Greenville, S.C. – Furman senior Riley Ludlam was named Southern Conference Player of the Year, Kiley Perry garnered SoCon Freshman of the Year honors, and five Paladins earned All-SoCon accolades in voting by the league's head coaches, it was announced Tuesday morning.
 
Ludlam and Perry were joined on the first team All-SoCon squad by junior Ashlee Lykins and freshman Sylvia Burroughs while sophomore Emme Buzhardt was named second team All-SoCon. Perry and Burroughs were also both selected to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
 
A native of Fort Myers, Fla., Ludlam batted .371 during 47 regular season games with 14 doubles, 10 homers, 39 runs batted in, and a SoCon-best .678 slugging percentage. The Paladin catcher finished the regular season second in the SoCon in doubles and RBIs while ranking fourth in the league in homers and total bases (97). She struck out just six times in 143 at bats and committed just two errors in 165 chances behind the plate. Ludlam, who ranks fourth in school history with 44 doubles and second with 25 career home runs, is the first Paladin to earn player of the year honors since Marissa Guimbarda in 2019. A career .308 hitter, the two-time first team All-SoCon choice has driven in 115 runs and totaled 157 hits in four seasons as a Paladin.
 
Perry fashioned a memorable freshman season hitting .341 and leading the SoCon with 16 homers and 43 RBIs. The first baseman, who registered starts in all 50 games for the Paladins, established a new freshman home run mark at Furman, stands just one homer short of the single-season school record of 17 homers, and needs just one more roundtripper to match former UNC Greensboro standout Lindsay Thomas' SoCon standard of 17 homers by a freshman. A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Perry hammered a pair of home runs in victories over USC Upstate and SoCon regular season champion UNCG before belting two clouts in a 10-8 loss at North Carolina last week. She is the first Paladin to receive all-freshman accolades since Casey Bigham in 2017.
 
A second team All-SoCon pick a year ago, Lykins hit .293 this season and ranked in the top 10 in the league in hits (51), runs (32), stolen bases (14), and fielding percentage (.986). The Paladins' centerfielder and leadoff hitter, she posted 16 multi-hit games, including a 3-for-5 performance with three runs versus Mississippi State. The junior and Naples, Fla., native also notched three hits in Furman's SoCon finale versus Chattanooga.
 
Burroughs finished the regular season with a .271 batting average, seven homers, and 26 RBIs in 48 appearances during her rookie season. The Melbourne, Fla., native, who split time between third base and designated player, hit .298 in league play. She led the Paladins with 20 walks on the season and ranked second on the team with a .375 on base percentage. Burroughs drilled a pair of home runs in contests versus Gardner-Webb and Queens while delivering a game-winning, two-run double in Furman's series finale at Samford last month.
 
Buzhardt was selected to the All-SoCon Second Team after posting a 7-7 record and 3.29 ERA in 29 appearances and 15 starts during her sophomore campaign. The right-hander did her best work in league play where she posted a 4-2 mark in the circle with a 2.31 ERA in 10 outings. The Saluda, S.C. native and Gray Collegiate Academy product tossed a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 victory over Mercer and hurled seven innings without surrendering an earned run in a 7-1 win at Western Carolina. Her season-high of eight strikeouts game in a complete-game victory at Presbyterian on March 7.
 
Furman (20-30, 8-9 SoCon) earned the No. 3 seed for this week's SoCon Softball Championship at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn., and will face No. 6 seed Chattanooga in the opening round of the double elimination tournament on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Fans can follow all the action on ESPN+ and access live statistics at FurmanPaladins.com.
 
 
SoCon Softball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Riley Ludlam, Sr., C, Furman
 
Pitcher of the Year
McKenzie Newcomb, So., RHP, Samford
 
Freshman of the Year
Kiley Perry, 1B, Furman
 
Coach of the Year
Janelle Breneman, UNCG
 
First Team
P – Rhyann Jones, Fr., UNCG
P – McKenzie Newcomb, So., Samford
C – Riley Ludlam, Sr., Furman
INF – Kiley Perry, Fr., Furman
INF – Brooklynn Maxwell, Jr., UNCG
INF – Brooklynn Brewington, 5th, Western Carolina
INF – Bailey Huneycutt, 5th, Western Carolina
OF – Ashlee Lykins, Jr., Furman
OF – Grace Loftin, So., UNCG
OF – Addy Keylon, Jr., Chattanooga
DP or UT/Non-P – Sylvia Burroughs, Fr., Furman
UT/P – Jorde Chartrand, So., UNCG
 
Second Team
P – Brianna Bailey, Sr., ETSU
P – Emme Buzhardt, So., Furman
C – Logan Champion, So., Samford
INF – Cameron Young, So., ETSU
INF – Rebeca Laudino, Sr., Mercer
INF – Grier Bruce, So., Samford
INF – Kaili Phillips, R-Jr., Chattanooga
OF – McKayla Cothran, So., Samford
OF – Lindsey Nelson, Jr., Samford
OF – Olivia Lipari, So., Chattanooga
DP or UT/Non-P – Kylie Helm, Sr., Mercer
UT/P – Sara Muir, So., ETSU
 
All-Freshman
Jasmine Sanchez, OF, ETSU
Taylor Suchy, P/DP, ETSU
Kiley Perry, 1B, Furman
Sylvia Burroughs, 3B/DP, Furman
Avery Barton, INF, Mercer
Grace Taylor, P, Mercer
Rhyann Jones, P., UNCG
Peja Goold, P, Chattanooga
Riley KoKinda, OF, Chattanooga
Zoe Wright, INF, Chattanooga