Auburn softball standout Kasey Cooper was voted as the winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Fan Favorite contest, the association announced Thursday.
The All-American infielder dominated the top portion throughout the competition and collected 38 percent of the final votes in the last round. During the final round of voting, however, Cooper was down by as many as 1,000 votes, but stormed back to complete the comeback in the final hours and take the top spot.
Cooper collected 6,050 votes in the final round to receive the crown of the NCAA Elite 90 Fan Favorite.
In order to be eligible for the award, the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships was tabbed as a member of the Elite 90. From there, the 90 representatives were voted on by the public through a nine-day voting period that was divided into three rounds.
Cooper, a Mechanical Engineering major, maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while putting together one of the best seasons ever in Auburn softball history. The Dothan, Alabama native set seven single-season program records and took ownership of four career records was a mainstay in the lineup at third base en route to being named the espnW Player of the Year.
She paced the nation’s top scoring offense with a .422 batting average, 19 triples, 21 home runs and 83 RBI. Cooper also top the team’s leaderboard with an .872 slugging percentage and an on-base clip of .581. For her efforts, she was tabbed as the SEC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year – the first ever to do both.
She becomes the first winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Fan Favorite in Auburn softball history.
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