LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Cheshire’s (Conn.) Jenica Matos, Athens’ (Wis.) Brooklyn Westfall, Appomattox County’s (Va.) Paisley Mann, Highland’s (Ky.) Kaitlyn Dixon and Service’s (Alaska) Maliana Tavai 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 June 1-7.
Matos, who was also the East Region honoree on May 26, fanned 32 batters in a pair of wins over Amity Regional and Danbury, allowing just four hits, one run and three walks over 14 innings in the circle for the Rams. Both contests were complete-game two-hitters with 16 strikeouts in each.
In the North, Westfall went 6-for-7 with four doubles, two triples and seven RBI for the Bluejays. The freshman was a perfect 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple, three runs and four RBI last Tuesday against Elcho, then added two more extra-base hits and three more RBI on Friday versus Wausaukee.
For the second consecutive week, Mann was the South Region leader, striking out 15 and walking one over six innings and two appearances. The senior fanned two of the three batters she faced last Tuesday against Dan River, then allowed two singles and struck out 13 of the 18 batters she faced Friday versus Liberty.
South Central honors went to senior Dixon, who struck out 15 and walked none in a one-hit gem against South Laurel in Thursday’s first round of the Kentucky state tournament. The Bluebirds defeated North Hardin on Saturday to set up a state semifinal game on Friday against unbeaten South Warren (43-0), the No. 3-ranked team in the NFCA Spring High School Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Tavai garnered West Region recognition, going 9-for-11 with 10 runs, five doubles, a triple, two walks and eight RBI for the Cougars. The senior had multiple hits and at least three runs scored in all three contests, including going a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs and four doubles on Friday against South Anchorage.
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!
