USA TODAY Names Murphy SEC Coach Of The Year, Briski SEC Pitcher Of The Year

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy and pitcher Jocelyn Briski earned top honors Tuesday from the USA TODAY Sports Network’s All-SEC softball awards.

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Murphy was named Coach of the Year, while Briski was selected as Pitcher of the Year and was a unanimous All-SEC team selection.

Murphy, in his 28th season leading the Crimson Tide, owns a 1,364-404 record at Alabama, including a 508-207 mark in SEC play.

He also became the first coach in conference history to reach 500 SEC wins earlier this season, doing so in a 4-0 win at Auburn on April 11.

Alabama, picked ninth in the preseason SEC coaches’ poll, enters this week’s SEC Softball Tournament as the No. 2 seed.

Briski has posted a 20-2 record over 28 appearances this season, with a 1.46 ERA and 167 strikeouts.

She has also earned three SEC Pitcher of the Week honors and is a Top 25 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year.

Briski's 9.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks second nationally and is more than twice as high as the next-best mark among SEC pitchers.

Briski also has top-10 wins this season over Florida State, Arkansas twice, Texas and Tennessee.

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