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Western Carolina softball junior shortstop Bailey Huneycutt was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mid-East All-Region Third Team. The first NFCA All-Region honor for Huneycutt is the fifth for the Catamount program.

Huneycutt, a first-team All-SoCon selection and the 2021 Southern Conference Softball Player of the Year, was one of two SoCon players to earn all-region honors. UNCG’s Makenna Matthijis joined Huneycutt on the Mid-East list as a second-team selection.

Hailing from Oakboro, Huneycutt ended the 2021 campaign leading the team and the SoCon with a .364 batting average, the second-highest in the 15-years of the Catamount program. She also topped the conference with 14 home runs, which were a season-best and ranked second in the conference.

She led the team with 51 hits, which ranked 12th in the WCU record books for hits in a season, and was second in the conference with 35 runs scored. She had 10 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games.

Her .497 on-base percentage, in the 2021 season, was the highest in program history, while the .714 slugging percentage was the second-highest. She had 35 walks for the season, which was the third most. Huneycutt tied the school record for most consecutive games reaching base with 30 before her streak was snapped.

Huneycutt has a total of 28 double plays ranking second in the WCU record books. Her 22 career home runs rank fifth in the record books.

Finishing second in the 2021 regular season, Western Carolina ended the year with a runner-up showing in the 2021 Southern Conference Championship with a record of 27-26 – the third-most wins in program history.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced 380 student-athletes from 154 programs received 2021 NFCA Division I All-Region accolades.

The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association’s 10 regions with first-, second- and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all student-athletes now become eligible for the 2021 NFCA Division I All-America squads.