Hannah Rogers has proven time and time again her value to the Florida softball team.
In her four years in the circle for Florida, Rogers led the Gators to a 127-31 record in 191 appearances.
She was UF’s first four-time All-American in softball program history.
She tossed three solo no-hitters over her final two years with Florida to go along with her 41 career shutouts.
And after leading Florida to its first Women’s College World Series title in her final year, Rogers can add one more accolade to her list as she was announced as the 2014 Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
“It makes me proud to have done this for the University of Florida, but also for the game of softball,” Rogers said in a release. “Though the game is getting bigger and bigger, it probably doesn’t get the recognition it should, so this is something I can take pride in.”
The right-hander finished her UF career second to Stacey Nelson in wins (127), shutouts (41), complete games (108), saves (14), strikeouts (833) and innings pitched (988.0), among other categories. She also finished sixth in program history with a career 1.63 ERA.
Rogers posted a 30-8 record in her senior campaign, marking the third time in her career that she reached the 30 win mark. The Lake Wales, Fla., native also led the Gators in her final run with 27 complete games, 12 shutouts, 167 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA in 223.1 innings pitched.
Rogers pitched in all five games of the Women’s College World Series, tossing four straight complete games — including three shutouts — to start Florida’s journey in Oklahoma City.
She then capped the trip with a two-inning save in the title-winning contest against Alabama.
“For it to go to our most unselfish athlete just says a lot about Hannah and so much about our team,” UF softball coach Tim Walton said in a release. “I’m excited for her to get the award, but also excited for our team to have put her in position to get that award.”
Since the award’s inception in 1976 for male athletes and 1984 for female athletes, seven Gators have won the award a combined 10 times, with Tim Tebow (2008 and 2009), Danny Wuerffel (1996 and 1997) and Nicole Haislett (1993 and 1994) each claiming the honor twice.
Rogers is Florida’s first SEC Athlete of the Year recipient since Tebow in 2009, and she is UF’s first female athlete to claim the award since Haislett in 1994.
Each school selects one male and one female athlete for the award each year, and the winner is decided by a vote among the league’s athletic directors.
UF’s male athlete nominee was point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who led the Gators basketball team to a 38-win season, a 30-game win streak, a perfect record in conference play and the program’s first Final Four berth since 2007.
The Gainesville native finished the season as the SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP and a third-team All-American.
Wilbekin paced the Gators with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio and 56 steals in a team-best 34 minutes of playing time per contest.
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Hannah Rogers pitches during UF's 17-1 win against USF on April 23 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Rogers was named the 2014 Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year and finished her senior season with a 30-8 record and a 1.60 ERA.
