LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Villanova rising senior Victoria Sebastian (Ridgewood, N.J.) was recognized on a national stage Wednesday afternoon with the announcement of the nine winners of the newly-created Rawlings Gold Glove Award for collegiate softball. The student-athletes who are the inaugural recipients of this iconic defensive award were revealed in a joint press conference with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The historic announcement took place during the NCAA Women's College World Series currently being held in Oklahoma City, Okla.
 
The prestigious Rawlings Gold Glove Award is presented to nine of the top fielders in the country, with one student-athlete selected at each position on the diamond who are being recognized as the best defensive players at their respective positions. Sebastian is the winner at first base and earns the honor for her incredible defensive work while playing in 55 games spanning 316 1/3 innings during the 2022 season.

Over the course of the season Sebastian played flawless defense at first base and handled 366 total chances without an error. She had a high volume of plays on the infield with a Wildcats pitching staff which generated a large number of ground ball outs. Sebastian registered 363 putouts and three assists for the year while being a part of nine double plays turned. Her putouts are the fourth most in a single season in school history and the nine double plays are tied for the sixth most in one year in the Villanova record book. Sebastian also handled the eighth most chances in a season in Wildcats annals. She played all but 60 innings of the entire season at first base.
 
Beyond the numbers, the most impressive review of Sebastian's defensive prowess is simply to watch her in action. Few players at first base are as skilled as she is at stretching out in front of the bag to reel in low throws or get the ball into her glove faster in time to record an out. Sebastian routinely went into a full split in front of the bag on close plays and she unquestionably changed the outcomes of individual plays and entire innings with her defensive abilities.
 
"Rawlings is honored to partner with the NFCA to grow the sport of softball by recognizing and rewarding defensive excellence at the collegiate level," said Julie Tobyansen, Softball Sport Marketing Manager for Rawlings. "Today is such a special and important day for all softball athletes, including the incredibly deserving winners of the very first Rawlings Gold Glove Award for collegiate softball."
 
Recipients of the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, presented by the NFCA, were selected by the NFCA Division I All-American Committee during the All-American selection meeting held May 29-30, 2022. The selection committee utilized advanced fielding analytics, fielding statistics, strength of schedule and compilations of video to closely examine finalists and select the winners at every defensive position. Any student-athlete that competed in the current championship year whose head coach is a member in good standing with the NFCA was eligible for consideration for this prestigious accolade.
 
Villanova's success on the field this season gave Sebastian and her teammates the opportunity to play on a big stage in front of some of those committee members, with the Wildcats making an undefeated run through the BIG EAST Championship and then playing in a nationally televised NCAA regional when the team traveled to Orlando for games against the #16 overall seed UCF as well as South Dakota State. Sebastian continued her high level of play in the biggest games of the year, including making a memorable running, over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory down the right field line in the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Championship against Butler.
 
In the final game of the season against South Dakota State in NCAA regional action, Sebastian became the Wildcats all-time leader for highest career fielding percentage. She has played in 100 career games with 76 starts and has compiled a .996 fielding percentage with 501 putouts, five assists and just two errors in 508 total chances. She is percentage points ahead of Kriste Romano (.9961 to .9960) who played from 2000-03 for the best fielding percentage in Villanova history. As of the end of the 2022 season, Sebastian has an active streak of 65 consecutive games at first base and 415 consecutive fielding chances without committing an error.
 
Prior to this season the most chances without committing an error that any Villanova fielder handled in a single season was 190 by Josey Mikulyuk (179 putouts, 11 assists) during the 2001 season. Two players topped that total this year, with Sebastian recording 366 total chances and junior catcher Ally Jones (Brielle, N.J.) handling 263 chances behind the plate without a miscue. Sebastian finished the 2022 campaign leading the BIG EAST in putouts, tied for first in fielding percentage and tied for second in double plays.
 
One example of the high volume of work she handled at first base with the Wildcats generating so many groundball outs is that senior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) set a single-season school record for most fielding assists in a season. Kern played all 56 games at shortstop and had 132 assists, breaking the old Villanova record of 127 set by Sarah Wall in 2005.
 
"We are thrilled to partner with Rawlings, one of the most reputable and first-class companies in softball, to announce the inaugural Division I collegiate softball Rawlings Gold Glove recipients," NFCA Executive Director Carol Bruggeman said. "This award values, celebrates, and rewards defense. Having the NFCA be associated with the distinguished Rawlings Gold Glove award is one of our highest achievements. The most talented student-athletes at their respective positions are now recognized and honored with the most coveted defensive awards … the Rawlings Gold Glove."
 
Inaugural recipients of 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, presented by the NFCA:
P – Courtney Wallace, Nebraska (1.000 fielding percentage, 57 chances, zero errors)
C – Jordyn Rudd, Northwestern (1.000 fielding percentage, 445 chances, zero errors)
1B – Victoria Sebastian, Villanova (1.000 fielding percentage, 366 chances, zero errors)
2B – Hannah Adams, Florida (1.000 fielding percentage, 161 chances, zero errors)
3B – Sydney Sherrill, Florida State (.975 fielding percentage, 201 chances, five errors)
SS – Jenna Laird, Missouri (.975 fielding percentage, 163 chances, four errors)
LF – Casidy Chaumont, Missouri (1.000 fielding percentage, 86 chances, zero errors)
CF – Ciara Briggs, LSU (1.000 fielding percentage, 89 chances, zero errors)
RF – Kristina Burkhardt, Michigan (1.000 fielding percentage, 87 chances, zero errors)
 
About Rawlings
Established in 1887, Rawlings is an innovative leading global brand and manufacturer of premium baseball and softball equipment, including gloves, balls, and protective headwear. Rawlings' unparalleled quality, innovative engineering and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why more professional athletes, national governing bodies and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings is the Official Baseball, Helmet, Face Guard and Glove of Major League Baseball, the Official Baseball of Minor League Baseball and the Official Baseball and Softball of the NCAA and the NAIA. The company is headquartered in St. Louis. For more information, please visit www.Rawlings.com.
 
About National Fastpitch Coaches Association
Established in 1983, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play, including collegiate, high school, travel ball, youth, professional and international coaches along with umpires, companies and fans of fastpitch softball. Growing from 40 members in 1983 to nearly 6,000 today, the NFCA boasts members from all 50 states and several international countries. The national office's home base is in Louisville, Ky. For more information, please visit www.nfca.org.
 
About Villanova Athletics
Villanova University has a long and storied athletics history defined by excellence both in competition and in the classroom. The Villanova Athletics Department is a community of student-athletes, coaches and staff whose primary focus is to achieve academic excellence, while striving to produce teams and individuals committed to athletic competition and outstanding performance. Villanova Athletics sponsors 24 varsity sports, which together include more than 550 student-athletes. Villanova is a member of the BIG EAST Conference, CAA Football, Colonial Athletic Association (Rowing) and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Water Polo).