PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball outfielder/pitcher Tatum Kresley was named to the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 finalist.

The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. The winner of the award will be announced on Tuesday, May 31, during the College World Series. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach and in their first year of NCAA Division I collegiate competition as a true freshman or redshirt freshman.

Kresley is the school's first finalist for the award. She is the third person from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) to be nominated, joining Ryan Jackson of Bethune-Cookman in 2017 and Kalita Dennis of Howard in 2019.

Kresley currently leads the conference in batting average (.437), hits (69) and stolen bases (35). She is also in the top 10 in the NCAA in all of those categories and has already broken the school record for hits and stolen bases in a season.

On May 12, the list will be trimmed to the top 10 and the three finalists will be released on May 26. The list of 25 was selected by the NFCA. The top 10, top three and winner are voted on by the NFCA Division I All-America Committee.