OKLAHOMA CITY – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Monday named Oklahoma City's Analise Rayburn its 2025 Player of the Year.
 
Rayburn, who was also a first-team NFCA All-American, is the third Star to be named NFCA Player of the Year joining Kennedy Jackson (2022) and Jaci Smith (2019). She won two-thirds of the NAIA's Triple Crown, leading the league with 28 home runs and 102 RBI to go along with a .486 batting average which ranked 11^th. Rayburn also excelled defensively at shortstop, committing just five errors in 221 chances for a .977 fielding percentage.
 
Rayburn also topped the NAIA with 25 doubles, 218 total bases and a 1.028 slugging percentage, in addition to being second with 103 base hits, and sixth with 71 runs scored. In keying the Stars to a national runner-up finish, Rayburn opened the tournament up in style with a two-home run, seven-RBI outing against Central Methodist.
 
Joining Rayburn on the NFCA First-Team are OCU catcher Tiffany Paul and outfielder Tara Hoehner.
 
Paul was third in the nation with 19 home runs and fourth with 75 RBIs while primarily batting as the leadoff hitter at a .444 clip. Paul was first-team All-Conference and NAIA Player of the Week in March. She was second nationally with 77 runs and fourth with 96 hits.
 
Hoehner was fifth in the NAIA with 74 RBIs and was a first-team All-SAC selection. Hoehner was a NAIA Player of the Week in February. She was fourth in the country with 74 runs scored.
 
The Player of the Year award was created to honor the outstanding athletic achievements among softball student-athletes throughout the NAIA. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include a Player and Pitcher of the Year. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach.
 
Awards are voted on by the Association's NAIA All-America Committee, which is comprised of one elected member head coach from each of the NFCA's six regions.
 
NFCA NAIA Player & Pitcher of the Year
2025 – Analise Rayburn, Oklahoma City (Player) / Ayla Davies, Southern Oregon (Pitcher)
2024 – Sarah Giles, Jessup (Player) / Cassandra Valdez, Our Lady of the Lake (Pitcher)
2023 – Haley Loffer, College of Idaho (Player) / Annaliese Wood, Georgia Gwinnett (Pitcher)
2022 – Kennedy Jackson, Oklahoma City (Player) / Emily Cerny, USAO (Pitcher)
2021 – Maile Deutsch, McPherson (Player) / Allison Golic, St. Xavier (Pitcher)
2019 – JC Smith, Oklahoma City (Player) / Gabby Sandoval, Southern Oregon (Pitcher)
2018 – Emily Cerny, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
2017 – Kaisey Carson, Indiana Wesleyan University
2016 – Nicole Nonnemacher, St. Xavier University