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After Julia Cottrill’s walk-off home run lifted Florida to victory Sunday and clinched its conference-leading ninth regular season title, the sophomore catcher became one of five Gators to earn All-SEC honors.

Cottrill took home All-SEC Newcomer Team honors after the Wichita, Kansas, native started 45 games behind the plate and hit .348 in conference action. She turned in seven multi-RBI games and drove in the game-winning run on five separate occasions this year.

Senior second baseman Hannah Adams and junior third baseman Charla Echols each won All-SEC First Team and Defensive Team accolades.

Adams led the team in batting average (.395) and on-base percentage (.481) and was one of only two Gators with double-digit homers (10). The Hoschton, Georgia, native ranked top-10 in the SEC in hits (60) and runs scored (47). She scored the game-winning run in 17 games this season and reached base safely in 47 out of 48 contests. In the field, Adams turned 14 double plays and recorded a team-high 104 assists — No. 4 in the conference. She was named a USA Softball Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist.

Echols led the Gators in home runs (13), RBIs (49) and total bases (102). The Newnan, Georgia, native drove in the fourth most runs in the SEC and trailed only four players in slugging percentage (.750). At the hot corner, Echols committed only three errors on 137 chances (.978 fielding percentage). The junior delivered a pair of walk-off hits — including a three-run, walk-off home run against Texas A&M last Friday — and made the USA Softball Top 50 Watch List.

Junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower and fifth-year utility player Kendyl Lindaman each qualified for the All-SEC Second Team.

In the circle, Hightower racked up a team-high 16 wins, 10 complete games and 93 strikeouts while boasting a team-low 1.57 ERA. The junior Monticello, Florida, native started 21 games in 2021 after she started just 13 contests in her first two seasons. Hightower ranked top-10 in the SEC in nearly every pitching category: ERA (1.57-6th), batting average against (.179-3rd), wins (16-T5th), saves (3-T7th). She took home SEC Pitcher of the Week twice and D1Softball.com Pitcher of the Week after she hurled a complete-game shutout against Florida State. Hightower’s breakout season included a career-long 20.2 scoreless inning streak.

Lindaman led the team in walks (39) and trailed only two players in free passes. The fifth-year Iowa native started all 48 games this season and alternated playing first base and designated player. The former Minnesota transfer notched a 26-game on-base streak en route to being named a 2021 Senior Class Top 10 Finalist. Among active NCAA softball players, Lindaman ranks top-5 in games played (260-T2nd), home runs (68-T4th), RBIs (236-4th) and walks (215-2nd).

These five standouts will look to lead the No. 4 team in the nation to their third straight SEC Tournament title. Florida will face the winner of Ole Miss and Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa Thursday at noon on the SEC Network. The Gators swept the Bulldogs in a road series shutout, but they’ve yet to play the Rebels.