LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One of the most decorated players in program history continues to rack up accolades just one weekend into her final season donning the blue and gray.

Lincoln Memorial University senior second baseman Ty-Kella Goins was chosen from a pool of 50 student-athletes from around the nation as a Watch List member for the 2020 Schutt Sports/NCFA Division II National Player of the Year award, announced on Thursday afternoon.

A native of Ramseur, North Carolina, Goins already holds numerous program records in the infant stages of her senior campaign. In 2019, the second baseman led the country in doubles for Division II with 24, finishing just two short of matching the school record for a single season.

Posting a .385 batting average in 179 at-bats, both second on the roster, Goins rained in three triples and six home runs across the Lady Railsplitters' 38-win year, also leading LMU in hits with 69 and runs with 52. Appearing in all 53 games in a season that saw Lincoln Memorial advance all the way to the Southeast Regional Championship round, Goins recorded only two errors in 121 putouts, along with 70 assists. Posting an on-base percentage of .456 while stealing 9 bases a year ago, LMU's lead-off batter has been selected to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year award watch list off her recognition as a D2CCA All-America honorable mention performer in 2019.

Landing a spot on the All-South Atlantic Conference first team for three consecutive seasons, Goins was tabbed as a preseason All-SAC first teamer yet again entering her fourth campaign in Harrogate, already getting 2020 off to a productive start.

Across the Lady Railsplitters' 3-1 start to the season as the nation's 13-ranked squad, Goins has produced a .357 batting average next to a .438 on-base percentage during a four-game stretch in less than 48 hours. She currently leads the team in runs with seven, with five hits and one double in 14 at-bats. Defensively, Goins has posted eight putouts next to a single error, amounting to a .941 fielding percentage.

Behind the collaboration of the NFCA and its NCAA Division II Head Coaches Committee, along with the generosity of Schutt Sports, the National Player of the Year award was established in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among NCAA DII softball student-athletes.

Winners of consecutive outings over Maryville and West Virginia State on Sunday afternoon, the Lady Railsplitters hit the field once more on Friday for a non-conference doubleheader against Cedarville University. First pitch against the Yellow Jackets is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start time, followed by a 3:00 start in the second outing.
 
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