CARMEL, Ind. – Following the 2026 season, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced the Softball major award winners and members of the All-Conference Teams.
Earlham’s Bo Shelton (Anderson, Ind.) was a slugger at the plate this year, earning her Player of the Year honors. She had the league’s best slugging percentage at .840, thanks in part to her league-leading 18 doubles and 11 home runs. Shelton was also the league leader in RBI (54) and was top-three in runs scored (49). Those numbers made her a top-50 performer in all of NCAA Division III. In 42 games played, the junior was held hitless only seven times.
In the circle, it was Franklin’s Lauren Duncan (Peru, Ind.) who took home the top prize as Pitcher of the Year. Duncan earned 12 wins for the Grizzlies and also occasionally came in to close out games with two saves. She was an innings-eater for Franklin, throwing more than 100 innings with 11 complete games, including two shutouts. Duncan was also great at retiring batters at the plate with her 78 strikeouts, while not giving up free bases. She had the league’s best strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.11.
The league’s Newcomer of the Year came from Bluffton as Leah Ramirez (Elida, Ohio) was bestowed the honor. Ramirez made an impression on the league in her first season, tying for the league-lead in home runs with 11, finishing second in slugging percentage at .752, and driving in the third most runs with 41. She was tough out, being held without a hit only 10 times.
Franklin head coach Brittney Harvey was voted the league’s Coach of the Year. Harvey led her team to a 14-4 HCAC and a 30-12 record, earning a share of the 2026 Regular Season title. The Grizzlies had an extremely potent offense leading the conference in scoring at 7.19 runs per game.
Player of the Year: Bo Shelton, Earlham College
Pitcher of the Year: Lauren Duncan, Franklin College
Newcomer of the Year: Leah Ramirez, Bluffton University
Softball Coach of the Year: Britt Harvey, Franklin College
The HCAC also honors an All-Conference First Team and Second Team. The members of those teams are selected by a vote of league coaches and are listed below.
HCAC Softball First Team All-Conference
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Lauren Duncan |
P |
Franklin College |
| Jaylee Fansler |
2B |
Franklin College |
| Macie Ferguson |
OF |
Earlham College |
| Skylar Fletcher |
OF |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Maddie Goddard |
P |
Transylvania University |
| Mack Harvey |
1B |
Earlham College |
| Zoey Kugelman |
U |
Franklin College |
| Jessica Newsom |
C |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Avery Parsons |
2B |
Transylvania University |
| Shelby Rakosky |
3B |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Leah Ramirez |
DH |
Bluffton University |
| Lesleigh Reimers |
P |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Kendal Rider |
OF |
Manchester University |
| Alexis Schultz |
OF |
Anderson University |
| Bo Shelton |
SS |
Earlham College |
| Emilie Young |
C |
Transylvania University |
HCAC Softball Second Team All-Conference
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Kayla Bain |
1B |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Madison Brentlinger |
2B |
Bluffton University |
| Morgan Cooksey |
P |
Earlham College |
| Raegan Gibson |
U |
Transylvania University |
| Grace Gronberg |
P |
Bluffton University |
| Courtney Hankenhoff |
DH/P |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Shelby Hill |
C/DP |
Earlham College |
| Paycee Lewis |
3B |
Anderson University |
| Kendall Lowry |
C |
Franklin College |
| Maddie Schoenradt |
OF |
Anderson University |
| Mollie Sharp |
P//DH |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Ella Steczynski |
SS |
Transylvania University |
| Lizzy Willis |
OF |
Manchester University |
| Avery Wiltermood |
SS |
Mount St. Joseph University |
For more information on HCAC Softball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on X and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.