STATEN ISLAND, NY | College of Staten Island sophomore shortstop Patricia Riches has been named to the 2018 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year watch list.
Riches is the first CSI softball player ever named to the list which honors the best players from Division III. Riches is one of just seven sophomores named to the list.
The committee will continue to rim the watchlist as the season progresses, cutting the list down to 25 then 10 before naming the winner upon the completion of the NCAA Division III Championship.
Riches was named to the list after an outstanding 2017 rookie campaign in which she earned CUNYAC Rookie of the Year and ECAC Rookie of the Year. Riches led her team with a .522 batting average which was good for 7th in the nation. Riches was also awarded CUNYAC Rookie of the Week five times throughout the season.
Additionally, she was named Fastpitch News National DIII Player the Week on March 28, 2017. The sophomore season comes on the heels of her bursting onto the scene in 2017 when she set the single-season record for hits with 70 while also crushing 14 doubles, good for 4th all-time at Staten Island.
Riches will look to build on her remarkable rookie campaign where she finished 35-9 and 12-0 in the CUNYAC. The Dolphins’ promising season did come to an abrupt halt in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament with a 5-4 loss to Rensselaer which she hopes to remedy this season.
The 2018 softball season starts on March 3 when Staten Island plays host to NYU and FDU-Florham at the CSI Softball Complex.
