MOBILE, Ala. – Five South Alabama softball players – Virginia Mambelli, Olivia Branstetter, Ansleigh Smith, Sydney Scapin and Presley Lively – were named to the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Division I Softball Team as announced by the organization.

Mambelli, who had a 4.00 grade-point-average majoring in interdisciplinary studies, earned third-team, all-Gulf region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) earlier this month. In her first season with the program, Mambelli led the club with a .314 batting average and a .579 slugging percentage, while 17 of her 38 hits went for extra bases. She was also hit by pitch a team-high 15 times, which already rank in the Top 10 at South for a career and fourth-most for a season.

Branstetter, who had a 3.90 grade-point-average majoring in biology, ranked third on the team in batting average (.310), and tied for the team lead in home runs (7) and RBI (29), while her 11 doubles were second-most on the club. Branstetter also led the team with 12 multi-hit games during the spring, while starting 57 games at third base.

Smith, who had a 4.00 grade-point-average majoring in criminal justice, started 48 games behind the plate, while helping the Jaguar pitching staff, which led the Sun Belt Conference in shutouts (12), which is tied for 15th in the nation, and led the league strikeouts looking (95) and ranked second in strikeouts (353). Smith was solid at the plate during the Baton Rouge Regional as she batted .429, and during the season, she threw out nine base runners attempting to steal, while also posting a 99.4 fielding percentage.

Lively, who had a 4.00 grade-point-average majoring in accounting, started all 59 games in centerfield for the Jaguars and batted .300 at the top of the lineup for the club. Lively led the SBC in triples (8) and was tied for second in the nation in the category. Her eight triples set the single-season marks at South Alabama and the Sun Belt Conference in the category. The Helena, Ala., native recorded 54 hits and scored 33 runs, while posting 11 multi-hit games.

Scapin, who had a 3.52 grade-point-average majoring in computer information systems, finished the season with a 2.52 earned run average, which was sixth in SBC, and her .208 opponent's batting average was second lowest in the league. Scapin was also eighth in strikeouts looking (25), and in SBC play, the sophomore recorded an 1.84 ERA, which was third lowest, and her .184 opponent batting average topped the league.

The 2026 Academic All-District® Softball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Nominees must hold at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA and compete in 90 percent of the institution's games played or start in at least 66 percent of games. For pitchers, a student-athlete must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched 35 innings.
 
For more information about the CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.

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