SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.V.- The River States Conference announced the 2026 River States Conference softball All-Conference selections and awards winners Thursday night, following the first day of competition at the 2026 RSC Softball Tournament at The Rock Sports Complex in South Charleston, West Virginia. The league unveiled its All-Conference teams, and awarded the league's four major awards for Player, Pitcher, Newcomer, and Coach of the Year. Each All-Conference selection and award winner is selected via a vote of the league's coaches.

The All-Conference teams were evenly balanced, with seven schools earning at least five overall selections. The top three teams in the conference all had seven selections, with Oakland City, Shawnee State, and Rio Grande all at the top of the list. Oakland City and Shawnee State led all schools with six First Team selections. IU Southeast and Kentucky Christian both had six selections, with Brescia and IU Columbus following with five. St. Mary-of-the-Woods placed four players on the All-Conference teams, with two selections from WVU Tech and one from Midway rounding things out.

As the league's top two-way player, Grace Butcher of Oakland City University was honored as both the RSC Player and Pitcher of the Year. The Mighty Oak led the RSC in earned run average at 2.04, finished second in strikeouts with 128, and placed third in wins at 15. At the plate, the Washington, Indiana native belted six home runs and drove in 29 runs. She hit .360 for the Mighty Oaks, reaching base at a .406 clip and recording a .596 slugging percentage.

Another of the league's best pitchers, Shawnee State's Abbie Deeds, was honored as the conference Newcomer of the Year. Deeds earned two-thirds of the pitching Triple Crown, leading the River States Conference in wins (19) and strikeouts (139) while finishing third in the league with a 2.53 earned run average. Deeds also made her mark out of the bullpen with a conference-best three saves. 

After guiding the Mighty Oaks to the regular season championship in the River States Conference, Oakland City head coach McKendree Ward was honored as the 2026 RSC Coach of the Year. Ward led the Mighty Oaks to a 36-14 overall record, including a 30-6 mark in conference play. The third-year head coach will lead Oakland City into the RSC Tournament, with the program's first-ever trip to the NAIA Tournament to follow.

Additionally, the RSC is also proud to announce the athletes recognized as their program's Champion of Character. Each team in each River States Conference sponsored sport is asked to nominate one athlete as their Champion of Character. These student-athletes best represent the NAIA’s Champions of Character program and its five core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.

The 2026 River States Conference softball tournament began Thursday in South Charleston, West Virginia. The tournament is scheduled to continue through Saturday afternoon, with the winner of the tournament earning the league's second automatic bid to the NAIA Opening Round next month. 

RIVER STATES CONFERENCE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

FIRST TEAM
P: Grace Butcher, Oakland City
P: Abbie Deeds, Shawnee State
P: Emma Davis, IU Southeast
C: Sierra Dunnagan, Shawnee State
C: Hallie McCracken, Oakland City
IF: Jordan Bufford, Oakland City
IF: Randi Delong, Midway
IF: Sydney Skiver, Shawnee State
IF: Baylee Rhodes, Oakland City
IF: Hannah Wissel, Oakland City
OF: Jenna Christopher, Shawnee State
OF: Sofia Guy, IU Southeast
OF: Kinsly Heichelbech, Oakland City
OF: Linnea Baldner, IU Columbus
DP: Gabby Adams, Shawnee State
UTIL: Ariana Adams, Kentucky Christian
AL: Mallory Shelton, IU Columbus
AL: Josie Lemmons, IU Southeast
AL: Nigella Reck, Rio Grande
AL: Haley Myers, Shawnee State

SECOND TEAM
P: Meg McCallum, Rio Grande
P: Gabby McConnell, Shawnee State
P: Macy Kise, Rio Grande
C: Natalie Bates, Rio Grande
C: Lillian Mackey, IU Southeast
IF: McKenzie Walters, IU Southeast
IF: Lindzie Runions, Rio Grande
IF: Olivia Barnett, WVU Tech
IF: Alexis Holleman, Kentucky Christian
IF: Alyna Ruiz, Kentucky Christian
IF: Bailey Duke, St. Mary-Woods
OF: Rebecca Engler, Kentucky Christian
OF: Kasey Wood, Oakland City
OF: Emily Lane, Rio Grande
OF: Emma Kate Elrod, Brescia
DP: Hailea Skeens, WVU Tech
UTIL: Justice Cash, IU Columbus

THIRD TEAM
P: Felicity Cunningham, Brescia
P: Jasmine Kinzer, St. Mary-Woods
P: Chloe Linn, IU Columbus
C: Madison Penrod, Kentucky Christian
C: Addy Harris, Brescia
IF: Kendyl Moss, Rio Grande
IF: Lex Heafner, IU Columbus
IF: Madison McDaniel, Brescia
OF: Hannah Melton, Kentucky Christian
OF: Caeden Bennett, St. Mary-Woods
OF: Kyar McVey, St. Mary-Woods
OF: Lilli Grant, Brescia
UTIL: Ava Allen, IU Southeast

CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER
Felicity Cunningham, Brescia
Renee Lecher, IU Columbus
Hallie Foley, IU Southeast
Hannah Melton, Kentucky Christian
Breanna Beach, Midway
Katherine Hibbitt, Oakland City
Kendall Booth, Rio Grande
Mackensie Bailey, Shawnee State
Raegan Manhart, St. Mary-of-the-Woods
Meghan Gill, WVU Tech

Player of the Year: Grace Butcher, Oakland City
Pitcher of the Year: Grace Butcher, Oakland City
Newcomer of the Year: Abbie Deeds, Shawnee State
Coach of the Year: McKendree Ward, Oakland City