Ellis and McDowell Earn NFCA All-America Honors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Softball senior first baseman Bri Ellis (First Team) and freshman third baseman Ella McDowell (Third Team) were named NFCA All-Americans, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon.

Ellis was a unanimous First-Team selection, becoming the first player in program history to achieve the feat, while McDowell was the first freshman in program history to earn NFCA All-America honors. It marked the second NFCA All-America selection for Ellis as she landed on the second team in 2024. Arkansas was one of 12 programs to have two players selected as All-Americans.

Ellis, the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in NCAA history. She batted .440 with 26 home runs, 72 RBI, 146 total bases, 69 walks, and 68 runs scored while posting a 1.090 slugging percentage, a .639 on-base percentage, and a 1.729 OPS. Her 26 homers, 72 RBI, 68 runs scored, 1.090 slugging percentage and .639 on-base percentage were single-season program records. She also tied the SEC single-season record with 26 round-trippers. Ellis finished the regular season ranked second nationally in home runs per game (0.51) and walks per game (1.42), becoming the first player to finish the regular season in the top two nationally in both categories since Jen Yee of Georgia Tech in 2010. Through 58 games, Ellis homered once every 5.15 at-bats while walking once every 3.17 plate appearances. Her 1.729 OPS was the third-highest single-season mark nationally since the statistic was officially tracked in 2016. Ellis became just the sixth player in NCAA history to post a regular season batting average above .480 and hit 20+ home runs courtesy of a .487 batting average and 25 home runs.

In conference play, the right-handed slugger batted .397 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 29 RBI while drawing 27 walks and posting a .983 slugging percentage, .606 on-base percentage, and 1.589 OPS. Ellis reached base in 22 of the Hogs’ 24 SEC games while registering nine multi-RBI games and seven multi-hit games. She finished league play on a 20-game reached base streak. Defensively, the first baseman posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 124 putouts and seven assists. Ellis did not commit a single error in 307 chances during SEC play in her two seasons at Arkansas. Her selections marked the second consecutive year that Ellis earned first-team and all-defensive honors.

McDowell made an immediate impact in her rookie campaign, batting .352 with 63 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 54 RBI and 21 walks to go along with a .425 on-base percentage and a .961 OPS. She was among the Arkansas leaders in hits (2nd, 63), assists (2nd, 79) and home runs (T-3rd, 7). She registered 18 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games while posting a 16-game reached base streak and a seven-game hitting streak during the season. Defensively, she started the season on a 29-game errorless streak and posted a .969 fielding percentage with 79 assists and 44 putouts in 127 chances. Her .352 batting average and .425 on-base percentage were the third-highest by a freshman in program history (min. 100 AB).

The Richmond, Texas, product batted .366 with 30 hits, three doubles, a triple and three homers while driving in 25 runs and walking eight times in SEC play. She posted a .537 slugging percentage and a .435 on-base percentage in 24 games of action. Defensively at the hot corner, she recorded a .964 fielding percentage with 25 putouts and 28 assists in SEC action.

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