Ragin’ Cajuns: Elkins to receive second Corbett Award

NEW ORLEANS — Lexie Elkins, a three-time All-American catcher for the Ragin’ Cajuns Softball program and three-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year, has been chosen as the 2015-16 female winner of the James J. Corbett Award, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced July 27.
Elkins, who received the 2014-15 award a year ago, becomes just the second woman to be a back-to-back winner of the Corbett Award, joining former LSU women’s basketball player Seimone Augustus who won the award from 2003-06, according to a Ragin’ Cajuns news release.
The Corbett Awards are presented annually to the top male and female amateur athletes in the State of Louisiana. It will be presented to Elkins on Aug. 6 as part of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Banquet at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. A total of 24 individuals, including this year’s Hall of Fame class, and two teams will be honored at this year’s banquet. All of the honorees are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Not only is it the second straight honor for Elkins, but it extended an impressive stretch by the Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team, which has now earned Corbett Award recognition in four of the last five years and five of the last eight.
“The relationships I created and my memories from UL are untouchable,” Elkins said. “Playing there was a once in a lifetime experience. Nothing will come close to touching that experience.”
Elkins is the fifth student-athlete in school history and the fourth member of the Ragin’ Cajuns softball program to receive the Corbett Award joining Ashley Brignac (2008), Christi Orgeron (2011-12) and Christina Hamilton (2013-14). Former Ragin’ Cajuns football standout Tyrell Fenroy received the male Corbett Award in 2008.
The Corbett Award caps an impressive career of accomplishments for the 5-10 catcher from Victoria, Texas, who completed her collegiate eligibility following the 2016 season. She was a three-time All-American, including first team as a junior and senior, three-time All-Sun Belt and All-NFCA Central Region first team choice, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 National Pro Fastpitch Draft and back-to-back winner of the NFCA/Diamond Sports Division I Catcher of the Year (2015-16). She was also one of four finalists for the 2016 Honda Award for softball, which recognizes the best in the nation in each sport.
Nominated for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year, Elkins was the first individual in Sun Belt Conference history to win Student-Athlete of the Year honors a third straight time and was also recognized as the state of Louisiana’s Hitter of the Year.
In 2016, Elkins became the first Ragin’ Cajun to finish a season with a .500-plus average (.509). She led the nation in batting average, slugging percentage (1.130) and home runs per game (0.51), which powered the No. 1 home run hitting (1.96 per game) and slugging (.622) team in Division I. In addition, Elkins launched 19 home runs, knocked in 49 runs, scored 42 times and drew 28 free passes for a .607 on-base percentage.
Along with her monstrous offensive numbers, she committed just one error behind the dish for a .996 field percentage, tallied 25 assists and controlled the opposition’s running game limiting foes to 14 stolen base attempts over 37 games competed in at the position.
“I learned to trust the process and to trust my teammates and Coach Mike [Lotief],” Elkins said. “He knows what he’s talking about and my teammates do too. If I couldn’t get it done, I knew they would. That took away the stress and made my job much easier.”
The Victoria, Texas, native climbed into the No. 2 spot on school’s career home run chart, finishing with 75 career home runs in a Ragin’ Cajuns uniform after hitting none as a freshman at Texas Tech. Her career home run tally ranks 12th all-time in NCAA history.
After spending the summer playing for the Pennsylvania Rebellion professional softball team in the National Pro Fastpitch league, Elkins will return to Lafayette and will assist the Ragin’ Cajun softball program as she completes her degree.
During the 2016 season, Ragin’ Cajuns Softball claimed its third straight Sun Belt Conference championship and 14th in the 16 years of league competition since 2001. The squad appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th straight year and 26th time overall in the past 27 years dating back to 1990. The Ragin’ Cajuns hosted an NCAA Regional at Lamson Park for the fourth time in the past five years (2012, 2014-16) and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional for the fifth straight year (2012-16).
For more information on Ragin’ Cajuns Softball, as well as all of Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball) and Twitter (@RaginCajunSB).
ABOUT THE CORBETT AWARDS
The Corbett Award was created in 1967 and named in honor of the late James J. Corbett to commemorate his many contributions to intercollegiate athletics and specifically to the Sugar Bowl. At the time of his death, Corbett was the Athletic Director at LSU.
Since its inception in 1967 (through 2015), Corbett Award winners include 16 NFL players, eight Major League Baseball players, four NBA players (including two Hall of Famers), eight Olympians (including seven Gold Medal winners), three WNBA players and one PGA Tour star.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee, a group of current and former media members, selects the recipients of the Corbett Awards each year based on nominations submitted by the state’s sportswriters, sportscasters and sports information directors. The committee also selects the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, as well as annual award winners in a variety of categories, including the Corbett Awards and the Eddie Robinson Award.