OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Thirty of the top NCAA softball student-athletes were selected as candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award. Hawai'i softball senior pitcher Brittany Hitchcock was chosen as one of the thirty players selected on Thursday.

"To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 'CLASS' is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in the community."
 
"From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select ten finalists for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award in March. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. " 

Hitchcock received a medical redshirt as a true freshman. She graduated in the fall of 2016 in just three and a half years with a B.A. in family resources. Hitchcock made the Dean's List for seven semesters and is on track to earn her master's degree in education foundation in just a year and a half. She is slated to graduate in May 2018. Recently, she earned the Big West's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Hawai'i.

She has served as one of the softball team's captains for three years while being the anchor of the UH pitching rotation. She has served as a mentor for the last two years at UH's Nagatani Academic Center, helping current student-athletes deal and cope with the difficulties of being a DI student-athlete.

Hitchcock has served as the SAAC chair for UH and has helped chair several community service projects. Some of these projects include the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the Manoa Lions Club Holiday Parades, and helping with the Suds for Life program, in which student-athletes bring back toiletries from their roadtrips throughout the season to donate to local charities. Hitchcock also has participated in the Bishop Museum Kids Fest for the past four years, several Rainbow Reading Days at various local elementary schools, the local Parkinson's Charity Walk and last year's Jump Rope for Heart event at a local elementary school. She also helping chair the Big West Conference's Hawaii Coin Drive. She has served as a SAAC member for five years and attended the Big West Conference's SAAC retreat representing Hawaii. This year, she was the SAAC Co-Chair to lead their bimonthly meetings.

Last year, Hitchcock recorded several career bests including a .1.85 ERA with a 19-12 overall record in 35 appearances and 169 strikeouts in 204.2 innings pitched. She fired 27 complete games with eight shutouts for the year. This season, Hitchcock holds a 5-4 record with a 1.97 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched. The has 14 walks to 42 strikeouts.

In each of the past three seasons, she has been named an all-Big West pitcher, including first-team as a junior and second-team honors as both a sophomore and freshman, while earning NFCA all-West Region Third Team honors twice.

Hitchcock is just the second UH softball player to become a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award. UH alumna Stephanie Ricketts was a nominee in 2012.

For more information on the candidates, visit www.seniorCLASSawards.com.