BENNINGTON, Vt. – Fastpitch News (FPN) announced its 2017 NCAA Division III Preseason All-American teams on Tuesday with Southern Vermont College junior Nicole Matthews (Pittstown, N.Y.) taking a spot on the top, 15-player squad.

Matthews earned the selection after having a phenomenal sophomore season in 2016 through which she ranked sixth in all of NCAA DIII in batting average (.522) and on base percentage (.582). Both of those marks were new single-season records for the Mountaineers.

"This is a huge honor for our program," stated SVC first-year head coach Paige Gage. "It's awesome to have one of our players recognized with such a high accolade. Nicole is one of the hardest-working players I know. I know how honored she must be to be recognized on the All-American team."

Matthews was 11th in the nation in slugging percentage last year, leading the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) with an .884 mark. She was named the NECC Player of the Week one time in 2016, making way for her to be chosen as the Eastern College Athletic Conference DIII New England Player of the Week two days later. The Mountaineer sophomore was then voted onto the All-NECC Third Team at the season's conclusion.

"It's not every day that this type of recognition comes around," Gage continued. "I am very excited to coach such a talented player this year and see what she has in store for us this spring."

Matthews will start her campaign to be named a regular season All-American when the Mountaineers begin the 2017 schedule in Myrtle Beach, S.C. during the third week of March when SVC heads to the Snowbird Softball Classic for the team's annual Spring Break trip.

Fastpitch News is dedicated to covering the sport of women's fastpitch softball. FPN provides news, analysis, opinions and coverage of collegiate, high school, professional and international fastpitch leagues and organizations. To see the complete preseason all-American teams, please visit http://fastpitchnews.com/college-softball-news/2017-fpn-preseason-ncaa-diii-american-softball-teams/10715.

– #LetsGoSVC –