Iowa Central's Loghen Schnetzer experienced quite the first season playing college softball for the Tritons.
She set a new single-season home run record, helped the team break the mark for longballs as a collective unit, earned all-ICCAC and all-region honors, and now, has been named an All-American.
"It honestly is a huge accomplishment," Schnetzer said. "I never thought about being named an All-American. It just reminds me of all the years and hard work that I've put and having it pay off.
"I also have to give a big thank you to my coaches from Andi Adams to Bo Tjebben to my dad. I couldn't have done it without them."
The former Fort Dodge Senior High standout was tabbed to the first team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for NJCAA Div. II. She made the all-region first team by the NFCA with teammate Mackenzie Rosenboom on the second.
In her first year as a Triton, Schnetzer hit 27 home runs with 83 RBI, 61 runs, 16 doubles and a triple. She batted .410 with an on-base percentage of .504 and a slugging of .936.
"Loghen came in with a lot of expectations on her shoulders, and she delivered," Tjebben said. "She came to practice every single day with the goal to get better and really helped set the tone for the entire team."
Joining Schnetzer on the first team from the ICCAC were Sophie Maras of Des Moines Area, Randyn Carter from Kirkwood, Kori Wedeking of Kirkwood and Kaylie Reynolds from Des Moines Area. Maras was also named the player of the year.
The NJCAA Division II All-America team is voted on by NFCA member coaches in the country's three regions. They select 13 players for the team, unless there is a tie for one of the positions, in which case the tied players are both awarded honors. Due to COVID-19, no awards were presented in 2020.
NFCA All-Region and All-American athletes must be nominated by their NFCA-member head coach, are voted for by the coaches in their region or division, and ultimately selected by elected All-American committee members to receive this prestigious accolade. These honorees are in the top 1% of student-athletes competing during the 2021 season. All special awards are also selected by the All-American committee members or by the entire division.
-By Dana Becker