Recent University of Hawaii graduate Nawai Kaupe, a Maui High School graduate, was named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year in softball on Wednesday.
She also garnered first-team All-Big West honors, along with UH pitcher Brianna Lopez, who was also named to the Big West all-freshman team.
Kaupe is only the second Rainbow Wahine softball player to be named Defensive Player of the Year — Kelly (Majam) Elms earned the award as a senior in 2013.
Kaupe, a smooth-fielding shortstop from Wailuku, finished the season with 80 put-outs, 92 assists and a .935 fielding percentage.
She was one of the key reasons why the Rainbow Wahine finished the season ranked No. 1 in the entire NCAA Division I ranks in double plays per game, out of 293 D-I teams.
Kaupe was in on 14 of UH’s 26 double plays this season.
On offense, Kaupe finished the season leading the Big West in home runs (13), home runs per game (.31) and slugging percentage (.664). Overall, she led Hawaii with 42 hits, 26 runs scored and 30 RBIs.
She had a team-high 14 stolen bases, which was the most for a UH player since Tara Harbert swiped 14 in 2003. Kaupe also led Hawaii with 13 multiple-hit games and nine multi-RBI games.
She hit a team-high .462 with runners in scoring position and .580 in successfully advancing runners on base.
Kaupe started her college career at Washington, where she played on two Women’s College World Series teams.
Kaupe and Lopez are just the 25th and 26th UH players to earn all-Big West first-team honors since 1991.
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