LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced the recipients of their annual Rawlings Gold Glove Award this evening. Emily Vinson was the NFCA's selection for the left field position, making her one of the top nine defensive players in all of Division-I softball.
 
The Gold Glove Awards, which were created by the NFCA last season, are selected by the NFCA Division-I All-American Committee during their annual All-American selection meeting held earlier this week. Advanced fielding analytics, fielding statistics, strength of schedule and more are used to help decide the award winners.

Only a sophomore, the Elgin, S.C. native made her mark in the outfield across not just the Big South conference, but the entire nation. Vinson posted a 1.000 fielding percentage on the season, starting in 48 of Longwood's 53 games without conceding a single error.
 
Vinson starred for the Lancers during the Big South Championship earlier this month, batting .500 across five games while making several highlight defensive plays. Her most notable play came against Campbell in the championship final when she made an impressive turn-around throw to put-out the runner at second base.
 

Don't run on @eavinson3 🦾#NCAASoftball x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LongwoodSB pic.twitter.com/4UydOfNCX4

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 13, 2023

While Vinson was a force defensively in the Big South, her status as an elite defensive player is cemented by the level of non-conference competition she played against. She started games against the likes of Oklahoma, Baylor, Florida State, and Duke while playing in a total of 18 games against teams within the top 75 of the RPI.

With this Gold Glove Award, Vinson becomes the first player from a non-high-major conference to earn this distinction from the NFCA and the only non-Power 5 recipient this year. She is also the first Longwood athlete to be recognized at the national level by the NFCA since Megan Baltzell and Brooke Short were named Division-I Second-Team All-Americans in 2013.
 
The sophomore earned this prestigious award following a season that saw the Lancers pick up two top-ten wins, a second straight 30+ win season, and a Big South regular season championship. To stay up to date with everything Longwood softball this offseason, be sure to check us out on Twitter and Instagram @LongwoodSB.
 
Recepients of the 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, presented by the NFCA:
Valerie Cagle, Pitcher, Clemson University
Aly Kaneshiro, Catcher, Stanford University
Sarah Seamans, First Base, University of Pittsburgh
Allie Skaggs, Second Base, University of Arizona
Payton Lincavage, Third Base, Rutgers University
Grace Lyons, Shortstop, University of Oklahoma
Emily Vinson, Left Field, Longwood University
Ciara Briggs, Center Field, Louisiana State University
Madison Huskey, Right Field, University of Washington

#GoWood