BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced the 2024 MIAC Softball Awards on Monday, including the All-Conference and honorable mention Teams, All-Playoff Team, and Player, Pitcher, Rookie, and Coach of the Year honors.
Saint Benedict sophomore Olivia Tautges was named MIAC Player of the Year, while fellow Bennies sophomore Ellie Peterson received MIAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Saint Mary's first-year pitcher and infielder Makayla Steffes was selected as the MIAC Rookie of the Year, and Cardinals' head coach John Tschida was honored by his peers with MIAC Softball Coach of the Year distinction for the 14th time in his career.
Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) was named MIAC Player of the Year after leading all MIAC batters in every major offensive category in conference play this season. Tautges batted .515 in 22 league games, totaling 35 hits, 30 runs batted in, 25 runs scored, and 16 extra-base hits - nine of which were home runs. This is the third consecutive season a Bennie has been named MIAC Player of the Year, as Gabby Spencer won the award in both 2022 and 2023. Tautges joins Spencer and 2014 recipient Lexi Alm as CSB players to receive the award.
Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) was named MIAC Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference in earned run average with a clip of 1.32 in league games. Peterson went 10-1 with eight complete games and 58 strikeouts in 69.0 innings of work in 2024, holding opposing batters to a .218 average along the way. Peterson is now the fifth different player in MIAC history to be named MIAC Pitcher of the Year after having won MIAC Rookie of the Year honors. She joins Ally Hjort as the only CSB recipients of the Pitcher of the Year award.
Steffes (Winona, Minn.) received MIAC Rookie of the Year honors after leading the Cardinals at the plate and in the circle in her debut season. Steffes hit .427 in 2024 - the sixth-best batting average of any player in conference games - with 25 hits and 12 RBI. She had eleven extra-base hits and nine stolen bases on the year. As a pitcher, Steffes registered a 1.97 ERA with a 9-2 record and 44 strikeouts, coming away with 10 complete games and four saves in 48.0 innings of work. She is the first Cardinal in program history to be named MIAC Softball Rookie of the Year.
Tschida (30th season) was named MIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to a share of the regular-season conference championship for the first time since 2001. SMU went 17-5 in conference games, earning the privilege of hosting the semifinal and championship rounds of the MIAC Playoffs. This is the 14th time Tschida has been honored with the MIAC Coach of the Year award and the first time since 2019.
In addition to individual awards, MIAC coaches also selected 36 players All-Conference with 15 more receiving honorable mention distinction. All awards were nominated by and voted on by the 12 MIAC head softball coaches and only statistics from regular season MIAC contests were considered for conference honors; any nominated player not selected as All-Conference but still receiving votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.
Seventeen of the 36 All-Conference selections had been honored at least once before, with Bethel's Lexi DeBace and Kayla Simacek and St. Catherine's Taylor Brunn becoming four-time All-MIAC picks - a feat achieved by just 28 softball players in recorded conference history.
Three more players - Bethel's Cortney Hokanson, Hamline's Jenna Rubbelke, and Macalester's Sophie Futchko - became three-time All-Conference picks, bringing the list of individuals to receive All-MIAC distinction three times or more in softball up to 88 players all-time.
The MIAC also announced the All-Playoff Team for softball, which recognized the top 13 performers from the conference tournament, as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.