Softball

SB: March 9 Players of the Week

DALLAS – NM State’s Faith Aragon, Sam Houston’s Tiffany Sanchez and MTSU’s Lucie McDonald earned Conference USA Softball weekly honors.
 
Aragon garners Player of the Week honors, while Sanchez is the Pitcher of the Week, and McDonald is the Freshman of the Week.
 
Player of the Week – Faith Aragon, NM State – Junior – Utility – Carlsbad, N.M.
Aragon powered the Aggies’ (12-13, 3-0 CUSA) series sweep of Louisiana Tech with standout performances both in the circle and at the plate. She went 5-11 (.455) in the three games with five runs scored, two home runs, a double and four RBI, including a 3-4, three-run, two-RBI performance in the series finale. In the circle, she appeared in all three games and dominated, going 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA across 11.0 innings, allowing just seven hits and one earned run while striking out 16. She opened the series with three scoreless innings and six strikeouts, added a scoreless relief inning in game two, and then capped the weekend with a complete-game, nine-strikeout performance to secure the sweep.
 
Pitcher of the Week – Tiffany Sanchez, Sam Houston – Sophomore – Del Valle, Texas
Sanchez (5-4) needed just 76 pitches to toss the Bearkats’ (16-10, 2-1 CUSA) first no-hitter since 2021. She struck out three as Sam Houston topped UTEP 6-0 in the series opener. Sanchez allowed just one runner to reach base and retired the next 20 batters to close out the game. She took the ball for the final two innings to try and wrap up the series sweep and, despite giving up a walk-off single, allowed just two hits and struck out five in two frames. Sanchez finished the week with a 0.78 ERA, a .071 opponent batting average, eight strikeouts and no walks in nine innings of work.
 
Freshman of the Week – Lucie McDonald, MTSU – Infielder – Jacksonville, Fla.
McDonald had a career weekend at the plate during the Blue Raiders’ (11-10, 3-0 CUSA) sweep of Kennesaw State. The Blue Raiders outscored the Owls 31-12 across the weekend, and McDonald directly contributed to eight of the team’s total runs. The freshman batted .400 and slugged 1.000 with three runs, four hits, two home runs and seven RBI.  In a game one thriller, McDonald drove in three of the five Blue Raider runs, including a solo home run in the 12th inning that would give Middle Tennessee the lead and spark the scoring to inevitably win the game for the Blue Raiders. McDonald’s second homer of the weekend came during the fifth inning of game three in grand slam fashion, securing the run-rule win for the Blue Raiders.
 
2026 CUSA Players of the Week
F9       Devin Elam, NM State
F16     Reagan Marchant, LA Tech
F23     Savannah Jessee, Liberty
M2      Annie White, WKU
M9      Faith Aragon, NM State
 
2026 CUSA Pitchers of the Week
F9       Erica Houge, WKU
F16     Maddy Wood, WKU
F23     Allie Floyd, LA Tech
M2      Erica Houge, WKU
M9      Tiffany Sanchez, Sam Houston
 
2026 CUSA Freshmen of the Week
F9       Bryannah Campos, LA Tech
F16     Emily Koranda, Missouri State
F23     Makenna Moore, Jax State
M2      Karli Challburg, Delaware
M9      Lucie McDonald, MTSU