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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Lopes sweep WAC's top postseason awards
5/6/2025 2:30:00 PM | Softball
GCU's Kirk, Golden announced as WAC Player, Pitcher of the Year
Grand Canyon dominated regular-season play in the WAC, making it no surprise that the Lopes received plenty of recognition in the WAC postseason awards.
GCU sophomore second baseman Savannah Kirk and senior right-hander Meghan Golden make up the first duo to be named WAC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, after also receiving the preseason awards in those categories. Lopes coach Shanon Hays was selected for his third WAC Coach of the Year award in four years, while five Lopes made the All-WAC first team as the conference champions enter the postseason at 43-6 and ranked 24th in the nation.
Hays has won at every stop and level throughout his coaching career and GCU may be his most successful stint yet. Hays won WAC Coach of the Year for leading the Lopes to the program's best regular-season record, which includes an active 20-game winning streak that tops the nation and dates back to March.
Hays enters the WAC Tournament on the heels of three straight tournament titles in his first three years in Phoenix. He has led GCU to three regular-season titles as well, including this season when the Lopes went 21-2 in conference play to win by 5 1/2 games with seven series sweeps. Hays is 179-48 (.789) in his four seasons at GCU.
Kirk, who is from nearby Waddell, Arizona, took home WAC Player of the Year after being named WAC Freshman of the Year in 2024. Kirk started the year hot and never looked back, hitting .506 during the regular season to rank second in the nation. The Canyon View High School graduate started at second base and led off in every game this year. Kirk's .506 batting average would rank second n WAC history behind Nina Lindenberg of Fresno State, who hit .508 in 1996.Â
Kirk is nine hits away from 2024 WAC Player of the Year and former Lopes first baseman Ashley Trierweiler's single-season hit record of 94 and has far and away the best batting average in program history. On the basepaths, Kirk has the most stolen bases without being caught in the nation, with 43 swiped bags. She is eight away from Gianna Nicoletti's WAC record of 51 stolen bases in 2022.
Kirk was also named to the All-WAC first team and the six-player WAC All-Defensive Team. She finished the regular season with a .969 fielding percentage, including several web gems at second base.
Golden is the WAC Pitcher of the Year for the first time in her career as her 2025 campaign has been nearly flawless so far. Golden ranks third in the nation in ERA (0.97) and ninth in WHIP (0.91). She is 13-0 on the season and 7-0 in WAC play, including three complete games.
Golden holds three of the top five single-season ERA mark in program history over her three-year Lopes career. This season's numbers are at the top of the GCU record books, as is her opponent batting average is .188. The Centennial High School graduate from nearby Peoria, Arizona, has helped lead the GCU pitching staff accumulate the best team ERA in the nation through the regular season.
The senior is also on the All-WAC first team for the second time in her career, which includes 40 wins in three seasons.
Joining Kirk and Golden on the All-WAC First Team are juniors Taryn Batterton and Emily Gonzalez, as well as freshman Jada Cooper.
Batterton is the other half to one of the premier 1-2 pitching combos in the country with Golden. Batterton, who is from Latta, Oklahoma, is 17-1 on the season, putting her just three wins away from Ariel Thompson's single-season GCU record of 20 wins. She leads the team in strikeouts with 87 and has a 1.70 ERA, which sits at second best in program history. You're reading that correctly: Golden and Batterton's ERAs are the two best in GCU history.
Batterton has pitched in many high-leverage situations and matchups this season, appearing in seven of the Lopes' eight matchups against top-75 RPI teams. She went 9-0 in WAC play, with two complete games that included a one-hitter at California Baptist early in GCU's 20-game winning streak.
Cooper, who came to GCU from Houston, has posted one of the best freshman seasons in program history, leading the WAC in home runs (12), RBIs (47) and slugging percentage (.762), all while holding the third-best batting average in the conference (.393) and second-best on-base percentage (.510).
Cooper started every game in her first year at Grand Canyon, splitting time between designated player (31 games) and first base (18 games).
Cooper was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Freshman of the Year top 25. She won two WAC Player of the Week awards throughout the season.
Gonzalez provided an immediate impact in the middle of the Lopes lineup in her first year at Grand Canyon, where she transferred after playing two seasons at Southern Utah. Gonzalez was the primary first baseman, as she started every game with 31 coming at first base and the other 18 as a desginated player.
Gonzalez, who is from Yucaipa, California, racked up 52 hits, a career-high .385 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage, which ranks fourth in program history behind Kirk and Cooper's averages this season and Trierweiler's 2024 campaign. Gonzalez leads the team with 30 walks and has a career-high 10 home runs, which is more than she hit in her previous two seasons combined.
Over the past 12 games, Gonzalez is batting .459 to help continue GCU's 20-game winning streak.
Graduate outfielder Makaiya Gomez made the All-WAC second team thanks to a regular season full of big numbers and clutch moments. Gomez played at each position in the outfield at some point this season but has mainly been the mainstay in right field.
Gomez, a native of West Jordan, Utah, is hitting a career-high .342 with career highs also for home runs (nine) and RBIs (45) on the season. Her veteran presence not only showed up in the clubhouse, but by example on the field. Gomez fueled multiple late-game moments, including g0-ahead or game-tying home runs in late innings against Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State. Gromez reached base at a .402 clip in WAC play and doubled her career high for stolen bases by swiping 10 this season.
Finally, sophomore catcher Tinley Lucas joined Kirk on the WAC All-Defensive Team thanks to her stellar play behind the dish.
Lucas, a native of Washington, Oklahoma, appeared in 47 of 49 GCU games this season, starting 43 of them.
Lucas maintained a .992 fielding percentage, only allowing two passed balls all season and only committing two fielding errors. She threw out five runners attempting to steal, rarely having runners test her with her cannon behind the plate. Tinley has been a huge part of the success for catching the nation-leading pitching staff in ERA.
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GCU sophomore second baseman Savannah Kirk and senior right-hander Meghan Golden make up the first duo to be named WAC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, after also receiving the preseason awards in those categories. Lopes coach Shanon Hays was selected for his third WAC Coach of the Year award in four years, while five Lopes made the All-WAC first team as the conference champions enter the postseason at 43-6 and ranked 24th in the nation.
Hays has won at every stop and level throughout his coaching career and GCU may be his most successful stint yet. Hays won WAC Coach of the Year for leading the Lopes to the program's best regular-season record, which includes an active 20-game winning streak that tops the nation and dates back to March.Hays enters the WAC Tournament on the heels of three straight tournament titles in his first three years in Phoenix. He has led GCU to three regular-season titles as well, including this season when the Lopes went 21-2 in conference play to win by 5 1/2 games with seven series sweeps. Hays is 179-48 (.789) in his four seasons at GCU.
Kirk, who is from nearby Waddell, Arizona, took home WAC Player of the Year after being named WAC Freshman of the Year in 2024. Kirk started the year hot and never looked back, hitting .506 during the regular season to rank second in the nation. The Canyon View High School graduate started at second base and led off in every game this year. Kirk's .506 batting average would rank second n WAC history behind Nina Lindenberg of Fresno State, who hit .508 in 1996. Kirk is nine hits away from 2024 WAC Player of the Year and former Lopes first baseman Ashley Trierweiler's single-season hit record of 94 and has far and away the best batting average in program history. On the basepaths, Kirk has the most stolen bases without being caught in the nation, with 43 swiped bags. She is eight away from Gianna Nicoletti's WAC record of 51 stolen bases in 2022.
Kirk was also named to the All-WAC first team and the six-player WAC All-Defensive Team. She finished the regular season with a .969 fielding percentage, including several web gems at second base.
Golden is the WAC Pitcher of the Year for the first time in her career as her 2025 campaign has been nearly flawless so far. Golden ranks third in the nation in ERA (0.97) and ninth in WHIP (0.91). She is 13-0 on the season and 7-0 in WAC play, including three complete games.Golden holds three of the top five single-season ERA mark in program history over her three-year Lopes career. This season's numbers are at the top of the GCU record books, as is her opponent batting average is .188. The Centennial High School graduate from nearby Peoria, Arizona, has helped lead the GCU pitching staff accumulate the best team ERA in the nation through the regular season.
The senior is also on the All-WAC first team for the second time in her career, which includes 40 wins in three seasons.
Joining Kirk and Golden on the All-WAC First Team are juniors Taryn Batterton and Emily Gonzalez, as well as freshman Jada Cooper.
Batterton is the other half to one of the premier 1-2 pitching combos in the country with Golden. Batterton, who is from Latta, Oklahoma, is 17-1 on the season, putting her just three wins away from Ariel Thompson's single-season GCU record of 20 wins. She leads the team in strikeouts with 87 and has a 1.70 ERA, which sits at second best in program history. You're reading that correctly: Golden and Batterton's ERAs are the two best in GCU history.Batterton has pitched in many high-leverage situations and matchups this season, appearing in seven of the Lopes' eight matchups against top-75 RPI teams. She went 9-0 in WAC play, with two complete games that included a one-hitter at California Baptist early in GCU's 20-game winning streak.
Cooper, who came to GCU from Houston, has posted one of the best freshman seasons in program history, leading the WAC in home runs (12), RBIs (47) and slugging percentage (.762), all while holding the third-best batting average in the conference (.393) and second-best on-base percentage (.510).Cooper started every game in her first year at Grand Canyon, splitting time between designated player (31 games) and first base (18 games).
Cooper was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Freshman of the Year top 25. She won two WAC Player of the Week awards throughout the season.
Gonzalez provided an immediate impact in the middle of the Lopes lineup in her first year at Grand Canyon, where she transferred after playing two seasons at Southern Utah. Gonzalez was the primary first baseman, as she started every game with 31 coming at first base and the other 18 as a desginated player.Gonzalez, who is from Yucaipa, California, racked up 52 hits, a career-high .385 batting average and a .500 on-base percentage, which ranks fourth in program history behind Kirk and Cooper's averages this season and Trierweiler's 2024 campaign. Gonzalez leads the team with 30 walks and has a career-high 10 home runs, which is more than she hit in her previous two seasons combined.
Over the past 12 games, Gonzalez is batting .459 to help continue GCU's 20-game winning streak.
Graduate outfielder Makaiya Gomez made the All-WAC second team thanks to a regular season full of big numbers and clutch moments. Gomez played at each position in the outfield at some point this season but has mainly been the mainstay in right field.Gomez, a native of West Jordan, Utah, is hitting a career-high .342 with career highs also for home runs (nine) and RBIs (45) on the season. Her veteran presence not only showed up in the clubhouse, but by example on the field. Gomez fueled multiple late-game moments, including g0-ahead or game-tying home runs in late innings against Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State. Gromez reached base at a .402 clip in WAC play and doubled her career high for stolen bases by swiping 10 this season.
Finally, sophomore catcher Tinley Lucas joined Kirk on the WAC All-Defensive Team thanks to her stellar play behind the dish.Lucas, a native of Washington, Oklahoma, appeared in 47 of 49 GCU games this season, starting 43 of them.
Lucas maintained a .992 fielding percentage, only allowing two passed balls all season and only committing two fielding errors. She threw out five runners attempting to steal, rarely having runners test her with her cannon behind the plate. Tinley has been a huge part of the success for catching the nation-leading pitching staff in ERA.
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