HUNTSVILLE | Kaitlyn Bannister's senior campaign was one of the best in the country, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville softball star is officially the NCAA Division II statistical champion for runs batted in during the 2017 season.
 
Bannister finished the year with a nation-best 73 RBI.
 
In the process, the Albertville, Alabama, native became both UAH's and the Gulf South Conference's leader in career RBI as she finished her four-year tenure in the Rocket City by driving in 273 runs.
 
Bannister totaled 22 games in which she recorded multiple RBI on the season, including five games with three and three games with four, and she twice logged a season-best five RBI in a game – at North Alabama on April 1 and against Mississippi College on May 7.
 
In addition to leading the country in RBI, Bannister's phenomenal efforts this past season also included her setting the UAH single-season records for batting average at .482 and total bases with 173.
 
For her career, she is the only player in UAH's illustrious history to own a batting average above .400 at .405, and Bannister departs Huntsville also as the program's all-time leader in home runs (59), total bases (555), and sacrifice flies (17).