Texas Softball announced on April 29 that junior right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan and junior first baseman Katie Stewart have been selected as top 25 finalists for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year. The recognition was made public by the organization on Wednesday.
The selection places both athletes among the nation’s elite in collegiate softball, with Kavan earning this distinction for a second consecutive year. Last season, she was joined by catcher Reese Atwood and former third baseman Mia Scott as Texas representatives among the top 25 finalists. For Stewart, this marks her first appearance as a finalist for the award.
Kavan has maintained her status as one of college softball’s leading pitchers throughout the current season. She holds a 2.92 earned run average over a team-high 134.1 innings, making 22 starts out of her total 28 appearances. She has tallied 165 strikeouts—second most among Southeastern Conference pitchers—and ranks third in victories with 19 and complete games with twelve. Kavan has held opposing hitters to a .245 batting average and thrown three shutouts, including a no-hitter against Incarnate Word on March 1. Her performance also includes six double-digit strikeout games this season, highlighted by a season-high thirteen against No. 2 Oklahoma on April 10.
Stewart is experiencing a standout year at bat, posting statistics that include a .468 batting average, twenty-four home runs—which set a new program single-season record—sixty-one runs batted in, fifty-nine hits, forty-three runs scored, and thirty-four walks. She leads the conference in batting average and ranks fifth nationally in home runs and slugging percentage (1.087). Stewart also leads Texas with nineteen multi-hit games and twenty multi-RBI games while maintaining a .983 fielding percentage at first base.
USA Softball awards its Collegiate Player of the Year annually based on overall performance during the NCAA softball season. The process begins each year with an initial watch list of fifty players before narrowing to twenty-five finalists, then ten finalists, three finalists, and ultimately one winner during Women’s College World Series week.
Texas will finish its regular season at McCombs Field with three games against No.6 Arkansas from April 30 to May 2.
