SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Senior first baseman Karina Gaskins earned All-America honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) for her performance in her final campaign for Fighting Irish softball. This is the second season that Gaskins earned All-America status, having been a second team selection by D1Softball.com and Softball America in 2022, and third team honors by the NFCA that same season.
Gaskins becomes the ninth player in program history to earn All-American honors in two or more separate seasons. She joins Megan Ciolli, Terri Kobata, Emilee Koerner, Andrea Loman, Katie Marten, Jarrah Myers, Jennifer Sharron and Karley Wester as the only individuals in program history to achieve All-American status multiple seasons.
2024 saw Gaskins finish third on the team with a .311 batting average, hitting eight home runs and driving in 34 runs. She also led the nation in walks drawn prior to the start of the postseason, shattering the previous program record or 41 with 14 games remaining in the regular season, ultimately finishing with 55 free passes. Gaskins earned a .538 on-base percentage, ranking second all-time in a single season, just behind her prior All-America campaign in 2022. Gaskins started all 50 games at first base in her final season. The Edison, New Jersey native earned a .994 fielding percentage, committing just two errors on 342 chances. Gaskins also owns the Notre Dame records for career walks and career on-base percentage, while ranking in the top 10 all-time in career home runs, career RBI, career slugging percentage and career putouts.