Brooke Johnson Earns NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second-Team Honors
5/19/2022 4:42:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Johnson garners All-Region honors after standout junior campaign
CHICAGO – DePaul softball junior Brooke Johnson added another accolade to her resume on Thursday afternoon as the first baseman earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes Region honors after a spectacular 2022 campaign.
Johnson becomes the 14th Blue Demon to earn All-Great Lakes honors since 2009 after Jessica Cothern claimed third-team honors in 2021. The Chino Hills, Calif. native picked up the All-Region Second Team certificate after leading the Blue Demons in almost every offensive category while starting every game at first base.
In 2022, Johnson boasted a .389 batting average to lead DePaul while ranking third in the BIG EAST. Johnson's 52 RBI were tops in the conference and ranked fifth in program history in a single season. Johnson launched 13 home runs while tallying 15 doubles and a total of 29 hits for an extra base. With a team-best .745 slugging percentage on the season, Johnson added her name to the program record books once again, finishing third on the single-season list behind Mary Connolly and Kelly Kavanaugh.
Garnering the respect of many pitching staffs around the league, Johnson drew a conference-best 37 walks and reached base at a .510 clip. The junior totaled 299 putouts at first to go with seven assists and just two errors for a .994 fielding percentage.
Earlier this month, Johnson reeled in All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season after landing on the First Team alongside teammate Kate Polucha. Johnson, a Health Sciences major, was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 First Team for maintaining a 3.67 GPA while enduring the rigors of being a student-athlete.
The NFCA All-Region teams honor softball student-athletes from the association's 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all 380 student-athletes honored now become eligible for the 2022 NFCA All-America teams.
The Great Lakes region consists of 31 schools from six different conferences with BIG EAST member institutions Creighton, Providence and St. John's joining DePaul.
2022 NFCA Great Lakes Region Teams
First Team
P - Danielle Williams, Northwestern
P - Alex Storako, Michigan
P - Bailey Parshall, Penn State
C - Jordyn Rudd, Northwestern
1B - Nikki Cuchran, Northwestern
2B - Jadin Justman, Wisconsin
3B - Mekenzie Saban, Saint Francis University (PA)
SS - Kyleigh Sand, Rutgers
OF - Rachel Lewis, Northwestern
OF - Faith Hensley, Ball State
OF - Gabrielle Callaway, Rutgers
Utility/Pitcher - Rachel Marsden, Saint Francis University (PA)
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kayla Konwent, Wisconsin, Madison
Second Team
P - Ashley Miller, Michigan State
P - Maddie Schwartz, Wisconsin
C - Katie Keller, Northern Illinois
1B - Brooke Johnson, DePaul
2B - Saige Alfaro, Canisius College
3B - Hannah Cady, Northwestern
SS - Maeve Nelson, Northwestern
OF - Kristina Burkhardt, Michigan
OF - Natalie DenHartog, Minnesota
OF - Lexie Blair, Michigan
Utility/Pitcher - Ava Fitzmaurice, Siena College
DP or Utility/Non-Pitcher - Kailey Wilson, Creighton
Third Team
P - Megan Giese, Canisius College
P - Grace Vesco, Saint Francis University (PA)
C - Cassie Lindmark, Penn State
1B - Shannon Stein, Central Michigan
2B - Sam Mallinder, Northern Illinois
3B - Alicia Peters, Wisconsin
SS - Makenna Dowell, Minnesota
OF - Erin Hufford, Canisius College
OF - Chloe Evans, Minnesota
