LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Rochester junior utility player Riley Laygo was voted NFCA Division III Player of the Year and Virginia Wesleyan sophomore right-hander Hannah Hearl claimed Portolite/NFCA Division III Pitcher of the Year honors, the Association announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Both were revealed as 2026 first-team NFCA All-Americans earlier today. Laygo is a two-time NFCA All-American (2024 second team), while Hearl was honored for the first time this year.
Laygo had another remarkable season for the No. 24-ranked Yellowjackets, who went 36-10 and won the Liberty League championship before falling to 2025 national champion Trine in the NCAA Angola Regional. The Hacienda Heights, Calif., product hit a team-best .535 this year with 68 runs scored, 85 hits, 24 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs, 76 RBI, 18 walks and 24 steals in 26 attempts. Laygo slugged 1.057, had a .578 on-base average and a 1.635 OPS.
The two-time Liberty League Player of the Year (2024 and 2026) ranks first nationally in RBI per game (2.33) and fifth in slugging percentage this season. Laygo is a three-time Liberty League and NFCA All-Region award recipient.
Meanwhile, Hearl is one half of a dominant pitching duo for the top-ranked and undefeated (50-0) Marlins, last year’s NCAA runner-up, who are playing for their fourth Division III title in program history this week in Salem, Va. The Orange County, Va., native tossed a five-inning perfect game in last Thursday’s NCAA Super Regional opener against Case Western Reserve to run her record to 26-0 and further drop her ERA for the season to 0.51.
Over 136 innings in the circle, Hearl has allowed just 49 hits and 11 runs (10 earned), while walking just 23 and striking out 199, limiting opposing batters to a miniscule .109 average. In addition to the recent perfecto, she has recorded two no-hitters, three one-hitters and one two-hitter this year.
The two-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection added ODAC Pitcher of the Year and NFCA All-Region and All-America honors to her accolades this season. She currently ranks first nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (11.3), second in WHIP (0.50) and fourth in fewest hits per seven (2.72).
The NFCA Player of the Year award was created in 2016 to honor outstanding softball achievement in NCAA Division III. In 2019, the Association expanded the award to include separate Player and Pitcher of the Year honors.
The awards are voted on by the members of the NFCA Division III All-America Committee with one head coach representing each of the 10 NCAA regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member.
NFCA Player & Portolite Pitcher of the Year recipients
2026 — Riley Laygo, Rochester (player) & Hannah Hearl, Virginia Wesleyan (pitcher)
2025 — Tristen Maddox, East Texas Baptist (player) & Gracie Ellis, Randolph-Macon (pitcher)
2024 — Tristen Maddox, East Texas Baptist (player) & Tayah Kelley, Linfield (pitcher)
2023 — Lindsey Windsor, Salisbury (player) & Kayla Simacek, Bethel (pitcher)
2022 — Kaitlyn Hasty, Christopher Newport (player) & Alexis Michon, Eastern Connecticut State (pitcher)
2021 — Jessica Goldyn, Virginia Wesleyan (player) & Hanna Hull, Virginia Wesleyan (pitcher)
2019 — Mackenzie Chitwood, Lynchburg (player) & Ally Wiegand, Illinois Wesleyan (pitcher)
2018 — Hanna Hull, pitcher, Virginia Wesleyan
2017 — Hanna Hull, pitcher, Virginia Wesleyan
2016 — Kelsey Batten, pitcher, UT Tyler
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America 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.
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