Softball

MIAC announces 2025 Softball awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced the 2025 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.

St. Olaf senior catcher Medora Rylee was named MIAC Player of the Year, while Saint Mary's sophomore Makayla Steffes received MIAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Saint Benedict first-year outfielder Lily Treml was selected as the MIAC Rookie of the Year, and Saint Mary's head coach John Tschida was honored by his peers with the MIAC Softball Coach of the Year distinction for the 15th time in his career.

Rylee (Chaska, Minn.) was named MIAC Player of the Year after batting 0.485 and leading the conference with 32 hits in 22 league games as a senior. Rylee boasted a MIAC-best 1.315 OPS with a league-leading 16 extra-base hits in 2025. She drove home 17 runs and crossed home plate 16 times herself, in addition to tallying a 0.982 fielding percentage behind the dish. She is the first Ole to be named MIAC Softball Player of the Year in recorded conference history.

Steffes (Winona, Minn.) was named MIAC Pitcher of the Year after leading the MIAC with an earned run average of 0.60 and holding opposing hitters to a league-low 0.186 batting average in 2025. Steffes struck out 67 batters in her 70 innings of conference play and assembled a perfect 11-0 record in the circle. She is the first Saint Mary's pitcher to receive the MIAC Pitcher of the Year award and is now the sixth player in MIAC history to be named MIAC Pitcher of the Year after having won MIAC Rookie of the Year honors.

Treml (Shakopee, Minn.) received MIAC Rookie of the Year honors. The first-year outfielder batted 0.379 with an on-base percentage of 0.468 in conference games. Eight of Treml's 25 hits went for extra bases, with her bat being directly responsible for 16 CSB runs in 2025. Treml scored 17 runs in her 22 conference contests, tied for the third-highest total in the MIAC this year. She is the third Bennie in the last five seasons to receive the MIAC Softball Rookie of the Year award.

Tschida (31st season) was named MIAC Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to a perfect 22-0 mark in regular-season conference games. Under Tschida's watch, SMU rolled to back-to-back regular season and playoff titles. This is the second consecutive season and the 15th time overall that Tschida has been honored with the MIAC Coach of the Year award.

In addition to individual awards, MIAC coaches also selected 37 players as All-Conference, with 26 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.

Sixteen of the 37 All-Conference selections had been honored at least once before, with Hamline's Jenna Rubbelke and Macalester's Sophie Futchko becoming four-time All-MIAC picks - a feat achieved by just 30 softball players in recorded conference history.

Seven more players - Gustavus' Maizie Anderson, Macalester's Renee Nicholson, Saint Benedict's Ellie Peterson, St. Catherine's Helen McKinnon, Saint Mary's Peyton Berg, and St. Olaf's Amelia Christenson and Medora Rylee - became three-time All-Conference picks, bringing the list of individuals to receive All-MIAC distinction three times or more in softball up to 95 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.

| 2025 MIAC Softball Awards |