Isabella Flores, a 2025 graduate of Wylie East and a freshman at Lamar University, has been named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year in softball. Photo courtesy Lamar University
By David Wolman
Isabella Flores, a 2025 graduate of Wylie East, was recently named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after helping lead Lamar to one of its best seasons in program history.
“It means a lot,” Flores said. “Coming in, I knew that I had a good opportunity to start right away. I worked hard in practice to earn that spot. After that, I kept grinding with the goal of having a good freshman season, and have done it with all the hard work that I put in.”
Flores finished the regular season leading Lamar in hits (61), batting average (.372), slugging percentage (.628), doubles (16) and runs scored (46). She also broke the program’s single-season RBI record with 49 while ranking second on the team in on-base percentage (.438) and home runs (eight).
She set another school mark with seven career walk-off RBIs, highlighted by three walk-off hits this season. Flores also tied a program record with seven RBIs in one game against East Texas A&M and reached base safely in 19 consecutive games.
Her performances earned her Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors as well as recognition from D1Softball.com as its Mid-Major Freshman of the Week.
Flores transitioned to second base at Lamar after primarily playing shortstop and pitcher at Wylie East. The move has felt natural thanks to her experience at the position during club softball.
“I came in here trying to simplify my game, but I’ve been playing softball for so long,” she said. “I am finding a way to transfer it to Lamar. I really miss playing with my sister (Gabby), but it’s been fun playing with my teammates at Lamar. They believe in me so much.”
Flores helped the Cardinals win 30 regular-season games and advance to the Southland Conference Championship Series against McNeese State.
Lamar fell short of its first NCAA Tournament appearance after losing the deciding third game 10-2 on Saturday, but the season marked a major step forward for the program.
“This is the first time that we have qualified for the championship series with this coach,” Flores said. “It’s really a big opportunity for us. Even advancing to that series meant so much with all the hard work that we have put in. Our goal was to put Lamar, Beaumont and southeast Texas on the map.”
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