COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State softball players Shelby Thompson (Benicia, Calif.), Taylor Adams (Mill Creek, Wash.) and Maggie Balint (West Grove, Pa.) were each named to the all-Mountain West Team, the conference announced Wednesday. The league's nine head coaches voted on the all-conference team.
Since no MW games were contested because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because of an unbalanced competitive schedule, there were no awards for the MW Player of the Year, MW Pitcher of the Year, MW Defensive Player of the Year, MW Freshman of the Year and MW Coach of the Year, and there was only one all-MW Team (not a first and second team like recent years).
Thompson became the 12th player in Mountain West history to earn all-conference honors four seasons and just the second Aztec, joining Celena Velasquez from 2003-06. Thompson, who was a first-team selection from 2017-19, while being named the 2017 MW Freshman of the Year and 2019 MW Defensive Player of the Year, will be coming back for a fifth year in 2021 and will look to be the first player in league history to be named to five all-conference teams.
This year, Thompson batted .272 (22-for-81) with four home runs, 15 RBIs, 21 runs, two doubles, three triples, 14 walks and seven times hit by pitch, owning a .417 on-base percentage and a .519 slugging percentage. Thompson, who was one of four Aztecs to start all 28 games, led SDSU in runs (21), triples (3), home runs (4), RBIs (15, tied), total bases (42), slugging percentage (.519), walks (14) and times hit by pitch (7) with the seven times hit by pitch tied for the third most in SDSU single-season history, despite San Diego State playing roughly half of its scheduled games. Among the MW leaders, the shortstop ranked first in total plate appearances (105), third in times hit by pitch (7), tied for fourth in at-bats (81), tied for fifth in home runs (4), sixth in runs (21), tied for sixth in triples (3), tied for seventh in walks (14) and tied for ninth in sacrifice bunts (2)
Adams, meanwhile, made the all-MW team for a second straight year after earning second-team honors in 2019. This past season, the junior first baseman hit .283 (26-for-92) with a home run, seven RBIs, 15 runs and five doubles, starting all 28 games. Adams, who posted a .370 slugging percentage and a .347 on-base percentage, recorded the fifth-best fielding percentage (.994) in program history. Adams led the MW in at-bats (92), and ranked second total plate appearances (103), third in putouts (170) and fielding chances (180), and tied for ninth in sacrifice bunts (2).
A team captain, Balint made her first season on The Mesa a memorable one, going 8-5 with a 2.40 ERA and two saves in 81 2/3 innings in 20 appearances. Balint, who completed four of the eight games she started, posted one solo shutout, two combined shutouts and 101 strikeouts, limiting the opposition to a .188 average. Despite the shortened season, the junior right-hander finished third in SDSU single-season history in strikeouts per seven innings (8.66) and fourth in opponent average (.188), while ranking in the top 50 in the country in strikeouts (19th), saves (T-22nd) and victories (T-45th). Balint led the Mountain West in strikeouts (101) and appearances (20), and ranked second in opponents average (.188), tied for second in saves (2), third in innings pitched (81.2), tied for fourth in victories (8) and 10th in ERA (2.40). Balint was a first-team all-Pac-12 first-team selection while at Oregon in 2017.
San Diego State finished 17-11 last season and was 37th (out of 298 schools) in the initial RPI, which is a mathematical calculation used to help determine each team's success, using a calculated strength of schedule and won-loss percentage. The Aztecs, who have won a Mountain West-best seven regular-season championships in the 20-year history of the league, were supposed to play host to defending league champion Colorado State the weekend of March 13-15 before the NCAA canceled the rest of spring competition on March 12.
Next year, SDSU is slated to have Power 5 transfers Jenna Holcomb (Tennessee), Alyssa Pinto (Oregon/Ole Miss), Danielle Romanello (Florida) and Nicole Seiss (Mt. SAC/Purdue) join the program, and welcomes incoming freshmen Makena Brocki, Jeweliana Perez and Elianna Reyes.