Here are Week 5’s NFCA Division 1, 2 & 3 college softball Players of the Week as selected by NCAA D1, D2 & D3 coaches.
These honors are released on Tuesdays during the regular season.
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North Carolina’s Emily LeGette and Stanford’s Zoe Prystajko were named Division I Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week honors for contests played March 2-8. It marked the second honor for LeGette in the last three weeks.
LeGette had another monstrous week for the Tar Heels, clubbing five more home runs with 15 RBI and a 1.769 slugging percentage. She batted .615 with seven runs and a .667 on-base percentage.
LeGette hit three of her homers and registered seven RBI in a game-two win over then-No. 16 Virginia, including a walk-off three-run shot in the eighth inning to give UNC its first ranked win in four years. She also homered and drove in four runs in the series finale.
Prystajko tossed 9.2 scoreless and hitless innings of relief across three games during the 19th-ranked Cardinal’s ACC series-opening sweep at Pitt. Picking up two wins and a save, she struck out 24 and did not issue a walk.
Only four Panthers reached, three via a hit batter and one Stanford error. The sophomore hurler fanned nine batters in 3.2 innings to earn the win in game two. Prystajko’s save came in game one in which she struck out seven and hit one over the final three innings.
The member-nominated awards are voted on by the NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll Committee, which features one member coach from each of the NCAA’s 31 conferences.
Selected Top Performances
Makaley Boswell, Troy – .467, 7 H, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, 5 R, 4 RBI, 22-game reached-base streak; Bella Cabral, Virginia – .471, 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, .526 OBP, 2BB; SJ Geurin, Auburn – 2-0, 1.20 ERA, CG, 11.2 IP, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K, .167 opp. BA; Jessie Gilbert, Loyola Marymount – 1-1, 0.66 ERA, 11 K, .158 opp BA, SHO; Kelsey Hoekstra, Rutgers – 1-0, 0.70 ERA, 18 K, 2 BB, 10 IP; Maya Johnson, Belmont – 2-1, 0.00 ERA, 28 K, BB, 8 H, 3 CG, no-hitter vs. UIC; Teagan Kavan, Texas – 1-0, 0.88 ERA, SV, 7 K, 3 BB, 6 H, 2 R, ER, .214 opp. BA; Gabby Leach, Tennessee – .462, 6 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, walk-off 3-run HR vs. LSU; Kayla Lyon, Utah – .500, 2B, HR, 11 RBI, 5 R; Bailey Manos, Miami – .563, 9 H, 3 2B, 2 HR,6 RBI, 4 R, 1.125 SLG, .588 OBP; Ella McDowell, Arkansas – .600, 6 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 2.067 OPS, 1.400 SLG; Maya McPherson, Western Carolina – .643, 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R, 1.214 SLG, SB; Raci Miranda, Utah – 2-0, 2.33 ERA, K, 4 BB, 9 IP at No. 22 Arizona State; Ella Parker, Oklahoma – .438, 7 H, 4 HR, 1 RBI, 5 R; Kiarra Sells, Mississippi State – .444, 3 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1.611 OPS, 12-game hitting streak; Cece Smith, George Washington – .750, 6 H, 3 2B, 2 BB, RBI, 2 R, 1.925 OPS; Sydney Stewart, Arizona – .667, 4 H, 4 R, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1.833 SLG, 3 BB, 0 K, .700 OBP; Lily Wet, Creighton – .714, 3 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 6 R, 1.143 SLG; Ella Whitney, Ball State – .471, 2 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 4 R, 1.235 SLG; Jordan Woolery, UCLA – .750, 9 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 R, 9 RBI, 1.750 SLG, matched UCLA single-game record with three doubles.
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Oklahoma Baptist’s Greenlee Wells and Saint Leo’s Choloe Hocquard collected Division II Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week honors for contests played March 2-8.
Wells keyed the 14th-ranked Bison, batting .625 with a triple, two home runs and eight RBI during a three-game Great American Conference sweep of East Central University.
She added six runs scored, slugged 1.625 and recorded a .727 on-base percentage. Six of Wells’ eight RBI came in game two against the Tigers in which she homered twice. With those long balls, she leads NCAA Division II with 12.
Hocquard was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 10 strikeouts and a shutout in two starts last week for the ninth-ranked Lions. She surrendered just three hits over 11 innings of work.
Hocquard twirled a one-hit complete-game shutout against Wilmington, striking out eight and walking two.
The awards are voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee, which features two member coaches from each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
Selected Nominated Performances
Lauren Harris, McKendree – .629, 9 H, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB, 1.077 SLG, 1.000 FLD (8 PO, 10 A); Destiny Lewis, Nova Southeastern – .421, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 2 SF; Briana Neal, Saint Leo – .667, 3 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 8 R, 3-3 SB; Kiki Pickens, Missouri Southern – 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 7 K, 2 BB, CG; Carson Tinkler, Missouri Southern – .800, 1.200 SLG, .833 OBP, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, 4 H; Nova Wright, Columbus State – .625, 10 H, 8 R, RBI, 3 BB, 1.000 FLD (15 PO, 1 A).
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Virginia Wesleyan’s Hannah Hearl and Piedmont’s Anslee Sauchegraw captured the latest Division III Wilson/NFCA Pitcher and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors of the 2026 season on Tuesday.
Hearl, a sophomore pitcher from Orange County, Va., went 3-0, including a no-hitter against then-No. 9 Christopher Newport, to help catapult the unbeaten (8-0) Marlins into the top spot in this week’s NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The right-hander stuck out 24 and allowed just five hits and three walks over 18 innings in the circle overall. She also picked up the win in the other game of a doubleheader sweep of the Captains, and defeated Tufts and Greensboro, holding all batters to a .083 average.
Sauchegraw, meanwhile, hit .556 (15-for-27) with three doubles, six home runs, 16 RBI, five walks, a .625 on-base average and a 1.333 slugging percentage. The freshman shortstop from Covington, Ga., had two two-homer games and drove in four or more runs in three of her six contests, which included matchups with then-No. 12 Randolph-Macon and then-No. 25 Salisbury.
Other Top Performances
Gianna Adams, Carnegie Mellon – 5-0, 1.72 ERA, 24 K, 20.1 IP; Mackenzie Cauthorn, Bridgewater (Va.) – 2-1, 0.78 ERA, 18 IP, 11 H, BB, 18 K, 2 CG, SHO; Reagan Diamond, Carnegie Mellon – .591 AVG, 3 2B, 10 RBI, .793 SLG; Alyssa Edwards, Hartford – .571 AVG, 1.143 SLG, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, SB in first action since missing 2025 season; Ava Fouts, Berry – .473 AVG, 6 R, 2 2B, 4 RBI, .579 SLG, 3-0, 2.20 ERA, 3 CG, 11 K, snapped then-No. 1 Trine’s 22-game win streak and shut out then-No. 8 East Texas Baptist; Avery Holland, East Texas Baptist – 3-0, 0.74 ERA, BB, 19 K, 19 IP, 3 CG, .149 OPP AVG; Ragini Kannan, Brandeis – 3-0, 0.39 ERA, 18 IP, 2 BB, 22 K, .056 OPP AVG, no-hitter vs. Emmanuel; Olivia Knight, Virginia Wesleyan – .529 (9-for-17), 5 R, 2 HR, 13 RBI; Alexis Larson, Wartburg – .466/.500/.933, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 5-5 SB, 1.000 FLD; Emma LaFave, Simpson – fanned seven over first four innings of combined no-hitter vs. Westminster (Mo.); Haley Leimbach, Tufts – .480 (12-for-25), 10 R, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB, .720 SLG, .500 OBP; Sadie Leonard, Williams – two-hitter vs. Springfield, 15 K, including striking out the side in first, third, fifth and seventh; Nikki Lusnia, Kean – 2-1, 0.00 ERA, 15.1 IP, 23 K, 0 ER, no-hitter vs. Penn State-Behrend; Emily Meyer, Bethany Lutheran – 3-1, 21.1 IP, 20 K, 1.64 ERA; Piper Morton, East Texas Baptist – .438 AVG, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 6 RBI; McKenna Mueller, Bridgewater (Va.) – .476 AVG, 10 H, 2 2B, 4 RBI; Jillian Panther, Wartburg – 3-0, 3 ER, 18.2 IP, one-hitter vs. New England College; Olivia Sanborn, Bethany Lutheran – .526 AVG, 10 H, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 7-8 SB; Kiran Sanford, Wisconsin-Oshkosh – 7 IP, H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 18 K; Ashlyn Steen, Simpson – .714 (5-for 7), 3 R, 3 3B, 2 RBI, 2 SB; Olivia Tautges, Saint Benedict – .583 (14-for 24), 3 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 0 K, 27 TB, 1.135 SLG, 1.725 OPS, multiple hits in four of six games; Sarah Watts, Lynchburg – .500 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 SB, 1.062 SLG; Kadence Woodlief, Averett – .500 AVG, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1.050 SLG, 13 PO, 9 A, 1.000 FLD.
Winners are selected by the NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee, which has a representative for each of the 10 NCAA regions.
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The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded Louisville Slugger/Player & Wilson/Pitcher of the Week awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from webinars to legal counsel, to in-person events and the National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining over 7,000 coaches today!
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