WICHITA, Kan. – Addison Barnard's stellar freshman season garnered national attention Thursday when she was named a Top 30 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year.

The Beatrice, Neb., native has been a force at the plate in her first season of collegiate softball. All she's done is put her name in the record book as a true freshman, while helping the 2021 Shockers smash records on a regular basis.

Barnard leads Wichita State in home runs (19), RBI (51), total bases (105) and slugging percentage (.808), while hitting .323 at the plate. Her 19 home runs and 51 RBI are both Wichita State single season records. Her 19 home runs helped Wichita State shatter the single season record for home runs, which was previously set at 59 in 2018. This year's team enters the final weekend of conference play with 81, a mark that ranks third nationally.

Barnard ranks in the top 10 nationally in RBI (3rd), home runs (5th) and home runs per game (7th).

In her just her third collegiate game, Barnard hit two home runs and drove in five runs vs. Creighton. She repeated those numbers vs. ECU on March 28. Barnard has a team-best 16 games with multiple RBI and eight multi-hit games.

She is the first Shocker to be named a finalist for National Freshman of the Year.

The Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach. With the cancellation of last year's season due to COVID-19, candidates hail from the 2020 and 2021 freshman classes. Due to having two freshman classes eligible for the award, an additional five players have been added to the traditional top 25.
 
This year's finalists hail from 27 different universities and represent 16 NCAA Division I conferences from across the nation. 
 
On May 13, the list will be trimmed down to the top 10 and the three finalists will be released on May 27. The 2021 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year will be announced on June 1.
 
In 2021, the NFCA will award National Freshman of the Year honors to a student-athlete from NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII and NAIA. For more information about all NFCA Awards, visit nfca.org.