HILLSBORO, Ore. – Linfield nearly swept the major awards as nine Wildcats earned selection to the 2022 All-Northwest Conference Softball Team, announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
 
Katie Phillips has been one of the best players in the NWC for her entire career, and she finally finished on top in her senior campaign as the Tustin, California, native was named the NWC Player of the Year. Linfield's strikeout specialist, junior Tayah Kelley earned NWC Pitcher of the Year honors while head coach Jackson Vaughan was selected by his peers as the NWC Coach of the Year.
 
Vaughan was tabbed as the Coach of the Year for the 12^th time in his 21-year head coaching career. He led Linfield to its 18^th consecutive season with at least 30 wins as the Wildcats claimed their 17^th NWC regular season championship with a 25-3 conference record. The 'Cats won their eighth NWC Tournament title in 11 seasons to earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
Phillips became the 11^th Linfield player to be named the NWC Player of the Year and the first since Melanie Oord in 2018. Kelley's NWC Pitcher of the Year honor marks the ninth for the 'Cats and first since Shelby Saylors was named the NWC Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2019.
 
Phillips earned her third All-NWC honor and second on the first team. She has put together a season worthy of All-America recognition, leading Division III with 65 hits while also ranking third in the nation with 19 doubles. Phillips is batting .409 on the year with a .410 on-base percentage, a .635 slugging percentage and 42 RBI.
 
Kelley is 23-3 in the circle with two saves, six shutouts and an NWC-leading 1.36 ERA. She also leads all NWC pitchers with a .163 opposing batting average and 4.11 hits allowed per seven innings to go with 21 complete games. The Myrtle Creek, Oregon, native is the Division III leader in strikeouts. Her 237 "TKOs" and counting set the new Linfield record for strikeouts in a single season. Kelley is a repeat First Team All-NWC selection.
 
Linfield had an all-conference honoree at all nine positions on the field, including five players who earned First Team All-NWC recognition. Joining Phillips and Kelley as first-team selections are junior third baseman Kamryn Mobley, senior shortstop Katrina Johns and senior right fielder Baily Paul.
 
After being named an honorable mention a year ago, Mobley has started in all 43 games for the 'Cats this season and became a staple at the hot corner. She's batting .380 with 52 hits, 42 runs, 36 RBI and five home runs. The emotional leader for the 'Cats, Johns went 2 for 2 in the NWC Tournament title game with a double and a clutch two-run homer. Paul set the tone as Linfield's leadoff batter. She owns a team-leading .427 batting average and is second to Phillips with 56 hits. Paul leads the 'Cats with 27 stolen bases while Mobley is a perfect 24 for 24 on stolen base attempts.
 
Although just freshmen, second baseman Brynn Nelson and center fielder Claire Seats have made an instant impact in the lineup to be named second-teamers. Nelson leads the team with six homers while Seats is the team's RBI leader with 48, a mark that ranks No. 2 in the NWC and No. 4 in Division III. Seats came through in the biggest at-bat of her freshman campaign when she crushed a three-run walk-off bomb to send the 'Cats to the NWC Tournament championship game.
 
Rounding out Linfield's selections to the All-NWC Team are senior first baseman Abi Proffitt and junior catcher Emma Podliska, both of whom were named honorable mentions in back-to-back seasons.
 
Linfield (36-7) will await the NCAA Division III Selection Show, which starts at 10 a.m. (PT) on May 9. Ranked No. 7 in the latest NFCA national rankings, the 'Cats are making a strong case to host the West Regional at Del Smith Stadium.