Courtney Coppersmith is one of the most decorated softball athletes to play for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In 2019, she took her freshman season by storm, having had arguably the best season by a freshman in the history of UMBC softball. Coppersmith became the first UMBC softball player to be named an All-American and became the first player in America East Conference's history to earn Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season. Courtney led UMBC to their first America East Championship in 2019 and first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002, earning ECAC Rookie of the Year, All-ECAC First Team, and being named a Schutt Sports National Freshman of the Year Top 25 finalist–what a way to start your college career, right?
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Since then, Courtney finished first in the NCAA with a 0.19 Earned Run Average and allowed just one earned run in 37 innings pitched in the shortened 2020 season. She has won several other awards, being named in the D1 Softball Top 150 Players list, America East Woman of the Year, winning the America East Female Scholar Athlete of the Year twice, along with countless other conference awards.
In 2022, she became the NCAA Statistical Champion in strikeouts per 7 innings (13.2), UMBC'S all-time strikeout leader, and broke her own school-record for lowest Earned Run Average in a season (0.78), along with breaking many other UMBC records. Although Courtney has shown that she is able to perform on the field, she has also excelled in the classroom, setting an incredible example of being a successful college athlete.
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Image Credit: Softball America
* Originally published on May 19, 2023, by Rhys Davies
