HUNTSVILLE | The Gulf South Conference announced the 2017 Softball All-Conference awards on Wednesday, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville took home three of the four major awards with Les Stuedeman earning Coach of the Year honors, Kaitlyn Bannister being named the Player of the Year, and Tyler Harrison capturing the Pitcher of the Year accolade.
 
Both Bannister and Harrison were also First Team All-GSC selections.
 
For Stuedeman, this is the 10th time that she has been named as the league's top coach, as she along with her staff of assistants including Melanie Carter, Jaycee Affeldt, and Cortney McNett helped guide the Chargers to the regular season conference crown with a 24-9 mark in league play.
 
The 10 selections as Coach of the Year is a GSC record, and the program matches a league record with its eighth Player of the Year selection and ranks second all-time with its fourth Pitcher of the Year choice.
 
Bannister earns the GSC Player of the Year award for the second time in her career as she was also named the GSC's best following her sophomore season in 2015. This season, the Albertville, Alabama, native led the GSC during the regular season in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, and home runs, while ranking second in doubles and RBI and third in runs. The senior also became the GSC's all-time career leader in RBI, and she has matched the Division II record for grand slams in a career with a pair this year to move her total to seven.
 
Bannister is batting .476 on the season with 62 RBI from 14 doubles and 18 home runs, and she is slugging at an impressive .876 clip.
 
With this year's honor, Bannister is now a four-time All-GSC honoree including three straight appearances on the First Team.
 
Harrison is also a four-time choice for the All-GSC teams, and this is her second consecutive pick to the First Team.
 
During the regular season, Harrison led the GSC in strikeouts, while ranking second in the conference in ERA, opposing batting average, wins and saves.  
 
The Mobile, Alabama, native has posted an 18-7 record to go along with a 1.51 ERA, and she has struck out 159 on the season while issuing only 21 walks in 162.0 innings of work. She has reached double figures in strikeouts in four games including a career-best mark of 11 in three different outings.
 
UAH will be back in action on Friday when it opens up play in the Gulf South Conference tournament. The Chargers will host West Georgia at 11 a.m. at Charger Park as the top seed in the event.