CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Five members of the Western Carolina University softball program were selected among an elite list of NCAA Division I student-athletes on Tuesday afternoon as juniors Taylor Waitley and Rylee Butler, along with sophomores Sydney Dirks, Lily Bell, and Becka Wonsick were each named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
Bell additionally advances to the CSC Academic All-America team ballot for consideration for the national honor, which will be announced on June 17, 2025.
WCU's five honorees this year match last year's quintet for the most in a single season in program history and mark the third straight season the Catamounts had multiple selections.
The 2025 Academic All-District® softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot.
Sophomore infielder Lily Bell holds a 3.97 cumulative grade point average as a business administration & law and marketing double major. She was one of two Catamounts to start all 53 games for the Purple & Gold, patrolling second base throughout the 2025 campaign. She received SoCon Academic Honor Roll honors during her freshman season while garnering her first career honors from CSC. She has been a mainstay on the dean's and chancellor's lists throughout her time in Cullowhee.
On the field, the Woodstock, Ga. native rewrote the Western Carolina record books for a second-straight season, including a program record 75 hits to accompany a program record and Southern Conference record-breaking .455 batting average. The two-time first-team all-conference honoree also finished with 47 runs to rank third in the league and posted 28 steals to finish in sole possession of second place for WCU. She became the third player in Western Carolina history and the first since Bailey Huneycutt (2021-23) to be named first-team All-SoCon multiple times in their career.
Bell was the model of consistency throughout 2025, tallying at least one hit in 40 games, with 27 of those contests featuring multi-hit games. She reached base safely in 48 of 53 games, including a team-best 19-game reached base game streak, finishing the season on a seven-game hit streak.
Catcher Taylor Waitley completed a 4.0 GPA as a double major in biology with a pre-health concentration, and forensic sciences with a biology concentration with a chemistry minor. The Catamount backstop is now a two-time honoree of the CSC All-District team. She has been named to the conference's honor roll and received the league's commissioner's medal for GPA. She's also received the chancellor's list and dean's list recognition throughout her tenure at WCU.
The Laurinburg, N.C., product tallied 20 hits with five doubles and a triple, with nine RBIs as Waitley scored seven runs and finished with seven sacrifices, three flies and four bunts. She also posted a pair of steals. Waitley tallied three multi-hit games against Tulsa, Samford, and Gardner-Webb with doubles in all three contests.
Outfielder Becka Wonsick posted a 3.88 GPA as a double major in integrated health sciences with a pre-professional concentration and entrepreneurship with a psychology minor. The Jefferson, N.C. native earned SoCon Academic Honor Roll honors during her debut season with the Catamounts. Wonsick has been on the dean's and chancellor's lists multiple times throughout her brief career in Cullowhee.
Wonsick saw action in 41 games in 2025, with 35 starts coming mainly in left field and a pair of starts in center field. She tallied 25 hits, including four doubles, a triple, and a pair of homers, with two of her big flies coming in league play against ETSU and Wofford. She recorded five multi-hit games, including a two-double contest against Presbyterian in nonconference play.
Infielder Sydney Dirks has a 3.87 GPA as a psychology major and a criminal justice minor. She earned 2023-24 SoCon Academic Honor Roll honors and has been recognized on the chancellor's and dean's lists multiple times in her Catamount career.
Dirks was a stalwart in the Catamount lineup throughout 2025 with a .309 average, including 25 runs and 30 RBIs, as all three of those marks were second-best for WCU. She added seven doubles and 10 homers to lead the team, as she also became the first Catamount to have double-digit homers in a season since 2022. Dirks also finished with 14 multi-hit games, including a career-high four against Tulsa and the second-most multi-RBI games with nine. She earned SoCon Player of the Week honors back on April 28 as one of two honorees to receive the weekly award, along with Bell, who earned the honors back on March 10.
Outfield Rylee Butler finished with a 3.77 GPA as a communication science disorders major with a pre-professional concentration. She's received chancellor's and dean's list recognition in both semesters during her debut season with the Purple & Gold, marking her first career CSC All-District recognition.
The Samford transfer made an immediate impact, playing in 51 games for the Catamounts with 37 hits, including eight doubles, and finished third on the team with three homers. Butler tallied 10 multi-hit games, including three games with three hits, as she tallied eight games with multiple RBIs, including a season-high four coming against Tulsa on a grand slam. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native was one of four Catamounts to connect on a grand slam in 2025 as she finished third on the team with 28 RBIs.
Butler also finished second on the squad with 20 walks and recorded a team-high seven hit-by-pitches. In conference play, she finished with 15 hits. In the field, Butler tallied numerous key catches to save runs throughout the 2025 season as she patrolled right field throughout the majority of the campaign for the Purple & Gold.
To date, Western Carolina has placed 29 student-athletes on the CSC Academic All-District team across five different sports – eight from football, four from volleyball, six from women's soccer, two from women's basketball, four from women's tennis, and five from softball. Later this spring, the all-district teams for baseball and golf will be announced.
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WCU Academic All-District Team Honorees:
2013 – Haley Pace
2014 – Taylor Sigmon
2015 – Taylor Sigmon
2016 – Taylor Sigmon
2017 – Madison Armstrong
2018 – Madison Armstrong
2019 – Madison Armstrong
2020 – Erica Hayes
2023 – Jayme Eilers, Natalie Henry, Makenzie Martin, Samantha Reele
2024 – Savannah Baldwin, Makenzie Martin, Jeralynn Wells, Taylor Waitley, Tate Stewman
2025 – Lily Bell, Sydney Dirks, Taylor Waitley, Rylee Butler, Becka Wonsick
