Montana Fouts wins Honda Sports Award for softball, becomes finalist for Honda Cup

Alabama softball star Montana Fouts has earned one of the top honors in the sport after an incredible senior season.

Fouts has been named the Honda Sports Award winner for softball for the 2023 season after going 25-11 with a 1.49 ERA and leading the Crimson Tide back to the Women’s College World Series.

She becomes the first Alabama softball player to ever win the Honda Sports Award. The honor is presented annually by the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards. It is given to the top women athletes across 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, signifying “the best of the best” in college athletics.

After winning the softball honor, Fouts becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2023 Honda Cup, which will be presented on June 26.

“I am so honored to be the recipient of this year’s Honda Sport Award. I want to thank the committee who chose me to represent the sport of softball and express how grateful I am to be chosen. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without my amazing support system. I want to thank Coach Murphy and the rest of our coaching and support staff for allowing me to live out my dream and creating this family for me the past five years that will have a piece of my heart forever,” Montana Fouts said in a statement.

“I would like to thank my family for all of the sacrifices they have made along the way to allow me to play the sport I love while being my rock. To my teammates who have my back on and off the field and made me fall in love with softball all over again, they are the real rockstars. I am so grateful for this platform softball has given me and I am honored to represent my home, The University of Alabama. Giving God all of the glory, Roll Tide.”

Patrick Murphy goes in-depth on what Montana Fouts has meant to Alabama, sport of softball

After the Alabama season ended with a loss to Stanford in the Women’s College World Series, Crimson Tide coach Patrick Murphy took a moment to reflect on Fouts’ career and what she meant to Alabama and the sport of softball.

“She has just been, number one, like she said, she just loves the game. She does. She absolutely loves all of it,” stated Murphy. “I’ve read this thing about giving all the feelings, give me anger, upset, happy, sad, all the feelings. That’s what she wants in softball. Give her the heartache. Give her the triumph. She’s been like that from day one.

“She has the most competitive spirit I’ve seen in a pitcher that wears the ‘A.’ I mean, she’s come through time and time again. You guys know this who cover us, but she can talk to an 80-year-old as easily as an eight-year-old. Not many kids can do that. Not many teenagers, not many college kids, not many adults can do that. She can. She makes everybody feel special. She takes her time with everybody.”