ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2026 softball awards on Tuesday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the UMAC softball head coaches.
Olivia Sanborn of Bethany Lutheran College was named the Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year. Against conference opponents, she hit .596 with 34 hits, one double, three triples, one homerun with 13 RBI. Sanborn added a league-best 25 stolen bases.
Ireland Strubbe of Northwestern earned Pitcher of the Year accolades. Against conference opponents, the Eagle’s pitcher led the UMAC in ERA (0.79), strikeouts (89), and wins (10). League hitters only averaged .182 against her.
The Northwestern coaches were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. The Eagles, led by head coach Alecia du’Monceaux, finished the season with a 27-13 overall record while tying for first-place in the UMAC with a 16-2 conference record to earn a share of the regular season championship.
Martin Luther 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: Olivia Sanborn, Bethany Lutheran
Pitcher of the Year: Ireland Strubbe, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year: Olivia Sanborn, Bethany Lutheran
Coaching Staff of the Year: Alicia du'Monceaux, Northwestern
Team Sportsmanship of the Year: Martin Luther
All-Conference
| Olivia Sanborn |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Lani Schoper |
Northwestern |
| Maria Lilienthal |
Crown |
| Emily Doyle |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Bryn Anderson |
Northwestern |
| MyKenzie Leccia |
UW-Superior |
| Ireland Strubbe |
Northwestern |
| Emily Meyer |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Carly Stuckmayer |
UW-Superior |
| Kendra Schmitz |
Minnesota Morris |
| Emma Edwards |
Northwestern |
| Hannah Storey |
Northwestern |
| Addie Ahern |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Larissa Snyder |
UW-Superior |
| Olivia Losee |
Minnesota Morris |
Honorable Mention
| Peyton Bennett |
UW-Superior |
| Abby Mitchell |
UW-Superior |
| Kaylee Pickering |
Martin Luther |
| Mary Landherr |
Minnesota Morris |
| Emmy Romportl |
Crown |
| Aliya Edbom-Kehler |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Kylie Zwak |
UW-Superior |
| Taylor Johnson |
Minnesota Morris |
| Alyssa Thornton |
Minnesota Morris |
| GingerAnn Lucas |
Minnesota Morris |
All-Defensive
| P |
Ireland Strubbe |
Northwestern |
| C |
Emily Nelson |
Bethany Lutheran |
| 1B |
Kendra Schmitz |
Minnesota Morris |
| 2B |
Kate Van Ess |
Northwestern |
| SS |
Lani Schoper |
Northwestern |
| 3B |
Kate Trump |
Northwestern |
| 3B |
GingerAnn Lucas |
Minnesota Morris |
| 3B |
Emily Doyle |
Bethany Lutheran |
| OF |
MyKenzie Leccia |
UW-Superior |
| OF |
Olivia Losee |
Minnesota Morris |
| OF |
Bryn Weidner |
Bethany Lutheran |
| UTL |
Avery Carlson |
Bethany Lutheran |
All-Sportsmanship
| Aliya Edbom-kehler |
Bethany Lutheran |
| Catelyn Garza |
Crown |
| Emily Born |
Martin Luther |
| Morgan Wilhelm |
Minnesota Morris |
| Erica Gilles |
North Central |
| Trista Oberle |
Northwestern |
| Maggie Gammell |
UW-Superior |