ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2025 softball awards on Tuesday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the UMAC softball head coaches.
Ellie Macal of the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets was named the Player of the Year. Against conference opponents, the Yellowjackets’ senior led the UMAC in batting average (.551), on-base percentage (.590), and slugging percentage (1.000). Macal also led the conference in home runs (4) and RBI (21) in UMAC games while finishing second in runs (21) and third in hits (27).
Emily Meyer of the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings was named the Pitcher of the Year. Against conference opponents, the Vikings’ sophomore led the UMAC in ERA (1.54), strikeouts (102), and shutouts (3) while allowing just a .219 opponent batting average in 72.5 innings pitched.
Peyton Bennett of the UW-Superior Yellowjackets was named the Rookie of the Year. Against conference opponents, the Yellowjacket’s freshman had a .444/.478/.810 slash line. Bennett led the conference in home runs (4) and runs scored (23) in UMAC games while ranking second in slugging percentage (.810), RBI (20), and hits (28).
The UW-Superior Yellowjackets coaches were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. The Yellowjackets, led by head coach Melissa Fracker, finished the season with a 31-12 overall record while tying for first-place in the UMAC with a 15-3 conference record to earn a share of the regular season championship.
The North Central University Rams won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ellie Macal (UW-Superior)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Emily Meyer (Bethany Lutheran)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Peyton Bennett (UW-Superior)
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
UW-Superior Yellowjackets
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP
North Central Rams
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Kate Beer (Northwestern)
Peyton Bennett (UW-Superior)
Emily Doyle (Bethany Lutheran)
Mikayla Gee (Northwestern)
Lily Hanson (UW-Superior)
Jadyn Iverson (Northwestern)
Maria Lilienthal (Crown)
Ellie Macal (UW-Superior)
Malena Mahoney (Minnesota Morris)
Emily Meyer (Bethany Lutheran)
Kaija Mork (Bethany Lutheran)
Carly Stuckmayer (UW-Superior)
Zoe Thomson (UW-Superior)
Alyssa Thornton (Minnesota Morris)
Bryn Weidner (Bethany Lutheran)
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Chloe Berg (Martin Luther)
Emma Heffron (Northwestern)
Sydney Lane (Northwestern)
MyKenzie Leccia (UW-Superior)
Abby Mitchell (UW-Superior)
Carly Nelson (Bethany Lutheran)
Emily Nelson (Bethany Lutheran)
Baylee O'Donnell (UW-Superior)
Emmy Romportl (Crown)
Ireland Strubbe (Northwestern)
All-DEFENSIVE
P |
Emily Meyer (Bethany Lutheran)
C |
Ellie Macal (UW-Superior)
1B |
Baylee O'Donnell (UW-Superior)
2B |
Lily Hanson (UW-Superior)
3B |
Emily Doyle (Bethany Lutheran)
SS |
Lani Schoper (Northwestern)
OF |
Kate Beer (Northwestern)
OF |
Sydney Lane (Northwestern)
OF |
Olivia Losee (Minnesota Morris)
UTL |
Kaija Mork (Bethany Lutheran)
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP
Mikayla Gee (Northwestern)
Kendallyn Kalenberg (UW-Superior)
Anna Lee (Bethany Lutheran)
Aurora Prettyman (North Central)
Emmy Romportl (Crown)
Amelia Thiel (Martin Luther)
Morgan Wilhelm (Minnesota Morris)
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
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