Stacy May-Johnson has been named the 2011 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year while Greg Connell was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. Cheyenne Cordes has also been selected as the Athlete of the Year from the Junior Women’s National team program.

Rookie infielder May-Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa assistant coach), who saw time at shortstop and third base, came out of retirement in 2011 to make her first USA Softball Women’s National Team at 27-years-old. She started 27 of 28 games the United States played at the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship in Surrey, B.C., Canada, the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. While the red, white and blue finished second in Canada, where May-Johnson earned the Defensive Most Valuable Player award, the team won a fifth straight World Cup title and seventh consecutive Pan American Games gold medal.

“When you play on a really good team like the USA Softball Women’s National Team, it is easier to play well,” May-Johnson said. “It’s easier to play defense when you are behind a good pitcher who strikes everyone out. It’s easy to hit well when the people before you are on base and when the batters behind you are dangerous. Sometimes when you’re on a really good team, you win these neat awards like the USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year, but I know this award is not all for me. It’s the people around me that I have to thank for helping me perform at this level.”

At the plate, May-Johnson went 33-for-79 for .418 overall, ranking her first on the team in hits and at-bats while placing her third among national team members in batting average. She had four doubles, a triple and a team-high six home runs for a .722 slugging percentage. May-Johnson had a team-high 26 runs scored and a team-high 30 RBI, nine more than her nearest teammate.

Connell (Moultrie, Ga.), a rookie on the Men’s Slow Pitch National team, played in five of the team’s games at the McQuade Sr. Budweiser Charity Softball Tournament in Bismarck, N.D., the Team Cincinnati exhibitions in Cincinnati and exhibitions in Oklahoma City and also played Border Battle III against Canada in Oklahoma City. For the season, he was 29-for-34 (.853) with 25 runs scored and 27 RBI. He also hit 10 home runs in 2011.

“It is a great honor to be named the USA Softball Male Athlete of the Year. When you play softball, you work hard all year but you never expect to receive an award like this,” Connell said. “I was excited just getting selected to be one of the 15-men to play for the USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National team this year. To be chosen over the other 14 players, the best of the best in our sport, as the Athlete of the Year is just an honor. I’m very excited and am thankful for this opportunity.”…

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