Bayless dubbed Female Student-Athlete of the Year
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M infielder Rylee Bayless was presented with the Betty Jo Graber Award
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Rylee Bayless from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M was commended by the NJCAA Executive Committee on Wednesday with her naming as the 2015-16 Betty Jo Graber Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
The honor is just one of numerous accolades Bayless has garnered over the past month. In June, she was named the Dudley® NJCAA Division I Softball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year – becoming the first-ever player in all three divisions of NJCAA softball to receive the award twice. Bayless also duplicated the first team All-America selection that she earned in 2015.
Establishing herself as one of the most productive offensive players across all levels of collegiate softball, Bayless led the country with 118 hits and a .621 batting average. The sophomore also topped the leaderboards with her .703 on-base percentage and 111 runs scored. Bayless’ 1.163 slugging percentage – bolstered by 26 doubles, four triples and 23 home runs – was also the highest in the nation.
Bayless proved to be a valuable resource for the Golden Norse offense throughout the year, ranking eighth in the country with 90 RBIs. Her dominance extended to the base paths where she accumulated 48 stolen bases, 10th-most across the national landscape.
Despite compiling one of the best records in the nation during the regular season, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M fell short of its national title aspirations with a fifth-round exit at the NJCAA DI Softball Championship. The Golden Norse did, however, receive valuable contributions from Bayless who was named Most Outstanding Player and earned all-tournament accolades. In five national tournament games, she hit for a .692 average with two home runs and six RBIs.
Despite hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Bayless decided that she will remain in the Sooner State to finish out her collegiate playing career. She announced her commitment to Oklahoma State on Twitter in May.
About the NJCAA Betty Jo Graber Award
Betty Jo Graber spent 35 years advancing opportunities for women in NJCAA athletics. Along with a successful basketball coaching career at Weatherford College, she was also the Region 5 Women's Director, the NJCAA Women's Basketball Committee Chair and a founding member of the NJCAA Women's Division. Graber is a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Tennessee. Graber was the perfect model of hard work, discipline, ethics and excellence in community college athletics. This award is given annually to the NJCAA Student-Athlete that best exhibits these traits.