West Windsor, N.J. – The softball program at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) received some big news last week.  MCCC alumna Dana Knapp (’15), who transferred to Kean University in Fall 2015, was named an NCAA Division III All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in her first year with the Cougar program.  Knapp is only the fifth Kean University softball player to be named an All-American in the team’s 44-year history. Knapp set a school record with 10 home runs this season and led the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) with a .829 slugging percentage. She was second in the NJAC in both home runs and RBIs (49).

Knapp, a centerfielder, led Kean in batting average (.423), on-base percentage (.503), RBIs (49), doubles (15), home runs (10), total bases (103) and walks (18).  In addition to earning All-American honors, Knapp was named a NFCA First Team All-East Region selection and First Team All-NJAC.  Finishing 20-22, the Cougars’ season came to an end following a second round loss to Stockton in the NJAC Tournament.

Knapp played two seasons of Mercer softball – in 2013 and 2015 – and her second year with the Vikings was simply stellar. Knapp led the Vikings in batting average (.438), slugging percentage (.813), on base percentage (.565), home runs (6), and triples (5) in 2015.  The Vikings finished the 2015 season 24-11 and advanced to the Region 19 championship game before falling to the County College of Morris.

Knapp was selected as the 2015 Garden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Player of the Year and was also named the Region 19 Player of the Year Runner-Up. 

“We are all so proud of Dana for her accomplishments this past year,” MCCC Head Coach Ryan Zegarski said.  “We all knew she would knock it out of the park at Kean.”

Zegarski recalls Dana’s major contributions at Mercer.  “She was a leader on and off of the field for three years.  It wasn’t always easy for her due to a season-ending hamstring injury in her freshman year, and some other physical setbacks during the other two years.  But she put in the work and stuck with her rehab regiment to get back on the field with her teammates.  Once healthy, she took off and made a huge difference for us.”

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