Indiana Softball's Taryn Kern Named All-American

Indiana softball's freshman third baseman Taryn Kern was named the program's first All-American since 1998 for D1Softball.com.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana softball second baseman Taryn Kern has been named a First-Team and Freshman Team All-American by D1Softball.com, the organization announced Tuesday. 

The All-American status honors the best of the best Division I softball players, an honor a Hoosier hasn't received since 1998 when third baseman Monica Armendarez was named to the National Softball Coaches Association (NSCA) All-America Third Team.

Kern finished the 2023 season batting .404, the highest average of any starter. She also totaled 63 hits, 23 home runs and 68 RBI. Kern led the Big Ten in eight statistical categories including slugging percentage (.930), on base percentage (0.575), OPS (1.505), walks (45), hit by pitch (23), runs scored, RBI and home runs.

In addition, the San Jose, Calif. native was awarded Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year while making the All-Big Ten First Team and Freshman Team. Her successes that didn't come with plaques were breaking four Hoosier single season records in runs, homers, RBI and slugging percentage. 

The Hoosiers finished the regular season 44-18 with an 18-5 conference record. Indiana placed second behind Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament and made the NCAA Tournament regional round for the first time since 2011.

Indiana started off solid with a 4-3 win over Louisville as part of the Knoxville regional but fell to Tennessee 9-1 in the following matchup. The Hoosiers gained redemption once again shutting down the Cardinals 4-2 but ultimately fell to the Volunteers 7-3 to end their incredible season.

Indiana still left the year achieving huge milestones such as earning the highest batting average (.310) in the conference. Head coach Shonda Stanton in her sixth season at the helm recorded her best season yet as a Hoosier with more seasons to come. 

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