DALLAS – Conference USA unveiled its 2026 CUSA softball all-conference teams, all-freshman team and superlative award winners on Tuesday, highlighting the league’s top performers ahead of this week’s championship. Regular season champion Jax State claimed four of the six top honors and led the way with six combined selections on the first and second teams.
 
Jax State outfielder Emma Elrod is the Player of the Year after she delivered one of the most complete offensive seasons in the league and served as a consistent table-setter and run-producer for the Gamecocks. She ranked second in CUSA with 40 hits in conference play while ranking among the top five in batting average (.408), runs (26) and doubles (nine).
 
The junior from Newnan, Ga., tallied 23 multi-hit games and 10 games with multiple RBI. Elrod recorded multiple hits in six of her last nine starts against CUSA foes. In a sweep of Missouri State, she hit 6-11 (.545) with seven runs scored. Earlier in the year, she went 5-11 (.455) with three RBI, three runs and two doubles in a sweep of WKU.
 
The remaining CUSA Superlative Awards were given to Jax State ace Makenna Moore (Pitcher and Freshman of the Year), LA Tech outfielder Elena Heng (Defensive Player of the Year), Sam Houston infielder Veronica Harrison (Newcomer of the Year) and Jax State’s Julie Boland (Coach of the Year).
 
Moore posted elite numbers in conference play with an unblemished 11-0 record and the league’s best ERA (1.52). She also ranked second in opponent batting average (.192) and fifth in innings pitched (82.2) and strikeouts (61). Moore allowed just 5.12 hits per seven innings, which ranks 34^th nationally and third among freshmen with 100 IP.
 
Overall, the Grain Valley, Mo., native went 15-1 with a 2.40 ERA on the year and 105 strikeouts in 125.2 innings. She ranks second in CUSA in ERA, third in opponent batting average (.200) and sixth in strikeouts. Moore struck out a season-high 15 batters in a shutout against DePaul. She tossed a pair of shutouts versus LA Tech (March 20) and Sam Houston (May 2).
 
Heng started all 49 games in center field for the Bulldogs and finished with a flawless fielding percentage, 126 putouts and seven assists on 133 total chances. She was one of just four CUSA players to finish with a 1.000 fielding percentage and the only one with more than 100 chances. Heng tallied a pair of assists against Eastern Illinois on Feb. 13.
 
A Lamar transfer, Harrison has been a tremendous addition to the program, serving as a team captain in her first season as a Bearkat. She finished tied for the league lead with 17 home runs and led CUSA in total bases (114). Harrison ranks fourth in CUSA in slugging (.735) and OPS (1.184), while her 46 RBI are tied for sixth-most in the conference.
 
Boland led Jax State (42-13, 24-3 CUSA) to their its CUSA regular season title in program history and the program’s first 40-win regular season since 2006. The team’s 24 league wins marked the second most in school history behind the Gamecocks’ 26-0 campaign in the OVC in 2016. The team ended the regular season having won 13 of the last 14 games.
 
In year two under Boland, Jax State led CUSA in both batting average (.327) and ERA (2.45), joining last year’s Liberty squad as the only schools in the last 10 seasons to do so. The Gamecocks also led in runs (194), hits (248), RBI (177), total bases (397), on-base percentage (.422) in conference action.  
 
Regular-season champion Jax State leads the way with six all-conference honorees, followed by CUSA newcomer Delaware with five selections.
 
FIU, Sam Houston and WKU each placed four on the two all-league teams, while LA Tech and MTSU earned a pair of all-conference nods. Kennesaw State, Liberty and NM State rounded out the lists with one honoree apiece.
 
All awards are voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
 
The 2026 CUSA Softball Championship commences with four games on Wednesday, May 6, at the Delaware Softball Diamond in Newark, Del.
 
Coverage for all games leading up to the championship game will be available through ESPN+ with the title game set to air at 12 p.m. ET Saturday on CBS Sports Network.
 
2026 CUSA Softball All-Conference Award Winners
 
Player of the Year
Emma Elrod, Jax State
 
Pitcher and Freshman of the Year
Makenna Moore, Jax State
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Elena Heng, LA Tech
 
Newcomer of the Year
Veronica Harrison, Sam Houston
 
Coach of the Year
Julie Boland, Jax State
 
First Team All-CUSA
C: Sydney Shaffer, Delaware
C: Bella Perez, Sam Houston
DP/UT: Alexia Carrasquillo, Liberty
DP/UT: Kennedy Byrd, FIU
IF: Maddie Diamond, Delaware
IF: Janelle Martinez, FIU
IF: Bradi Gallaway, LA Tech
IF: Veronica Harrison, Sam Houston
IF: Annie White, WKU
OF: Allie Nankivell, Delaware
OF: Kally Meredith, FIU
OF: Emma Elrod, Jax State
OF: Sophia Lundstrom, Sam Houston
P: Makenna Moore, Jax State
P: Faith Aragon, NM State
P: Erica Houge, WKU
 
Second Team All-CUSA
C: Makalyn Kyser, Jax State
C: Macie Howes, Kennesaw State
IF: Katie Scheivert, Delaware
IF: Leah Clark, FIU
IF: Kailey Martin, Jax State
IF: Jana Want, MTSU
IF: Morgan Sharpe, WKU
OF: Morgan Nowakowski, Jax State
OF: Allie Furr, LA Tech
OF: Macie Harter, MTSU
OF: Jenna Blanton, WKU
P: Josie Crossman, Delaware
P: Jaliyah Holmes, Jax State
P: Tiffany Sanchez, Sam Houston
 
CUSA All-Freshman Team
Karli Challburg, Delaware
Maddie Diamond, Delaware
Allie Nankivell, Delaware
Makenna Moore, Jax State
Dani Lee, Liberty
Maci Strickland, Liberty
Bradi Gallaway, LA Tech
Emily Koranda, Missouri State
Sophia Lundstrom, Sam Houston
Peyton Helmly, Sam Houston
Lauren Satterly, WKU