Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina softball put nine players on the All-Southern Conference teams released on Tuesday, headlined by a trio on the first team as the conference office released its postseason all-conference awards.
Juniors Maya McPherson and Sydney Dirks, along with sophomore Amanda Fulton, each garnered first-team All-SoCon plaudits, while senior Tate Stewman, along with juniors Becka Wonsick and Lily Bell received second-team honors. WCU also placed a trio of players on the SoCon All-Freshman team in Briony Bunsic, Kayden Lyda, and Amari Burce.
McPherson earned first-team honors on the infield, while Dirks landed on the outfield, and Fulton was named one of the top two pitchers in the league. Bell and Stewman earned second-team infield honors and Wonsick was named to the outfield.
Tuesday's honors mark WCU's most representation on the league's two all-conference teams and freshman honors in school history. The nine selections surpassed the previous benchmark of six in 2006 and 2021. The three first-team selections are the most for WCU since 2021 and are tied for the second-most in school history.
Burce, Lyda, and Bunsic became the first WCU representatives on the freshman team since the trio of Bell, McPherson, and Dirks garnered the honors in 2024. The three first-team honors marks seven straight award cycles that the Catamounts have placed at least one player on the SoCon's first-team all-conference, dating back to the 2019 season. *No awards were issued in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.*
Western Carolina's all-conference performers helped the Catamounts to break numerous team records in the 2026 regular season, as the Purple & Gold have broken the team single-season records for hits (487), doubles (72), runs scored (359), runs batted in (332), and stolen bases (76).
A native of Lancaster, Calif., McPherson totaled a program-record tying 75 hits to pace the SoCon, driving in 56 runs, scoring 47 times, and clubbing 17 home runs to finish second in the conference by one entering tournament play. Her team-best .408 seasonal batting average finished the regular season second, batting .353 in league action with 24 hits, 17 runs scored, four doubles, and seven homers.
McPherson's best offensive stretch at the dish came over the first three weeks in SoCon play with a 12-game hit streak that saw her post a .538 (21-for-39) average with four doubles, 13 runs scored, eight homers, and 18 RBIs. She also put together a seven-game hit streak in the first week of March and had hits in eight of nine games to open her 2026 season. The junior slugger totaled a team-best 25 multi-hit games that helped lead her to a pair of SoCon Player of the Week honors throughout the season, one of only three players to garner multiple weekly honors.
McPherson has also cemented her name in the program's single-season record book as she enters postseason play second in batting average (.408), tied for first in hits (75), tied for fourth in doubles (13), third in homers (17), and third in RBIs (56), having already broken the single-season total bases record with 141.
Dirks joined McPherson as one of the best 3-4 combos in the league, batting .353 entering the tournament, with 42 runs scored and 65 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples, 15 homers, and 57 RBIs, second in the league. She is also tied for fourth in home runs with Catamount first baseman Tate Stewman, and is also tied for fourth with 65 hits. She finished fifth in the regular season with her runs scored, tied for eighth in doubles, and placed eighth with a .679 slugging percentage.
Dirks connected on one of the team's six grand slams as part of the conference-high 72 homers, as Dirks, McPherson, Stewman, Burce, and Wonsick each had grand slams. Her best hit streak came in a nine-game stretch with a .406 average, including 13 hits, 10 RBIs, and four homers in mid-March. She opened her season with a six-RBI performance that included a homer and double while totaling 25 RBIs in the opening month.
Amanda Fulton helped the Catamounts tie for the second-most wins in school history as she tallied 15 victories, the second-most wins in the SoCon. She also finished third in the league with 154 strikeouts to pair with a league-best 15 complete games over 166.1 innings in the circle to pace the SoCon.
The Woodstock, Ga. native was the ace of the Catamount pitching staff, appearing in 35 games in the circle with 21 starts. In March, Fulton went 6-1 with a team-best 2.81 ERA over 13 outings, seven starts, and five complete games, tallying 54 strikeouts and two saves before closing the regular season with a 5-3 mark and a 2.48 ERA along with eight starts and 50 strikeouts.
Bell continued her strong offensive work at the dish for a third-straight season, finishing the regular season with 74 hits, one shy of matching her single-season record of 75 in 2025. She scored 51 runs to lead the SoCon and stole a team-high 25 bases to lead the league. Her .376 seasonal batting average finished the regular season in eighth in the SoCon as she paced the squad with a team-best .411 batting average in 21 SoCon games with a team-best 30 hits, ranking second in the league.
The Woodstock, Ga. native tallied at least one hit in 43 games and 23 multi-hit contests. She enters the tournament on a 13-game hit streak, hitting .569 (29-of-51) down the stretch, and has hits in 27 of her final 30 games.
Bell has continued to etch her name in the program's record books for the third-straight season. She begins the SoCon tournament with the program's top career batting average (.403) and on-base percentage (.461), while setting the school career record for hits (221) as she became the first to eclipse 200 hits earlier this season. She's also the school's career-record holder for runs scored (139), while already setting the school record for steals (87).
Stewman made an imprint in her final season, finishing ninth with 57 hits, joining her teammate Dirks with 15 homers, and totaling 40 RBIs for WCU. Stewman connected on two of the team's six grand slams as part of the conference-high 72 homers.
Stewman totaled 16 multi-hit games to finish fourth on the team, while posting 10 multi-RBI games as she had a nine-game hit streak for a season-best for the Sylva, N.C. native. She had a trio of 5-RBI games against N.C. A&T, Furman, and NCCU were two of her RBI performances, which included her grand slams against the Paladins and Eagles. In SoCon play, Stewman hit .315 with a team-best eight homers and scored 13 runs along with 17 RBIs. She tallied an impressive .997 fielding percentage as she turned 10 double plays and only committed one error.
Wonsick made an imprint down the stretch for WCU as she saw action in 42 games with 35 starts between the outfield and the designated player spot, totaling 35 hits, 26 runs, four doubles, 11 homers, and 31 RBIs. She was one of four players to reach double figures in homers.
She made an impact on the WCU lineup in SoCon play with 18 hits, 14 runs, seven homers, and 16 RBIs for the Purple & Gold. Wonsick put together a two-homer game, one of five two-homer games by a Catamount in 2026, during the sweep of Chattanooga with a pair of three-run homers coming in an 11-3 run-rule victory over the Mocs.
Bunsic began her Catamount career with strong work in the circle, posting a 7-5 mark to help lead the WCU pitching staff to tie for the second-most wins in school history at 33 wins entering Wednesday's opening matchup. The Morristown, Tenn. native has put together her best work in SoCon play with a 5-3 mark and a 3.75 ERA to go along with four complete games. Her best work in the circle came in a SoCon home matchup against Mercer, where she tossed a four-hit shutout during a 3-0 win over the Bears that netted the freshman her seventh win of the year. Over her final 12 outings, Bunsic earned six wins with a 3.45 ERA.
Lyda opened her WCU career with 26 hits, 21 runs, three doubles, and four homers with 21 RBIs spanning 42 games and 39 starts as she seized control of the Catamounts shortstop position. She connected on her first career homer in an 11-7 victory over Furman as three of the four long balls took place in league play, with her most recent against UTC coming in a run-rule walk-off fashion. She took control of the shortstop position in the early stages of 2026 and helped turn four of the 14 double plays turned from WCU's defense that tallied a .963 fielding percentage.
The final freshman honoree, Burce, made a name for herself quickly at the dish over the final weeks of the 2026 season as she finished with a .276 average, totaling eight hits, which included three doubles and a grand slam with 11 RBIs, as she also drew a pair of walks and had three HBPs. In her first career start at the plate, Burce recorded a 3-for-3 day at the dish with a grand slam and a program-record tying seven RBIs as part of a 21-0 victory over Gardner-Webb.
Infielder Olivia Shaw from Samford garnered SoCon Player of the Year honors, with UNCG's Brooklyn Shroyer named the league's top pitcher of the year. Shroyer's teammate, Avery Bouquin, was tabbed as the league's top freshman as Spartans' head coach Janelle Breneman received Coach of the Year honors.
The Catamounts turn their attention to the 2026 SoCon Softball Championships, which begin Wednesday, May 6, in Chattanooga. Third-seeded Western Carolina awaits the winner from the No. 6 ETSU / No. 7 Mercer matchup on Wednesday afternoon with a scheduled 7 p.m. first pitch at Frost Stadium. Wednesday evening's winner advances to Thursday at 1 p.m. against No. 2 seed Samford. Coverage of all the tournament games is available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and with live stats through CatamountSports.com.
Fans can follow WCU softball on Facebook, Twitter (@CatamountSB), Instagram, and CatamountSports.com.
Player of the Year: Olivia Shaw, Jr., INF, Samford
Pitcher of the Year: Brooklyn Shroyer, Jr., RHP, UNCG
Freshman of the Year: Avery Bouquin, C/INF, UNCG
Coach of the Year: Janelle Breneman, UNCG
First Team All-Southern Conference
P – Brooklyn Shroyer, UNCG
P – Amanda Fulton, Western Carolina
C – Katie Campbell, Samford
INF – Macy Michael, UNCG
INF – Olivia Shaw, Samford
INF – Maya McPherson, Western Carolina
INF – Brianna Stanley, Wofford
OF – Kaylyn Belfield, UNCG
OF – Sydney Dirks, Western Carolina
OF – Desirae Devine, Wofford
DP or UT/Non-P – Brianna Stanley, Wofford
UT/P – Brandy Phillips, Samford
UT/P – Grace Jones, Mercer
Second Team All-Southern Conference
P – Rhyann Jones, UNCG
P – Makinley Turner, Samford
C – Addison Lucier, Wofford
INF – Avery Bouquin, UNCG
INF – Laney Deane, UNCG
INF – Baileigh Pitts, Chattanooga
INF – Lily Bell, Western Carolina
INF – Tate Stewman, Western Carolina
OF – Abigail Taylor, ETSU
OF – Rylie Williams, UNCG
OF – Addison Smith, Samford
OF – Becka Wonsick, Western Carolina
DP or UT/Non-P – Nya South, UNCG
UT/P – Kristyn Embler, Furman
Southern Conference All-Freshman
Riley Croley, UTL, ETSU
Hailey Porter, INF, ETSU
Kristyn Embler, INF/P, Furman
Avery Bouquin, C/INF, UNCG
Jazmin Mejia, INF/OF, UNCG
Reese Hickey, P, Samford
Ava Cowart, OF, Chattanooga
Briony Bunsic, P/INF, Western Carolina
Kayden Lyda, INF, Western Carolina
Amari Burce, P/DP, Western Carolina
