UT’s Rogers voted NFCA Pitcher of the Year
Published 3:33 pm Monday, June 19, 2023
- Ashley Rogers finished the season with a 0.92 ERA and struck out 179 batters in 144 innings. UT Athletics photo
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Graduate pitcher Ashley Rogers has been voted by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as its Pitcher of the Year, following a stellar fifth season on Rocky Top.
Began in 2019, Rogers is the first Lady Vol to win NFCA Pitcher of the Year and is the second player from the Southeastern Conference to take home the honor.
A right-hander from Athens, Tennessee, she returned to Rocky Top this season to use her extra year of eligibility and helped lead UT to one of its best seasons in program history. The Lady Vols won 51 games, brought home two SEC titles and reached the national semifinals at the WCWS for the first time since 2013. The trip to the WCWS was its first since 2015 and its eighth in program history.
Through it all, Rogers went 20-1 in the circle for the Lady Vols – reaching the 20-win mark for the third time in her career. She finished the 2023 campaign with a 0.92 ERA – joining Monica Abbott and Buffy Walker as the only players in program history to finish a season with a sub-1 earned run average.
For the year, Rogers tossed 13 complete games, recorded six shutouts and picked up one save.
Rogers fanned 179 batters in 144 innings of work and held opposing hitters to a .134 against average. She ranked first in the nation in hits per seven innings, allowing just 3.21. Her ERA ranked tied for third nationally.
The award is just the latest for Rogers who was named CSC Academic All-American of the Year on Tuesday. Additionally, she won the NCAA Elite 90 award and was tabbed NFCA First Team All-America before the start of the WCWS.
Tennessee’s ace, she also took home First Team All-SEC honors as well as earning SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year distinction.
She capped her legendary career with a pair of victories in the Women’s College World Series, beating Alabama and Oklahoma State.
The award is voted on by the selected members of the NFCA Division I All-American Committee with one head coach representing each of the NFCA’s 10 regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member.