NMSU freshman named Conference USA Player of the Year in softball
May 7—Desirae Spearman, a freshman sensation for the New Mexico State softball team, earned multiple all-Conference USA honors, including player of the year. Three other Aggies also won postseason awards.
Spearman was also named conference freshman of the year and placed on the all-conference freshman team. In addition, she was named to the all-CUSA first team as both a pitcher and an outfielder.
An El Paso native, Spearman is hitting .345 while pacing the conference in home runs (16), OPS (1.285) and ranking in the top five with 38 RBIs. She also ranks second on the team in total bases (95) and fourth on the team in total hits (39) despite missing 14 of the Aggies' 51 games due to injury. The two-way star holds a remarkable .794 slugging percentage in league games, higher than any other batter.
Ranking 24th in the nation in home runs, Spearman has posted three multi-home run games, including a two-home run outing at Liberty on April 20, when she also tossed a complete game and held the Flames scoreless through 6.2 innings.
In the circle, Spearman boasts an 8-3 record and 66 strikeouts while maintaining a 3.04 ERA in 15 appearances across 73.2 innings.
The other aggies to earn postseason awards include Dezianna Patmon, who was named CUSA Newcomer of the Year and also earned a spot on the conference's first team. Devin Elam joined Patmon and Spearman on the first team, while Jillian Taylor was voted to the All-CUSA second team.
Patmon, a North Carolina A&T transfer, ranks second in CUSA with a .387 batting average, and is top-five in home runs (12), RBIs (87) slugging percentage (.718), on-base percentage (.460), OPS (1.178) and runs scored (37). The junior infielder leads the Aggies with 55 hits, a .387 batting average and 102 total bases while ranking second with 38 RBIs, 12 home runs and an OPS of 1.178 this season.
Elam, a sophomore outfielder, has 44 hits, a .431 average and a 1.091 OPS and currently has a 14-game hitting streak.
Taylor leads the entire conference with 47 runs scored on the campaign. The senior outfielder is also top-10 in the league in batting average (.351), hits (51), RBIs (31), triples (three), slugging percentage (.615), on-base percentage (.437) and OPS (1.041). She's also a star in the outfield with 80 putouts, nine assists, just three errors and a .967 fielding percentage.
New Mexico State will host the Conference USA softball tournament this week.
The Aggies (28-23, 13-11 CUSA), the No. 4 seed, are scheduled to open the double-elimination tournament at noon Wednesday against fifth-seeded Jacksonville State (23-28, 12-11).
The first three days of the tourney are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+, with Saturday's championship game to be aired on the CBS Sports Network.
