LOUISVILLE | After claiming the Sun Belt Conference Championship this past spring, the South Alabama softball program continued to excel in the classroom as 14 student-athletes from the 2026 roster were named All-America Scholar Athlete by the Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), during the 2025-26 academic year as announced by the organization.
The 3.612 team grade-point average marked a new program record for an academic year, while the 64th-place ranking was the highest by the program since the 2022 season when it was tied for 31st.
Among the 2,637 Division I honorees representing South Alabama on the list who earned a 3.5 or higher GPA were Brooklyn Bockhaus,
Olivia Branstetter,
Megan Davidson,
Gracie Dees,
Kayden Dunn,
Reganied Franka,
Cailyn Heyl,
Presley Lively,
Virginia Mambelli,
Tori Miller,
Sophia Mendoza,
Ansleigh Smith,
Ella Ussery and
Kara Wine.
The selection marked the fourth for Bockhaus to the list, and the third time in as many seasons for Branstetter. Lively and Mendoza have now also been selected to the list on multiple occasions during their Jaguar careers.
The individual award is given to student-athletes that acquire a 3.5 grade-point average or higher during said academic year. Â USA has had at least seven honorees in each season of its existence since the inaugural 2007 campaign and a total of 168 student-athletes at South Alabama have earned the honor under head coach
Becky Clark. Â The Jaguars have also had 13 or more student-athletes named to the list each of the last six seasons.
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