Horizon League Reveals 2023 #HLSB Awards
Rachel White
INDIANAPOLIS (May 9, 2023) – Green Bay’s Tiffany Giese is the #HLSB Player of the Year while Oakland’s Sydney Campbell earned Pitcher of the Year honors, GB’s Paige Hanson picked up Freshman of the Year recognition and Northern Kentucky’s Maddie Lacer collected Defensive Player of the Year. NKU’s Kathryn Gleason and Oakland’s Lauren Karn were selected Co-Coaches of the Year. All-League awards are voted on by the League’s head coaches.
Giese is the second consecutive Phoenix to garner Player of the Year honors after Alicia Peters in 2022. The graduate outfielder led the League with a .452 batting average and .551 on-base percentage in #HLSB play, totaling 33 hits and 19 runs for Green Bay.
Campbell is the back-to-back #HLSB Pitcher of the Year for the Golden Grizzlies. The redshirt junior posted a 14-1 record in League contests with a 0.77 ERA in 99.2 innings pitched as Oakland earned its second straight regular season title.
Hanson earned Freshman of the Year and All-League First Team honors for the Phoenix. The rookie hit .390 in #HLSB play with a .507 on-base percentage and 23 hits. Hanson is Green Bay’s first Freshman of the Year.
Lacer collected the League’s first Defensive Player of the Year award for the Norse. The catcher posted a perfect fielding percentage on the season with 133 putouts and 10 assists for NKU.
Gleason is NKU’s first #HLSB Coach of the Year. Gleason led the Norse to the program’s best Horizon League finish as NKU posted a 13-9 League record to earn the No. 3 seed.
Karn was chosen as Horizon League Coach of the Year for the second straight season as she again led Oakland to a regular season title and the No. 1 seed with a 14-7 #HLSB record.
NKU and Oakland led the way with three All-League First Team honorees with Maci Brown and Reese Ruhlman joining Campbell for the Golden Grizzlies and Ella LeMonier and pitcher Lauryn Hicks joining Lacer to represent the Norse. Cleveland State’s Jenna Deang and Becky Hurosky, IUPUI’s Jaida Speth, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Taryn Jenkins, RMU pitcher Dana Vatakis and Youngstown State’s Sara Fessler also earned First Team honors alongside GB’s Giese and Hanson.
Student-Athletes from seven institutions comprise the All-League Second Team. IUPUI led the way with four selections in pitcher Madison Bryant and position players Kendal Calvert, Kayla Freiberg and Jordan Jenkins while Purdue Fort Wayne had three selections in Tori Countryman, Bailey Manos and Sonia Solis. Green Bay and Youngstown State added two honorees each, Jadin Justman and Randi McKay for the Phoenix and Elyssa Imler and pitcher Sophie Howell for the Penguins. Additionally, Cleveland State pitcher Melissa Holzopfel, NKU’s Jena Rhoads and Oakland’s Jen Krizka were also voted onto the All-League Second Team.
Along with Freshman of the Year Hanson, the All-Freshman Team includes Detroit Mercy’s Alison Donaugh and Jenna Holt, IUPUI’s Kennedy Cowan, NKU’s Rhoads and Brielle DiMemmo and Purdue Fort Wayne’s Countryman, Grace Hollopeter and Alanah Jones.
The 2023 #HLSB Championship begins with three games on Wednesday, May 10 and will culminate on Saturday, May 13 with the championship game set for noon ET. Fans can catch every game of the championship on ESPN+. Visit
championship central to check out the bracket, video and stat links and more information.
2023 #HLSB Awards
Player of the Year: Tiffany Giese, Green Bay
Pitcher of the Year: Sydney Campbell, Oakland
Defensive Player of the Year: Maddie Lacer, Northern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Paige Hanson, Green Bay
Coaches of the Year: Kathryn Gleason, Northern Kentucky & Lauren Karn, Oakland
All-League First Team
Position Players
Jenna Deang, Cleveland State
Becky Hurosky, Cleveland State
Tiffany Giese, Green Bay
Paige Hanson, Green Bay
Jaida Speth, IUPUI
Maddie Lacer, Northern Kentucky
Ella LeMonier, Northern Kentucky
Maci Brown, Oakland
Reese Ruhlman, Oakland
Taryn Jenkins, Purdue Fort Wayne
Sara Fessler, Youngstown State
Pitchers
Lauryn Hicks, Northern Kentucky
Sydney Campbell, Oakland
Dana Vatakis, RMU
All-League Second Team
Position Players
Jadin Justman, Green Bay
Randi McKay, Green Bay
Kendal Calvert, IUPUI
Kayla Freiberg, IUPUI
Jordan Jenkins, IUPUI
Jena Rhoads, Northern Kentucky
Jen Krizka, Oakland
Tori Countryman, Purdue Fort Wayne
Bailey Manos, Purdue Fort Wayne
Sonia Solis, Purdue Fort Wayne
Elyssa Imler, Youngstown State
Pitchers
Melissa Holzopfel, Cleveland State
Madison Bryant, IUPUI
Sophie Howell, Youngstown State
All-Freshman Team
Alison Donaugh, Detroit Mercy
Jenna Holt, Detroit Mercy
Paige Hanson, Green Bay
Kennedy Cowan, IUPUI
Brielle DiMemmo, Northern Kentucky
Jena Rhoads, Northern Kentucky
Tori Countryman, Purdue Fort Wayne
Grace Hollopeter, Purdue Fort Wayne
Alanah Jones, Purdue Fort Wayne