RIVERDALE, NY – Manhattan College’s Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) has been chosen as a Second Team Senior CLASS Award All-American in the sport of softball. Bowman was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award®, which was presented to Alabama’s Haylie McCleney.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award honors those student-athletes who make a positive impact as leaders in their community. Only NCAA Division I seniors are eligible based on their achievement in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition. The winner was chosen based on a combined vote of the coaches, media and fans.
The 10 finalists were all named either First- or Second-Team All-Americans. Joining Bowman on the Second Team were Army West Point’s Kasey McCravey, Baylor’s Heather Stearns, Megan Cooley of Boston College, and Erin Miller of Oklahoma. The First Team consisted of McCleney, James Madison’s Jailyn Ford, Kelsey Nunley of Kentucky, Michigan’s Kelsey Susalla, and Caitlin Attfield of UAB.
In 2016, Bowman was named First Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the second straight season and the third time in her career. She also earned a place on the All-Northeast Region Second Team after leading the Jaspers with 11 home runs and a .642 slugging percentage while drawing a league-high 49 walks. Bowman finished second on the squad with 34 RBIs and a .358 batting average, as Manhattan won 30 games for the first time in 23 years and finished second in the MAAC with a school-record 14 conference victories.
She was an Academic All-America First Team selection in 2015, becoming the first Jasper since 1994 to receive that honor. Bowman was the unanimous 2015 MAAC Player of the Year, as well.
One of three players in program history with 200 career hits, Bowman ended her career as Manhattan’s all-time leader in games played (198), home runs (52), walks (134) and slugging percentage (.723). She’s second all-time in RBIs (154) and ranks third in both doubles (38) and runs scored (130).