EUGENE, Ore. – Rylee McCoy entered exclusive territory Thursday when she was named the third NFCA Freshman of the Year finalist in program history. She joins Jenna Lilley (2015) and Maggie Balint (2017) as Oregon’s three top three finalists.
McCoy’s school-record tying 19 home runs have helped lead Oregon to the NCAA Eugene Super Regional versus Liberty, which begins Friday at 7 p.m. at Jane Sanders Stadium.
Nationally among all freshmen, McCoy is first in slugging pct. (.859), fifth in home runs, sixth in RBI (58) and 10th in batting average (.396). She leads the team in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage. She’s also tied the school record with 31 extra base hits (19 homers, 12 doubles).
A first-team NFCA All-Region selection, McCoy’s 58 RBIs currently rank sixth on the Oregon season list, three out of second.
The Agoura Hills, Calif., native was an all-Big Ten first team selection and a Big Ten all-freshman selection. She was also named to the league’s all-defensive team at first base with a .996 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 234 chances.
At last weekend’s NCAA Eugene Regional, she hit .400 with two home runs and six RBI. She hit her 18th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning in the Regional opener against Weber State. On championship Sunday, McCoy tied the school record with a three-run blast in a must-win game against Stanford.
McCoy was named the Most Valuable Player of the Mary Nutter Classic as well as the national freshman of the week by D1 Softball. She hit four home runs to lead Oregon to a 5-0 record at the Mary Nutter tournament. McCoy went 7-of-16 (.438) for the tournament with seven RBI and slugged 1.313.
She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season.
The NFCA Freshman of the Year will be revealed on May 27 prior to the start of the 2025 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
2025 NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 3
Rylee McCoy, Oregon
Taylor Shumaker, Florida
Audrey Vandagriff, Alabama
