BATON ROUGE, La. – Former Bryan County High School softball standout Tiffany Howard was among the Auburn players and coach to earn postseason honors from the Souheastern Conference.
Howard was named second-team All-SEC and was named to the All-SEC defensive team.
The Tigers' lead-off batter, she has become one of the best lead-off batters in the game, batting near or over .500 all season long.
Currently batting .476 to lead the team, the Georgia-native has 78 hits this season and both totals lead the SEC and her average is seventh-highest in the nation. Her hit total is currently the third-highest in a single season by an Auburn Tiger and her average is on-pace to be the highest in a season ever by a Tiger as well.
Howard's on-base percentage has been something to behold also. Currently at .578 her reaching base ability was like no other as she reached safely in 52-straight games before last weekend. Howard also has six triples this year breaking the Auburn record of four in one season and needing only one more to tie the Auburn career record.
In addition, Auburn head softball coach Clint Myers was named the Southeastern Conference's softball Coach of the Year Tuesday morning.
Joining Coach Myers in the postseason conference honors list was junior Emily Carosone and sophomore Kasey Cooper, who were both named first-team All-SEC. Junior Jade Rhodes was also named second-team All-SEC, while Carosone, Cooper and Howard were all named to the All-SEC Defensive Team.
The four honorees ties the Auburn record for most players named all-conference in one season. The Tigers had four players named in the 2005 season, including three to the first-team alone.
As for Myers and his award, it's only the second time an Auburn coach has been given the honor at the end of a season. Former head coach Tina Deese was named co-coach of the year in 2002.
In only his second year as head coach, Myers has guided the Tiger softball program to heights never before seen. The team just finished its regular-season with a 46-9 record and an 18-6 conference record, good for second in the conference, its highest finish ever in league play.
That finish can have a lot of it credited to its four All-SEC honorees as all four have combined along with the rest of the team to be one of the best offensive lineups in the nation.
Carosone and Cooper's honors mark the second-straight year that Auburn has placed at least one player on the All-SEC First Team. Senior Branndi Melero was named to the first team last season on her way to an NFCA First-Team All-American selection.
Both Carosone and Cooper have hit near or over .400 all season long and are currently hitting .471 and .407, respectively, both among the tops in the conference. Both plays have hit 17 home runs each and combined for 128 RBI.
This honor marks the second-straight year that both players have been named All-SEC, but is the first first-team selection for each of them.
Rhodes and Howard earn their first-ever All-SEC honors this year as they finish up career-best seasons.
Finally, Rhodes has had a season never before seen by the junior as she has set new personal-best in almost every offensive category. Currently batting .318, she has hit a team-best 18 home runs with 53 RBI. The home run total ties the Auburn single-season record set by Cooper just last year and her home run total is tops in the league.
Carosone, Cooper and Howard also become the first Auburn players to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. In the past, only two players had ever been named to the All-Defensive team with current redshirt senior Morgan Estell being named in 2013. Former Tiger Myesha Finney was named in two consecutive seasons ('08 and '09).
All three make up a stellar Auburn defense that is among the top-15 in the nation in fielding percentage (.977), only making 34 errors this season.
Howard hasn't made a single error all year in left field and has also made some dramatic catches that fans have come to know and love. Carosone, at one of the toughest positions in the game, has only made one error all year at second-base and Cooper has only made six errors at the third-base position.
The full list of the All-SEC awards can be found here on the official SEC website.
The Auburn team is currently in Baton Rouge, La., preparing for the 2015 SEC Tournament. Auburn's first game will come on Thursday at 10 a.m. against the winner of seven-seed Missouri and 10-seed Mississippi State.
All first round and quarterfinal matchups of this week's SEC Tournament can be seen on the SEC Network. Friday's semifinals will be televised on ESPNU. The championship game will be on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
For more information on Auburn softball, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter @Auburn_Softball or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoftball.