ARLINGTON, Texas – The 2026 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) softball award winners and all-conference teams, as voted on by the league’s head coaches, were revealed on Tuesday. Utah Tech’s Kinley Pappas was named WAC Player of the Year, California Baptist’s Miranda De Nava and Kenzie Farrier-Pilon earned WAC Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, UT Arlington’s Peyton Holland and Utah Valley’s Britney Moreno split the WAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, and California Baptist’s Brandon Telesco was voted by his peers as the WAC Coach of the Year.

Pappas started in all 50 regular season games for Utah Tech this season and led the WAC in batting average (.450), doubles (21), hits (72), slugging percentage (.863), and total bases (138). Pappas’ 21 doubles were tied for the fourth most in NCAA DI this season. Pappas recorded multiple hits in 25 games and posted seven games with three or more hits.

De Nava posted a 17-7 record in the pitching circle for California Baptist this season and led the conference in complete games (14), shutouts (7), strikeouts (164), earned run average (2.24), games started (29), and innings pitched (178.0). De Nava is only one of nine pitchers in the country to have seven complete-game shutouts this season, and her 178.0 innings pitched is the 12^th most across NCAA DI.

Holland covered the left side of the infield for UT Arlington this season at third base and shortstop and recorded a .968 fielding percentage after playing a full 45-game season for the Mavericks. Holland totaled 107 assists on the field and led the WAC with 2.38 assists per game.

Moreno also played a full 49-game schedule for Utah Valley, holding down the shortstop position for the Wolverines. Moreno posted a .942 fielding percentage on the year with 84 assists and 16 double plays turned.

Farrier-Pilon registered a season batting average of .400 after leading off the Lancer lineup for majority of the season and tallied 19 doubles, the second most in the WAC and the 10^th most in the nation. Farrier-Pilon’s 69 hits in the 2026 campaign were three hits shy of topping the conference leaderboard. Farrier-Pilon was ranked as the third toughest to strike out in the WAC as she only struck out seven times in a total of 175 at-bats this season.

Telesco, in his first year as the head coach of California Baptist, led the Lancers to their first-ever WAC regular season title and earned the no. 1 seed in the 2026 University Credit Union WAC Softball Tournament. Telesco led CBU to a 40-16 season record, a DI program record for wins in a season, and a 15-3 conference record.

California Baptist led all teams in the WAC with seven players included on the all-conference teams, including three players on the first team and four on second team. Utah Valley claimed six all-conference honorees with Tarleton State and UT Arlington securing three all-WAC spots.

2026 WAC Softball Season Awards

WAC Player of the Year
Kinley Pappas, C/DP, Utah Tech
 
WAC Pitcher of the Year
Miranda De Nava, California Baptist
 
WAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year
Peyton Holland, 3B/SS, UT Arlington
Britney Moreno, SS, Utah Valley
 
WAC Freshman of the Year
Kenzie Farrier-Pilon, SS, California Baptist
 
WAC Coach of the Year
Brandon Telesco, California Baptist
 
All-WAC First Team
Miranda De Nava, RHP, California Baptist
Kenzie Farrier-Pilon, SS, California Baptist
Makayla Medellin, OF, California Baptist
Arianna Ramirez, 1B, Southern Utah
Jaelynn Duke, OF/RHP, Tarleton State
Shelby Schultz, LHP, Tarleton State
Mia McNulty, C, UT Arlington
Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona, OF, Utah Tech
Kinley Pappas, C/DP, Utah Tech
Tatum Hall, 2B, Utah Valley
Britney Moreno, SS, Utah Valley
 
All-WAC Second Team
Ari Maxwell, OF, Abilene Christian
Ashlee Annett, 1B, California Baptist
Emily Darwin, RHP, California Baptist
Malachy Russell-Millen, 3B, California Baptist
Matti Severns, LF, California Baptist
Casey Schultz, OF/DP, Tarleton State
Peyton Holland, 3B/SS, UT Arlington
Dee McClarity, 1B, UT Arlington
Ry Binne, INF, Utah Valley
Lily Riley, RHP, Utah Valley
Amber Rodriguez, OF, Utah Valley

All-WAC Defensive Team
Miranda De Nava, RHP, California Baptist 
Peyton Holland, 3B/SS, UT Arlington
Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona, OF, Utah Tech
Angelique Mann, OF, Utah Valley
Britney Moreno, SS, Utah Valley