National recognition continues to pour in for the Linfield University softball program and its all-star pitcher Tayah Kelley.
 
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Friday announced Kelley as the 2024 Tucci/NFCA Division III Pitcher of the Year.
 
The prestigious honor caps an extraordinary season and career for the Myrtle Creek, Oregon, native. Kelley was workhorse in the pitching circle, piling up a Division III-best 29 complete games, 32 victories and 293 strikeouts while leading the Wildcats to the national semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship in Marshall, Texas.
 
The fifth-year senior was twice recognized as the NFCA Division III Pitcher of the Week and was singled out as the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week five times. Not surprisingly, she earned a first team NFCA All-America citation for the second straight season, adding to a second team All-America award in 2022.
 
In 2024, Kelley either set or reset the following Linfield single-season records:

Strikeouts	293
Appearances	42
Complete games	28

 
She concludes her career owning nearly every major pitching record at Linfield:

Wins	112
Saves	8
Appearances	146
Games started	119
Complete games	95
Shutouts	31
Innings pitched	777.2
Strikeouts	951
Strikeouts/7 inning game	8.56
Batters faced	2,791

 
In large part to Kelley's sheer dominance, Linfield rolled to a 50-4 overall record. That included an unbeaten regular season (40-0), marking just the second time that feat has been accomplished across all levels of college softball, according to the NFCA. She helped spur the Wildcats to the NFCA Leadoff Classic championship to begin the season, followed by Northwest Conference regular-season and NWC Tournament titles, and the McMinnville Regional and McMinnville Super Regional trophies.
 
Perhaps Kelley's most impressive performance came during the McMinnville Super Regional in which she turned in a remarkable 11-inning, 196-pitch performance in an 4-2 loss to Central in the opening game of the Super Regional. A day later, she returned to the circle to pitch 10 innings, allowing just a single run in pair of five inning wins.
  2024 — Tayah Kelley, Linfield (pitcher) & Tristen Maddox, East Texas Baptist (player)
2023 — Lindsey Windsor, Salisbury (player) & Kayla Simacek, Bethel (pitcher)
2022 — Kaitlyn Hasty, Christopher Newport (player) & Alexis Michon, Eastern Connecticut State (pitcher)
2021 — Jessica Goldyn, Virginia Wesleyan (player) & Hanna Hull, Virginia Wesleyan (pitcher)
2020 — no awards presented due to COVID-19
2019 — Mackenzie Chitwood, Lynchburg (player) & Ally Wiegand, Illinois Wesleyan (pitcher)
2018 — Hanna Hull, pitcher, Virginia Wesleyan
2017 — Hanna Hull, pitcher, Virginia Wesleyan