LAFAYETTE, La. – Five University of South Alabama softball student-athletes were named all-Sun Belt Conference, the organization announced at its Family Night festivity at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La., ahead of the 2014 SBC Tournament beginning Wednesday.
 
Four Jaguars were awarded first-team honors, while one was named to the second team. The postseason awards are voted on by the league's eight head coaches.
 
USA was also the recipient of the 2014 SBC Team Academic Award after recording a 3.36 GPA last season, which is granted to the team for its overall achievement (quality points = grade x credit hours / # of individuals) in the classroom during the previous academic year.
 
Farish Beard, Hannah Campbell , Stephanie Pilkington and Chloe Rathburn were named first-team honorees, and Blair Johnson was the lone Jaguar on the second team.
 
Beard earned an at-large selection to the first team after finishing the regular season with a 20-5 record and 1.04 ERA. Beard was named a top-25 finalist for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award earlier this season after leading the country in ERA for three weeks and hits allowed per seven innings for two. The junior of Fairhope, Ala., was a three-time SBC Player of the Week this season and finished the year leading the Sun Belt in opposing batting average, hits allowed, runs allowed and earned runs allowed, while ranking second in ERA, strikeouts and walks allowed.
 
Campbell earned first-team honors at the pitcher position after the lefty compiled a 16-5 record and 0.94 ERA, joining Beard as a top-25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award and becoming the first student-athlete in South Alabama softball history to became professional, the Akrno Racers selecting her third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch draft.
 
Campbell currently ranks fourth in the NCAA in ERA and walks allowed per seven innings and leads the SBC in ERA, saves, walks allowed and home runs allowed.
 
USA's leader in batting average for a majority of the season, Pilkington was named a first-team outfielder after finishing the regular season tops for the Jaguars in batting average, hits, sacrifice hits and triples, while ranking second in RBI. Pilkington was named SBC Player of the Week on March 31. The sophomore of Lake City, Fla., led USA in multi-hit games with 15 and multi-RBI games with seven.
 
Rathburn, a freshman from Mission Viejo, Calif., earned first-team honors at the designated player position after leading USA in RBI, slugging percentage, total bases and sacrifice flies, while ranking second in home runs. Rathburn recorded seven multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games and has currently reached safely in a team-high 16 games. In her collegiate debut, Rathburn went 1-for-2 with three RBI and a home run. In USA's three-game sweep of WKU, Rathburn batted .455, posting five RBI, three runs scored, a 1.000 slugging percentage and .538 on-base percentage on five hits, three of which were doubles.
 
Johnson was named a second-team outfielder on Tuesday after she batted a team-best .354 in Sun Belt play with a .492 slugging percentage and .425 on-base percentage. Johnson tied for second on the club in hits, sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. The junior of Kimberly, Ala., recorded 11 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games this season and was named SBC Player of the Week on Feb. 24 after her performances at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., which included a 4-for-4 showing with four RBI, both single-game school records, versus Lehigh.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).