Former Kentucky Softball Star Wins AUSL Hitter of the Year
Former Kentucky Wildcat and current University of Florida graduate assistant Erin Coffel was announced as the AUSL's Hitter of the Year, according to the league on Wednesday.
The league also announced the Pitcher, Hitter, Defensive Player, Rookie, and All-Defensive Team honors.
Coffel had an outstanding sophomore season with Athletes Unlimited as she maintained an impressive .404 batting average, .877 slugging percentage, and .570 on-base percentage. Coffel drove in 14 runs on 23 hits, which included four doubles, four triples, and five home runs.
At Kentucky, Coffel finished her career with a .377 batting average and a school-record .785 slugging percentage. She is also the Wildcats’ all-time leader in home runs (68), RBIs (212), and walks (155).
Big time, y'all 🤠@erincoffel5 is the 2025 AUSL Hitter of the Year! 💥 pic.twitter.com/nXaSTJAU3a
— Bandits | Athletes Unlimited Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits) July 23, 2025
Coffel's x factor is her ability to stay composed and deliver timely hits during pressure situations.
According to Bandits general manager Jenny Dalton-Hill, she is the definition of a clutch player.
“She’s come in with such great at-bats," Dalton-Hill said. "And her mentality is so even-keeled. She doesn’t get too high. She doesn’t get too low. I love the way she attacks the game, just so much confidence and breathes that confidence and exudes that confidence to her teammates all around her.”
Interestingly, the sophomore Athletes Unlimited player was not drafted until the sixth round. Dalton-Hill expressed that Coffel had exceeded expectations: "While Erin Coffel may have been drafted in the sixth round, she has by far surpassed sixth-round projections.
"But it’s because we had to secure some other pieces before we could get to that spot. So it should not negate her importance to the team or to what she’s done so far. We just had to get some other pieces in place before we could get to her.”
ERIN COFFEL CAN'T BE STOPPED! 💪💪💪@erincoffel5 blasts a 2-run homer over the centerfield fence to give the good guys a 4-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/7RbG5tQv1w
— Bandits | Athletes Unlimited Softball League (@AUSL_Bandits) July 13, 2025
Coffel took her draft spot with "a grain of salt" and has focused on the process of evolving and improving her game.
"For me, I was just driven to be the best softball player I could be, but to be better than I was last year," Coffel said. "I wasn’t very happy with where I was physically, and I’m really happy with the work I put in over the off-season to get better.”
That work has paid off for this season's most dangerous hitter and a force to be reckoned with for the Talons as they face Coffel and the Bandits in the playoffs starting July 26.
Allison Smith is an expert in leadership and organizational behavior in collegiate and professional women’s sports. Smith is a professor (Georgia State University), researcher, and writer. Smith holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in Kinesiology and Sport Studies. Smith’s research centers on combatting the underrepresentation of women leaders in sport, lack of organizational structure for work life integration for sport employees, and lack of programming and oversight for preparing athletes to transition to life after sport. Since graduating with a bachelor’s in journalism in 2011, Smith has sought opportunities to write about sports as a contributing writer focused on the growth of women’s collegiate, Olympic, and professional sports in this new age and movement for multiple outlets including Athletic Director U, and now Forbes.com. As a former Division I and II pitcher and Division III pitching coach Smith will bring unique insight and expertise to Softball on SI.
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