From the WIAC —
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its softball awards for the 2026 season.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Melissa Dietz collected Position Player of the Year honors, while UW-Oshkosh’s Kiran Sanford was tabbed Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. UW-Stevens Point secured Coaching Staff of the Year.
Dietz claimed the award for the third time in her career (2023 and 2025) to become the first individual in conference history to accomplish the feat. She leads the WIAC with a .532 batting average, .910 slugging percentage, .603 on-base percentage, 1.513 OPS and nine home runs, while ranking second with 59 hits, third with 39 RBI, and tied for third with 13 doubles. Her .532 batting average (59-for-111) is the top mark in a single season in conference archives. Dietz had multiple hits in 20 games this season and a career-high six RBI against University of Dubuque (Iowa) on March 10.
Sanford is the second individual in WIAC history to win both awards in the same season, joining UW-Stevens Point’s Morgan Harwood in 2024. Sanford leads the conference with 16 wins, while ranking second with a 1.32 earned run average, 122.0 innings pitched and 152 strikeouts, and third with a .206 opponent batting average. She had at least eight strikeouts in eight contests, including a season-high 18 against St. Norbert College (Wis.) on March 7.
Repeat selections on the first team from a year ago include: UW-Eau Claire’s Paige Lathrop; UW-Platteville’s Alison Peters; UW-River Falls’ Caitlyn Kressel (Newcomer of the Year); UW-Stevens Point’s Morgan Harwood; and UW-Whitewater’s Josie Hammen and Bella Eggert. Harwood also received first team accolades in 2024, and was selected the Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
UW-Stevens Point’s coaching staff directed the squad to the WIAC tournament title - its first since 2001. The Pointers became the first No. 5 seed to win the tournament. UW-Stevens Point owns a 30-13 record heading into the NCAA Division III championship. The staff includes head coach Ryan Konitzer, and assistant coaches Elizabeth Malarski and Elise Brown.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was named for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each team as selected by that team.
2026 All-WIAC Softball Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Nora Buske, Platteville, Freshman, Pitcher, Theresa, Wis. (Lomira)
Melissa Dietz, Platteville, Senior, Thirdbase, Reedsburg, Wis. (Reedsburg)
Bella Eggert, Whitewater, Senior, Centerfield, Carol Stream, Ill. (Glenbard North)
Carmen Follette, La Crosse, Junior, Pitcher, Dousman, Wis. (Kettle Moraine)
Amber Gonzalez, La Crosse, Sophomore, Centerfield, Mosinee, Wis. (Mosinee)
Josie Hammen, Whitewater, Junior, Pitcher, Combined Locks, Wis. (Kimberly)
Morgan Harwood, Stevens Point, Junior, Pitcher, Neenah, Wis. (Neenah)
Elly Holden, Stout, Junior, Leftfield, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Oak Park)
Caitlyn Kressel, River Falls, Sophomore, Catcher, Kronenwetter, Wis. (D.C. Everest)
Norah Kunink, Eau Claire, Junior, Utility, Winneconne, Wis. (Winneconne)
Paige Lathrop, Eau Claire, Senior, Leftfield, South Milwaukee, Wis. (South Milwaukee)
Delila Liston, Platteville, Freshman, Shortstop, Evanston, Ill. (Evanston)
Grace Nardi, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Pitcher, Marquette, Mich. (Negaunee)
Allison Peters, Platteville, Junior, Secondbase, Peshtigo, Wis. (Peshtigo)
Kodi Rizzo, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Pitcher, Newark, Ill. (Newark)
Kiran Sanford, Oshkosh, Freshman, Pitcher, Two Rivers, Wis. (Mishicot)
Hailee Thompson, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Shortstop, Bonduel, Wis. (Bonduel)
Olivia Ullman, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Thirdbase/Outfield, Denmark, Wis. (Denmark)
Maggie Ward, Whitewater, Senior, Leftfield, Downers Grove, Ill. (Downers Grove North)
Sarah Wilkins, Stout, Junior, Pitcher/Designated Player, Red Deer, Alberta (St. Joseph)
Honorable Mention
Claire Beck, Eau Claire, Senior, Designated Player, Jefferson, Wis. (Jefferson)
Brianna Bougie, Oshkosh, Junior, Pitcher, Oshkosh, Wis. (Oshkosh West)
Payton Dolecki, Stout, Senior, Centerfield, Schaumburg, Ill. (Schaumburg)
Kasey Felden, Eau Claire, Freshman, Pitcher, Franklin, Wis. (Franklin)
Emma Giese, Whitewater, Senior, Firstbase, Kenosha, Wis. (Kenosha Indian Trail)
Breeley Gluch, Eau Claire, Freshman, Shortstop/Secondbase, Freshman, Altoona, Wis. (Altoona)
Brooke Howard, La Crosse, Junior, Shortstop, Rock Falls, Ill. (Rock Falls)
Brianne Lopez, Oshkosh, Freshman, Outfield, Volo, Ill. (Grant)
Rachael Madsen, Stevens Point, Junior, Catcher, Kenosha, Wis. (Kenosha Mary D. Bradford)
Marissa Pease, La Crosse, Senior, Catcher, Mukwonago, Wis. (Mukwonago)
Dani Peshia, Whitewater, Sophomore, Catcher/Designated Player, Newark, Ill. (Newark)
Mary Kate Quaid, Oshkosh, Sophomore, Shortstop/Catcher, Aurora, Ill. (Owego East)
Rachel Radish, Whitewater, Freshman, Thirdbase/Firstbase, Merton, Wis. (Hartland Arrowhead)
Sophie Schmidt, Stevens Point, Senior, Firstbase, Twin Lakes, Wis. (Wilmot Union)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Carlie Jo Brownlee, Platteville, Senior, Pitcher, Muscoda, Wis. (Riverdale)
Grace Gardner, River Falls, Senior, Infield, Big Lake, Minn. (Big Lake)
Aliyah Langrehr, La Crosse, Senior, Firstbase/Outfield, Bangor, Wis. (Bangor)
Kenzie Longley, Oshkosh, Junior, Outfield, Sun Prairie, Wis. (Sun Prairie East)
Sammy Noreen, Stout, Senior, Outfield, Northfield, Minn. (Northfield)
Emma Raikowski, Eau Claire, Senior, Infield, Stevens Point, Wis. (SPASH)
Hattie Ulrich, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Outfield, Indus, Minn. (Falls)
Liv Ybarra, Whitewater, Senior, Outfield, Chicago, Ill. (Chicago Taft)
Position Player of the Year: Melissa Dietz - Platteville
Pitcher of the Year: Kiran Sanford - Oshkosh
Newcomer of the Year: Kiran Sanford - Oshkosh
Coaching Staff of the Year: Stevens Point
Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete: Paige Lathrop - Eau Claire
UW-Eau Claire’s Lathrop Named Softball Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Paige Lathrop has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Softball Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award.
Lathrop, a senior from South Milwaukee, Wis. (South Milwaukee), is majoring in rehabilitation science and maintains a 3.89 grade point average. She secured a spot on the NCAA Division III Academic All-District® First Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators, in 2024 and 2025. Lathrop is a three-time Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America Scholar-Athlete and three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. She has been recognized on UW-Eau Claire’s Dean’s List and added Academic Distinction each semester. Lathrop has received an academic scholarship every year.
Lathrop secured All-WIAC first team honors this year for the second straight season. In 2025, she received a Rawlings Gold Glove award and landed on the NFCA All-Region second team. A team captain this year, Lathrop landed on the NFCA Player of the Year Watchlist in 2025 and 2026.
Lathrop is a member of the Mark Stephens Cosby Honors College, UW-Eau Claire’s Kinesiology Club and Physical Activity and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities in the Eau Claire area (PRIDE) program. She has served as a student trainer for older adults in the Community Fitness Program, student trainer for cancer survivors in the UW-Eau Claire Cancer Recovery Program and peer tutor for rigorous university biology courses. Lathrop has volunteered for The Miracle League and numerous community softball camps and clinics. She is obtaining a certificate in American Sign Language, conducted undergraduate research regarding lower body strength and the menstrual cycle, and has been a research assistant for a basketball performance study.
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-La Crosse’s Lindsay Steien (Jr., Taylor, Wis./Blair-Taylor); UW-Oshkosh’s Haylie Wittman (Sr., Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna); UW-River Falls’ Grace Gardner (Sr., Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake); UW-Stevens Point’s Trinity Otto (Sr., Mequon, Wis./Mequon Homestead); UW-Stout’s Donna D’Addabbo (Sr., Itasca, Ill./Lake Park); and UW-Whitewater’s Maggie Ward (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North).
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she was Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) from October, 1984 - September, 1996. Kruckman was the women's athletics director at UW-Eau Claire from 1974-84, and one of the original representatives to the WWIAC when it formed in 1971. She was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].
