LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eight finalists, one from each of the NCAA’s eight regions, have been selected by the Association’s Division II All-America Committee for the 2026 NFCA Division II Freshman of the Year award.
Slippery Rock University’s Maddie Cavenaugh (Atlantic), Augustana University’s Kierra Lubovich (Central), Franklin Pierce University’s Camryn Van Valkenburgh (East), University of Indianapolis’ Caitlin Bunte (Midwest), Saint Leo University’s Abigail Hynes (South), West Texas A&M University’s Brooke Janning (South Central), Carson-Newman University’s Malyiah Smith (Southeast) and California State University San Marcos’ Daleah Cardenas (West) are now in the running for the award, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 26.
All eight finalists were voted NFCA First- or Second-Team All-Region. Cavenaugh, Lubovich, Van Valkenburgh, Bunte, Hynes, Janning and Cardenas earned first-team honors, while Smith collected second-team accolades.
Not only were Cavenaugh, Van Valkenburgh and Bunte, their league’s Freshman of the Year winners, Cavenaugh was tabbed the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Athlete of the Year, Van Valkenburg was the Northeast 10 Conference Co-Player of the Year and Bunte was the Great Lakes Valley Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year. For Cavenaugh and Van Valkenburgh it marked the first time in their conference’s history a freshman also earned the Athlete or Player of the Year honor.
Also earning their conference’s Freshman of the Year accolades are Lubovich (Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), Hynes (Sunshine State Conference), Smith (South Atlantic Conference) and Cardenas (California Collegiate Athletic Association).
Cavenaugh and Van Valkenburgh - are representing their institutions for the first time on the top eight list, while it is the fourth nod for Augustana, second for West Texas A&M, Saint Leo, Carson-Newman, San Marcos and UIndy. Carson-Newman had two top 25 finalists and WT one in 2015 with Lady Buffs’ Allie Smith voted to the top 10. The NFCA moved to the current format in 2016.
Created in 2015, the award honors the outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout NCAA Division II. To be eligible, student-athletes must come from a NFCA member institution.
Past winners include: 2025: Carliegh Knowles, North Georgia; 2024 – Sarah Davenport, East Stroudsburg; 2023 - Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman; 2022 - Caleigh Rister, PennWest California; 2021 - Kenzee Smith, Indianapolis; 2019 - Bailey McKittrick, Central Oklahoma; 2018 - Callie Nunes, Concordia; 2017 - Autumn Humes, Harding; 2016 Charlotte Romero, Colorado Christian; 2015 - Janessa Bassett, Dixie State.
2026 NFCA DII National Freshman of the Year Finalists
Slippery Rock
Augustana
Franklin Pierce
UIndy
Saint Leo
West Texas A&M
Carson-Newman
Cal State San Marcos
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year Awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and National Convention.
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