BENTONVILLE, Ark. – In advance of the 2025 Great American Conference Softball Championships, the league held its annual awards banquet. Southern Arkansas’ Brinson Rogers unanimously won Pitcher of the Year. Oklahoma Baptist’s Sammie Greene claimed Player of the Year. Harding’s Zoey Neal and Brooklyn Gobble collected Newcomer of Freshman of the Year, respectively. SAU’s Jason Anderson earned Coach of the Year.
Rogers finished the regular season with a 26-4 record. She struck out 269 batters with a 0.87 ERA. Her 19 shutouts lead Division II. She led the conference and ranked in the top 10 nationally in wins, strikeouts, hits allowed per seven innings, WHIP, innings pitched, ERA, complete games and strikeouts per seven innings. During one stretch of the season, Rogers won 19 straight decisions. As part of that span, she put together a 65.0 scoreless-inning streak across 11 appearances. From March 5 through April 18, she allowed just three earned runs in 104.1 innings pitched. Anderson guided the Muleriders to their fifth regular-season title as he garnered his second Coach of the Year award.
2025 ALL-GREAT AMERICAN CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TEAMS
Greene became the third-straight Bison recognized at Player of the Year. She hit .392 with 11 home runs. Her 44 runs scored tied for the league lead. She went 36-for-39 on stolen base attempts. Neal’s .413 average ranked second in the conference. She drove in a league-leading 60 RBI. Gobble went 16-6 with four saves. She ranked second to Rogers in strikeouts with 163 and opponent’s batting average, .190.
The Bison led the GAC with four First-Team All-GAC selections. Two-way player Morgan Max, the 2024 Player of the Year, pitcher Jaycee Shaffer and shortstop Greenlee Wells joined Greene on the First Team. Max’s .509 on-base percentage led the GAC and her .752 slugging percentage placed second to Wells. She added six wins and eight saves. Shaffer won 18 games with a 2.53 ERA and 153 strikeouts. Wells’ 15 home runs led the GAC and her 52 RBI ranked fourth.
Southern Nazarene and Harding placed three on the First Team. The Crimson Storm’s Hailey Evans hit .389 with a league-leading 117 total bases. Her 53 RBI rank second.Catcher Liana Heshiki produced a .382 average and a .503 on-base percentage. Janie Worthington won nine games and her 9.4 strikeouts per seven innings rank second to Rogers. Harding outfielder Kaya Lee joined Neal and Gobble on the First Team. She hit a league-leading .418 with 74 hits, the most in the GAC. She stole 31 bases in 35 attempts.
Southern Arkansas’ Regan Dillon, East Central’s McKinley Feazle, Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Chesnie Hewitt and Southeastern Oklahoma State’s India McMurray rounded out the All-GAC First Team. Dillon ranked in the top five in home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Feazle hit .341; Hewitt’s six triples ranked second in the conference and McMurray’s 14 home runs placed second to Wells.
The league awarded its Elite Scholar Athlete Award - Presented By Conway Regional Health System to 17 student-athletes - East Central’s Caton Muncy, Taylor Spence and Jami Watson; Henderson State’s Bayli Fillinger, Kaylin Kauffman and Langley Miller; Ouachita Baptist’s Maggi Huddleston, Marli Huddleston and Hope Johnson; Arkansas Tech’s Maycie Hardy and Caroline Wilhelm , Arkansas-Monticello’s Aubree Goodnight and Kyann Woods, Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Avery Clark and Ashley Low, Oklahoma Baptist’s Alli Bordwine and Allison Ryan. All own a perfect 4.00 grade-point average
The All-GAC Second Team consisted of Harding’s Avery Booker, Macy Ham, Emaline Pearson and Riley Price; Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Sage Harlow, Trinity Oden and Iliana Olivares; Henderson State’s Hilary Akers and Justine Burch, Arkansas Tech’s Alexis Findley, Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Rachel Sherwood, Oklahoma Baptist’s Kaley Cook, Ouachita Baptist’s Baylee King, Southern Arkansas’ Sophia Stoddard and Southern Nazarene’s Kristen Mullendore.
The Honorable Mention All-GAC team featured SWOSU’s Kelsi Hilton, Jadyn Hook, Taylor McMahon and Alexis Taylor; SAU’s Savannah Clausen, Kassie Rhodes and America Rubio; Ouachita Baptist’s Catie Amador and Emily Reed, Arkansas Tech’s Maycie Hardy and Sadie Turner, ECU’s Amiah Galcatcher, Harding’s Emma Curry, Henderson State’s Josie Copeland and Southern Nazarene’s Emma Swearingen.
A total of 106 standouts placed on the GAC Academic Honor Roll Team.