Player of the year Sydney McKinney among Shockers honored by AAC

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Player of the year Sydney McKinney was among several Wichita State softball players honored in the American Conference postseason awards announced Wednesday morning.

McKinney, who was also player of the year in 2021, was joined on first-team all-conference by first baseman Zoe Jones and outfielders Addison Barnard and Lauren Lucas. Pitchers Alex Aguilar, the conference rookie of the year, and Lauren Howell, along with catcher Lainee Brown and infielder Sami Hood, made the second team, while Aguilar, Hood and outfielder Taylor Sedlacek are on the all-rookie team. Barnard was the conference’s player of the year in 2022.

McKinney was named defensive player of the year and WSU, led by coach Kristi Bredbenner, was honored as the coaching staff of the year.

The 20th-ranked Shockers begin play in the AAC tournament as the top seed on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s game between Houston and Tulsa. The tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, though WSU is likely to receive an at-large bid if it doesn’t win the tournament.