Team Italy softball slugger Erika Piancastelli was presented the 2016-17 Desmond Jones Athlete of the Year Award at Cowboy Stadium during halftime of a sold-out state rivalry football game between home team McNeese State University and Northwestern State in Lake Charles, Louisiana on November 11, 2017.

The Desmond Jones Athlete of the Year Award is given to athletes who excel on the field and is presented by the family of the late Desmond Jones, a McNeese Sports Hall of Fame member. Entering her final season with the Cowgirls softball squad, Erika Piancastelli, is the first three-time winner of the award after her record-breaking year this past spring.