Sonoma State won its first CCAA softball regular-season championship in 2023, and the Seawolves were rewarded with three of the conference's five postseason honors.
Outfielder
Anna Zoia-Buescher was named the Most Valuable Player presented by College Ave Student Loans,
Charlie Johnson earned CCAA Freshman of the Year, and
Jennifer Bridges collected CCAA Coach of the Year honors. The Most Valuable Pitcher award went to Cal State Monterey Bay's
Cassie Gasper, and Stanislaus State's
Mikaela Ferreira was voted the Newcomer of the Year.
From the beginning of the season,
Anna Zoia-Buescher was a force to be reckoned with for the Seawolves. She hit .700 in three games and carried that momentum on to rank seventh in the NCAA Division II with a .486 batting average. The Santa Rosa native was 17th nationally with a .533 on-base percentage, and her 71 hits led the CCAA. The junior hit safely in 39 of 45 games and posted 22 multi-hit performances, including a 4-for-4 game. She was second in the conference with 44 runs scored, 23 steals, and a .658 slugging percentage. The junior added eight doubles, four triples, and three home runs. Zoia-Buescher is the first Sonoma State student-athlete to earn Most Valuable Player of the Year.
No pitcher was more dominant in the circle this year than Cal State Monterey Bay's
Cassie Gasper. The senior right-hander struck out a league-leading 161 batters and allowed opponents to hit just .194. The Merced native completed the regular ranked second in the CCAA in wins (17), third in ERA (1.39), and innings pitched (176.0). In 18 conference starts, she never took losses in back-to-back games, and she recorded 107 strikeouts, 26 more than second place. Gasper is the first Otter to win the CCAA's Most Valuable Pitcher award outright after Cori Reinhardt ('15) and Diane Ortiz ('10) both shared their awards.
Stanislaus State's
Mikaela Ferreira was named the CCAA's Newcomer of the Year. The shortstop transferred in from San Joaquin Delta College and proceeded to hit .406 in her first season of CCAA play. Ferreira finished second in the conference in batting average and was the toughest person to strike out (once every 32 at-bats). In nearly half of her games, she recorded a multi-hit performance (19 of 40), including a 4-for-4 performance at Sonoma State, which was just a triple short of the cycle. The Ripon native's .454 on-base percentage ranked seventh, and her 52 hits tied her for fifth.
Charlie Johnson is the second Seawolf to make history in earning CCAA Special Honors for the first time. The Rancho Bernardo was named CCAA Newcomer of the Year after leading the conference and ranking 10th in the NCAA with a 0.98 earned run average. She helped the Seawolves pace the CCAA with a 1.55 ERA and a .222 opponent average. The right-hander posted a streak of 69.0 innings without allowing an earned run and was the nation's leader in ERA in March. Her 13 runs allowed are six better than second place. Johnson finished her freshman campaign 9-3 with a 0.98 ERA and three saves.
The Seawolves'
Jennifer Bridges was voted the CCAA Coach of the Year by her peers. The 14th-year head coach led Sonoma State to its first regular-season championship with a 23-8 record (34-11). The Seawolves opened the year at No. 25 in the national rankings and climbed into the top 10 thanks in part to winning 13 of their first 14 games. They led the CCAA in both earned run average (1.55) and batting average (.313), finishing at least 29 points up in each category. The Seawolves' 1.55 earned run average ranked ninth in NCAA Division II, and their 27 homers led the league. It was not until the season's final week that SSU lost back-to-back games.
Bridges also helped lead a conference-best seven student-athletes to All-CCAA honors. Zoia-Buescher was joined on the first team by
Jordyn Martinez (C),
Giana Hays (2B), and
Nichole Sarra (P).
Cassidy Romano (SS),
Rylee Nishimoto (OF), and Johnson received second-team honors.
Cal State San Marcos was second with six all-conference selections.
Cal State San Bernardino and
Cal State Dominguez Hills each placed five student-athletes on the All-CCAA team.
Click here to see the complete list
Jordyn Martinez,
Alyssa Olague (Cal State Dominguez Hills), and
Micaela Harris (Cal Poly Humboldt) were named to the all-conference team for the third time in their decorated careers. All three received first-team honors this year and have played every season at their current school.
The 2023 CCA Softball Tournament will begin Wednesday, May, in Carson. New this year, the first-round games will be single-elimination games, and the winners will be reseeded with the top two seeds in a double-elimination tournament. The first pitch is scheduled for Noon. Tickets are still available at
GoCCAA.org/Tickets. For fans that are unable to attend, all games will be streamed live on the CCAA Network at
CCAAnetwork.com.
| 2023 All-CCAA Softball Team & Special Awards |
| Most Valuable Player |
Anna Zoia-Buescher, Sonoma State |
| Most Valuable Pitcher |
Cassie Gasper, Cal State Monterey Bay |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Mikaela Ferreira, Stanislaus State |
| Freshman of the Year |
Charlie Johnson, Sonoma State |
| Coach of the Year |
Jennifer Bridges, Sonoma State |
| All-CCAA First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
Yr. |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Jordyn Martinez^& |
Sr. |
Sonoma State |
Fresno |
| 1B |
Tereise Tosi& |
So. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Garden Grove |
| 2B |
Giana Hays# |
Jr. |
Sonoma State |
Mather |
| SS |
Mikaela Ferreira |
Jr. |
Stanislaus State |
Ripon |
| 3B |
Raquel Jaime& |
Sr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Corona |
| OF |
Bianca Gutierrez& |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Camarillo |
| OF |
Micaela Harris%& |
Sr. |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
Rocklin |
| OF |
Anna Zoia-Buescher& |
Jr. |
Sonoma State |
Santa Rosa |
| P |
Cassie Gasper |
Sr. |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
Merced |
| P |
Alyssa Olague^# |
Sr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Whittier |
| P |
Nichole Sarra |
Jr. |
Sonoma State |
Rocklin |
| UT/NP |
Annelise Garcia |
So. |
Cal State East Bay |
Sacramento |
| DP |
Alyssa Smokey |
Fr. |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
Gardnerville, Nev. |
| At-Large (OF) |
Hayden Greene |
Jr. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
El Dorado Hills |
| At-Large (OF) |
Tayler Berens |
Jr. |
Chico State |
Artois |
| All-CCAA Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
Yr. |
School |
Hometown |
| C |
Gianna Lombardi |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Santa Clarita |
| 1B |
Paige Donnelly& |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Poway |
| 2B |
Kai DeLeon# |
So. |
San Francisco State |
Turlock |
| SS |
Cassidy Romano# |
Sr. |
Sonoma State |
Cardiff By The Sea |
| 3B |
Jill Albayati |
Fr. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Anaheim |
| OF |
Rylee Nishimoto |
Jr. |
Sonoma State |
Mililani, Hawaii |
| OF |
Alex Davis |
So. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Burbank |
| OF |
Jay Ross |
Jr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Whittier |
| P |
Savannah Coyle& |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Oceanside |
| P |
Charlie Johnson |
Fr. |
Sonoma State |
Rancho Bernardo |
| P |
Samantha Vargas |
Jr. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Grand Terrace |
| UT/NP |
Madison Waymire |
So. |
Cal State San Marcos |
Rancho Cucamonga |
| DP |
Alani Nguyen |
Sr. |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
Buena Park |
| At-Large (SS) |
Alyssa Martinez |
Sr. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Riverside |
| At-Large (OF) |
Kaylee Williamson |
Sr. |
Cal State San Bernardino |
Buena Park |
| Honorable Mention |
| Daniella Guerrera (SFSU), Alexis Aguado (CSUSB). |
& - 2022 All-CCAA First Team; # - 2022 All-CCAA Second Team;
^ - 2019 All-CCAA First Team; % - 2018 All-CCAA Second Team |