Honors
NFCA Scholar-Athlete: 2019, 2022
MVC Scholar-Athlete: 2022 (HM)
MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award: 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22
MVC President’s Council Academic Award: 2021-22
MVC Honor Roll: 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22
MSU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll: Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022
Career Summary
Finished her career with a .285 batting average to go along with 70 hits, 20 RBI, 46 runs scored and a .925 fielding percentage…Appeared in 122 games while starting 87 games throughout her career.
2022 (Senior)
Played in 44 games while making 24 starts, primarily at second base…Ranked first in the MVC with seven sacrifice bunts on the season…Tallied four hits and two runs scored at the Kajikawa Classic to open the season, recording hits against No. 21 Arizona State and No. 4/5 Oklahoma State (February 11-13)…Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored versus Stephen F. Austin (February 20)…Knocked a two-RBI single in game one of the doubleheader at Loyola (April 23)…Stepped up in a huge way, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored in MSU’s victory over Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament championship game (May 14)…NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete and MVC Scholar-Athlete honorable mention…Named to the MSU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022.
2021 (Junior)
Appeared in 19 games with 14 starts after missing the first part of 2021 while recovering from an offseason injury … In her first appearance of the season, she came on as a pinch-runner and scored the final run of MSU’s 4-0 win over SIU (March 24) … Registered multi-hit games against Kansas City (March 30), Bradley (April 3) and Indiana State (May 1) … Tallied four runs scored in the three-game series versus the Sycamores (May 1-2) ... Scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning against Evansville (May 7) ... Earned the MVC Commissioner’s Excellence Award and named to the MVC Honor Roll … MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters.
2020 (Sophomore)
Appeared in 15 games as a sophomore, all starts at second base ... Was 3rd on team in assists (25), 5th in total bases (10) and 6th in hits (8) ... Scored one of two MSU runs in extra-inning loss at No. 6 Oklahoma (March 7) ... Was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base in win over Murray State (March 6) ... Went 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and a stolen base in victory over Jackson State (March 1) ... Finished 2-for-4 with a run vs. Cal Baptist (Feb. 29) ... Had a base hit and matched her season high with 4 assists at Ole Miss (Feb. 29) ... Also had 4 assists in first meeting against Cal Baptist (Feb. 28) ... Collected hits in 5 straight appearances from Feb. 28-March 6 ... Went 1-for-2 for team's only hit vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 8) … Earned MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award and MVC Honor Roll laurels ... Named to Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters.
2019 (Freshman)
Earned 34 starts at second base as a freshman ... Was second on the team with a .344 season average, along with 9 multiple-hit games ... Was instrumental in series win at Indiana State (May 3-4), going 4-for-11 with 2 RBI in Terre Haute ... Went 2-for-4 vs. Drake (April 28) with a pair of runs ... Had a sac fly in win over Drake (April 27) ... Had a 3-for-3 day with a double against Evansville (April 20) ... Was 2-for-3 in win over Tulsa (April 10) ... Went 2-for-3 in win at Valparaiso (April 1) ... Was 2-for-3 with 2 stolen bases in win at UCA (March 2) after going 2-for-3 with 2 runs and an RBI earlier in the day against SEMO ... Tallied season-high 3 RBI in win over Coppin State (March 1) on 3-for-4 day with a double ... Named MVC Newcomer of the Week on March 4 after batting .727 (8-of-11) at the UCA Tournament with 5 RBI and going 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts to help the Bears win the tourney title ... Named an NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete ... MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters.
High School
Minnis hit .481 as a senior in 2017 at Blue Springs (Mo.) High School with a .506 on-base percentage and 21 stolen bases ... Helped coach Jim Brandner's Wildcats to a 21-8 record and district runner-up finish her senior season while earning her third straight all-conference honor ... Was also all-region and all-district honoree twice ... Was a key part of back-to-back conference championship teams in 2015 and 2016, including a 20-6 season as a junior ... Named club's defensive player of the year as a sophomore ... Also ran track at Blue Springs and played travel softball for KC Gold.
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Personal
Payton Diane Minnis was born 5/13/00 in Kansas City, Mo. ... Daughter of Nate and Jen Minnis of Blue Springs, Mo. ... Has a brother, Caden ... Mother played softball at UMKC and father played football at Truman State ... Majoring in Finance.
