DALLAS – Jax State’s
Makalyn Kyser, NM State’s
Faith Aragon and Liberty’s
Maci Strickland earned Conference USA Softball weekly honors.
Kyser garners Player of the Week honors, while Aragon is the Pitcher of the Week, and Strickland is the Freshman of the Week.
Player of the Week – Makalyn Kyser, Jax State – Senior – Catcher – Springville, Ala.
Kyser had one of the most productive weekends in Jax State history, hitting .750 with three homers and 12 RBI in a road sweep for the Gamecocks (35-12, 19-2 CUSA). She finished the weekend at Missouri State with a 1.875 slugging percentage and an OPS just shy of 3.000. Half of her hits were home runs, highlighted by an eight RBI day on Saturday with a grand slam and a three-run homer to tie for the most RBI in a game in conference history. Kyser’s monster outing helped Jax State shatter the CUSA scoring record in a league contest (25). On Sunday, in the top of the seventh with her team trailing by a run, she belted a two-run single to center field with two outs to give her team a 12-11 win after trailing by six after four.
Pitcher of the Week – Faith Aragon, NM State – Junior – Carlsbad, N.M.
Aragon (18-7) anchored the Aggies (23-21, 13-8) with two wins over the weekend, guiding the team to a road series victory over MTSU and a berth in the CUSA Softball Championship. She tossed a pair of seven-inning shutouts and limited opposing hitters to a .089 batting average, allowing just four hits – only one for extra bases – in 14 innings of work. Aragon was virtually untouchable as she racked up 21 strikeouts and extended her streak of starts with double-digit strikeouts to four. She also issued just four walks, giving her a 0.57 WHIP on the weekend. On Friday, she allowed just two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory. Aragon was nails in a narrow 1-0 triumph in the rubber match, navigating the high-pressure game with 11 strikeouts, two hits and two walks.
Freshman of the Week – Maci Strickland, Liberty – Infielder – Dallas, Ga.
Strickland continued her fantastic freshman season, batting .385 (5-13) with a double, homer and four RBI, a .429 OBP and .692 slugging percentage for the Lady Flames (22-23, 15-6 CUSA). She extended her hitting streak to six games with hits in all four games this week. She went 1-3 against No. 10 Virginia Tech on Wednesday. On Friday, she belted a solo home run to put Liberty on the board in a 7-2 win over FIU. On Saturday, she went 2-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored. During Sunday's 6-5 comeback win over FIU, she batted 1-4 with two RBI. Her two-out, two-run single gave Liberty a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
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
M16 Brynn McManus, Liberty
M23 Tamara Carranza, NM State
M30 Aria Davis, Jax State
A6 Brynn McManus, Liberty
A13 Kennedy Byrd, FIU
A20 Makalyn Kyser, Jax 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
M16 Allie Floyd, LA Tech
M23 Makenna Moore, Jax State
M30 Kendall Daniel, Sam Houston
A6 Makenna Moore, Jax State
A13 Tiffany Sanchez, Sam Houston
A20 Faith Aragon, NM State
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
M16 Makenna Moore, Jax State
M23 Maci Strickland, Liberty
M30 Emily Koranda, Missouri State
A6 Bradi Gallaway, LA Tech
A13 Destan Burks, NM State
A20 Maci Strickland, Liberty