By UNG Reports
The University of North Georgia softball and baseball programs combined to have four players honored with All-American status following the team’s 2021 Spring seasons.
Three UNG softball players were named to the D2CCA All-America Teams, the association announced as Kylee Smith and Margaret Simmons earned second team honors, while Shelby Hammontree earned honorable mention recognition.
UNG Baseball’s Nik Levensteins joined them this past week when he was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-American Second Team and the D2CCA All-American Third Team, each association announced Friday afternoon.
SOFTBALL
For Smith, the award marks her fourth D2CCA All-America honor. The senior from Suwanee, became the first three-time PBC Pitcher of the Year in 2021 and set the PBC career strikeout record with 1,279. She is also second in career wins with 127 and is the NCAA active career leader in those categories as well as shutouts, ERA, starts and appearances.
Simmons was named a second-team All-American at shortstop. A junior from Eastman, she hit .383 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI in 2021. She is currently fifth in the PBC in batting average, third in slugging percentage, sixth in runs scored. She leads the Peach Belt and is ranked 10th in NCAA Division II in RBI.
Hammontree, a senior from Ringgold, hit .329 in 2021 with 14 homers, having set the record for career home runs at UNG. Her 47 RBI was second most on the team.
The team finished its season at the NCAA Division II College Softball Championships, losing as one of the final four teams remaining, to bring its overall record to 43-8.
BASEBALL
On the baseball diamond, Levensteins is the fifth All-American in the NCAA era for UNG and the first since Michael Gouge earned third team honors in 2017.
The sophomore from Arvada, Colorado, hit .338 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, adding 11 doubles while posting a .763 slugging percentage. He had 54 hits and 49 runs scored on the season. He was a consensus first team All-Southeast Region honoree as the designated hitter before earning the NCBWA Third Team All-American accolade earlier this postseason.
At the conference level, he was named first team All-Peach Belt and the Elite 16 Award winner.
The UNG Baseball team finished its season as runner up in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, falling to Columbus State and bringing its overall record to 30-15 on the season.