, and Coach Alameda has helped shape the Florida State softball program into a very family and community-oriented culture, where we can be successful both on and off the field,” said Powers, who helped the Seminoles to two Women’s College World Series appearances during her career. “My time at Florida State and learning from all of my coaches has pushed me to be my best and grow the game because I love my team and love everything the game of softball has taught me. I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned through teamwork, through adversity, through success and through failure. And those are all things I can take with me through life and grow from these last five years at Florida State.”

Already earning first-team All-ACC and first-team NFCA Southeast All-Region honors this season, Powers batted .360 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, 51 RBI and 54 runs scored. A 2016 second-team NFCA All-American, Powers now holds the all-time doubles record at Florida State with 51, and her 19 doubles in 2017 is tied for the most in a single season. Working her way into becoming one of the best offensive players in FSU history, Powers finished her career in the top five of the FSU career marks for slugging percentage (.612, third), RBI (171, third), walks (133, T-third) and home runs (35, fourth). A career .350 hitter, Powers had a breakout season at the plate in 2016 and posted a .396 batting average with 16 doubles, 16 home runs and 63 RBI, earning ACC Player of the Year honors.

“We are extremely excited about Alex Powers receiving this great honor,” said Head Coach Lonni Alameda. “She has worked so hard for this program and has been one of our leaders among an amazing senior class that all build on each other. AP has grown so much in every aspect of her life, and we are very proud of her and know that she represents Seminole Softball both on and off the field daily. It is neat to see others recognize her for that as well.”

Beyond the field, Powers has remained committed to excellence in the classroom, to prioritizing community outreach and to maintaining a high level of personal character. A 2015 NFCA Scholar-Athlete and member of the All-ACC Academic Team, Powers graduated with a degree in sports management in 2016 and is currently pursuing her master’s degree. In both 2016 and 2017, she earned the Golden Nole Award as FSU softball’s best representative of community service and, along with the softball team as a whole, earned the FSU Athletic Director’s Cup for Service in 2014 and 2015. As an active member of the FSU Softball TRIBE, Powers has volunteered at the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Cancer Center, read to elementary students and helped clean up trash through FSU softball’s partnership with the City of Tallahassee’s Adopt-A-Street program.

“Alex Powers is the all-around excellent student-athlete we are thrilled to be able to recognize through the Senior CLASS Award,” said Erik Miner, the award’s executive director. “She has worked hard and made a difference in her community while excelling on and off the field. Our sincere congratulations to Alex, her team and to Florida State University.” 

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Softball 2017 Winner

Name Position School
Alex Powers First Base Florida State University

First Team

Name Position School
Kasey Cooper Infielder Auburn University
Sara Groenewegen Pitcher/Utility University of Minnesota
Delaney Spaulding Shortstop UCLA
Morgan Zerkle Utility Marshall University

Second Team

Name Position School
Ali Aguilar Infielder University of Washington
Hannah Flippen Second Base Utah
Delanie Gourley Pitcher University of Florida
Kylee Hanson Pitcher Florida Atlantic
MJ Knighten Third Base Nebraska