HUNTSVILLE | Matching a conference high with five selections, The University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team racked up when the Gulf South Conference announced its 2022 Softball All-GSC Teams on Wednesday.
 
Kiara Akles, Shelby Booker, Megan Shurtz, and Kaylee Vaught all earned First Team status, while Layton Murphy took home Second Team honors.
 
Each of Akles, Booker, and Murphy have now earned multiple all-conference accolades, while it is the first selection for both Shurtz and Vaught.
 
Akles is now a four-time First Team selection to become the first GSC player since North Alabama's Hillary Carpenter in 2017 to earn a place on the First Team four times, and she is the fifth player in UAH history to do so, joining Kelli Long, Sage Woodham, current associate head coach Melanie Carter, and Wendy Hurst.
 
This year, Akles ranks among the best in the GSC in several offensive categories including batting average (11th/.382), slugging percentage (5th/.707), on-base plus slugging (5th/1.151), RBI (t-3rd/50), and home runs (t-6th/10). Her 212 career RBI ranks second among active Division II players, and her 51 career homers are the sixth-most among that same group.
 
Booker is now a three-time all-GSC choice after being named to the Second Team in 2018 and the First Team in 2019.
 
With her .427 average, Booker ranks second in the GSC, while also ranking second with 46 runs, tied for first with 70 hits, tied for first with six triples, and tied for fourth with 24 stolen bases. 
She leads all active Division II players with 220 runs, and she is second with 288 hits.
 
Shurtz has turned in a magnificent freshman campaign in the circle, rankings third in the GSC with a 2.16 ERA, while her 14 wins are tied for the third-most in the league. She has struck out 84 batters which is tied for ninth in the conference, and her 40 runs allowed are tied for the fourth fewest by a GSC pitcher. Nationally, she is 29th with just 1.01 walks per seven innings, and her 5.60 walk to strikeout ratio is the 31st best in Division II.
 
Vaught earns a First Team nod after finishing the regular season ranked highly in the GSC in several stats including batting average (5th/.417), on-base percentage (t-11th/.457), runs (t-5th/42), hits (t-1st/70), RBI (t-8th/41), and triples (t-7th/4). The 70 hits rank Vaught 18th in Division II, and she has reached that total thanks in part to 21 multi-hit games.
 
The selection for Murphy represents the third of her career as she was a Second Team choice in 2021 and a First Team honoree in 2018.
 
This season, Murphy ranks 13th in the GSC with a 3.43 ERA, tied for 12th with a .260 opponent batting average, seventh with 122.1 innings pitched, second with 15 wins, and tied for fifth in fewest home runs allowed with five. Her 68 career wins are seventh among all active Division II players in addition to being tied for the fourth most in program history.
 
The all-conference selections and their teammates open up play in the Gulf South Conference Softball Championships on Wednesday, playing Lee at 2:30 p.m. in Oxford, Alabama.