LOUISVILLE, Ky. – St. Paul Catholic’s (Conn.) Peighton Giambra, Yorktown’s (Ind.) Olivia Jones, Hylton’s (Va.) Alexandra Newton, Lexington Christian’s (Ky.) Ella Deaton and Oceanside’s (Calif.) Irie Filo captured the latest MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Spring Player of the Week awards of the 2026 season, the Association announced on Monday. They are being recognized for their outstanding play for the week of May 4-10.

Giambra struck out 13 batters in a five-inning no-hitter against Wilby last Wednesday. The sophomore fanned all but two of the 15 batters she faced in the contest for the Falcons. She also helped herself at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI.

In the North, Jones fanned a combined 29, walked just one and allowed zero hits and no runs over 11 innings and four appearances in the circle for the Tigers. The sophomore tossed three innings in three of her four outings and two innings in the other. She struck out nine in three innings versus Shenandoah on Thursday, and eight in three innings against Delta on Saturday.

Newton was the leader in the South Region, going 6-for-6 with eight runs, three doubles, two homers, three walks and 11 RBI in two games for the Bulldogs. The senior scored five runs on four hits (two doubles and a homer) and drove in six against Gar-Field last Tuesday, and collected two more hits and five more RBI with a double and homer versus Freedom on Friday.

South Central honors went to the Eagles’ Deaton, who struck out 19 across eight innings and two games. She fanned 11 and yielded one hit over five innings against Paul Laurence Dunbar last Monday, then struck out eight and allowed four hits over three innings versus Bourbon County two days later.

Filo garnered West Region recognition for the Pirates, going 6-for-6 for two contests, with five runs, four doubles, two walks and 10 RBI. She scored three times and drove in three on Wednesday against Canyon Crest Academy, then had three of her four doubles and seven more RBI on Friday versus Vista.

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player a coach must enter the athlete's game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week’s award.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Player of the Week is announced on NFCA.org on Mondays during the season.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team’s stats on MaxPreps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach’s login, please contact: coachsupport@maxpreps.com or call (800) 329-7324 x1. To enter a team’s stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.

The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded student-athlete awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention. 

Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!