Lea Herkel Wins NFCA Catcher of the Year
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Joliet Junior College sophomore Lea Herkel posted a .994 fielding percentage across 160 chances and earned the 2026 Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year award for NJCAA Division III — proof that the community college path leads to national recognition.
Lea Herkel is a sophomore catcher at Joliet Junior College, a community college in Joliet, Illinois. Joliet competes in NJCAA Division III — the National Junior College Athletic Association’s smallest division level. The stage is modest. But the standard Herkel set on it was not.
This past season, she handled 160 chances in the field. She made one error.
That number — one — is the core of her season. Her fielding percentage came out to .994, which means she converted 159 of 160 defensive opportunities without a mistake.
She blocked pitches in the dirt. She fielded bunts, foul pops, and anything hit back toward the plate. So across an entire season of that work, she bobbled one ball.
And she did it while her team was playing for a national title run. In fact, Joliet Junior College advanced to the NJCAA Division III national quarterfinals. Every chance that came her way in those elimination games counted. She was nearly flawless.
She also batted .439 with 18 doubles, 41 RBI, and 54 runs scored. She threw out 3 runners attempting to steal.
After the season, the NFCA announced its Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year award for NJCAA Division III. The NFCA — the National Fastpitch Coaches Association — is the leading professional association for college softball coaches. Specifically, the award goes to the first-team All-American catcher at each division level.
No coach vote. No nomination committee. The first-team catcher earns it. It is the highest catcher-specific honor at her level.
Herkel earned it. She is the 2026 Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year for NJCAA Division III.
The community college path is real. Still, a lot of young catchers assume the only route to national recognition runs through a Power Five campus. But Herkel’s season is evidence otherwise.
You do not need a big-budget program to do irreproachable defensive work — work so clean it is beyond reasonable criticism. You need 160 chances and the discipline to treat each one as if the season is on the line. Because sometimes it is.
The .994 fielding percentage is the number the NFCA saw. But what built it was something you can run at Thursday’s practice: zero margin for sloppiness on any single play. Not when the game is close. Not when it is a blowout. Not even on a routine pop-up in the third inning of a game in March.
That is the standard. Herkel held it all season. So the award followed.
Sweat the gear and never fear.
Try this at your next practice
- The Zero-Error Round. Set a target of 20 consecutive fielding chances — ground balls, bunts, pop-ups — with zero errors. If you bobble one, start the count over. The goal is not speed; it is building the habit of treating every routine play as the one that matters. That’s the discipline inside Herkel’s .994.
- Crow-Hop Throwing Drill. After receiving each pitch from a partner, explode out of your squat, execute a clean exchange, and crow-hop to a target at second base. Focus on footwork first, velocity second. Herkel threw out 3 runners this season — pop-time and footwork are the foundation.
- Pressure Reps. Halfway through practice, when you’re tired and the work feels routine, run a full block-and-recover sequence: block three pitches in the dirt, then immediately field a bunt or short grounder and make the throw to first. Fatigue is when errors happen. Train your focus to hold under it.
Sources: 2026 Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year collegiate recap (NFCA) · NJCAA Division III Major Awards 2026 (NFCA) · NJCAA DIII All-Americans 2026 (NFCA)
