Arkansas to compete in 2023 Taxact Clearwater Invitational
GIBSON SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR HONDA SPORT AWARD FOR SOFTBALL
FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas Razorback softball team joins a loaded 16-team field for the fourth annual Taxact Clearwater Invitational presented by Evoshield.
Regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments in college softball, the Taxact Clearwater Invitational is slated for Feb. 16-19 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. All games will be available on the ESPN family of networks.
The full field includes Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Duke, Florida
State, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, South Florida, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
It will be the Hogs’ first appearance at the tournament. A full tournament schedule and ticket information will be released in the fall.
Senior infielder Danielle Gibson was named one of four finalists for the 2022 Honda Sport Award for Softball, the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) announced Tuesday afternoon. Gibson, the first two-time NFCA All-american in program history, compiled an illustrious senior campaign as a Razorback. Gibson set single-season school records in batting average (.445), hits (81), RBI (70) and total bases (155) as a senior. Hailing from Murrieta, Calif., Gibson was previously named a Top 10 Finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year to go along with NFCA First Team All-american, NFCA First Team All-south Region, First Team ALL-SEC, SEC All-defensive Team, SEC Community Service Team and COSIDA Second Team Academic All-america accolades.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 46 years to the top women athletes in 12 Ncaa-sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in college athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2022 Honda Cup, which will be presented during the live telecast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network on June 27.
Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo, South Florida’s Georgina Corrick and Washington’s Baylee Klingler were also named finalists.
The softball finalists were selected by a panel of coaches and experts from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Honda Sport award winner for softball will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.