LATHAM, N.Y. - Eight United East softball players earned All-Region honors by National Fastpitch Coaches Association for their performances during the 2026 season. Penn College highlighted the list of Region IV honorees with three second team selections in Mackenzi Tice (pitcher), Payton Crawford (catcher) and Ryleigh Rinker (third base). Wilson College earned a first team selection in Emily Randalls (outfield) and a second teamer in Katelyn Keller (shortstop). Penn State Brandywine's Emma McElroy (outfield) also earned second team honors while teammate Lexi Bussenger (second base) and Lancaster Bible's Ava Stern (utility/pitcher) earned third team selections.
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Tice dominated the circle with a conference-high 23-6 record, 177.2 innings and 206 strikeouts during her sophomore campaign. The Conference Pitcher of the Year posted a 2.05 ERA and held opponents to a .204 batting average. She holds top-5 mark among Division III members in complete games, innings pitched and shutouts, while she is just one of three pitchers to surpass 200 Ks this season. Tice averaged 8.2 Ks per game and reached double-digit strikeouts on eight separate occasions, including 10 in a shutout victory over Lebanon Valley in the NCAA Alliance Regional.
Rinker earned second team third base honors as the leading hitter in the Wildcats' lineup. Her team-high .453 batting average ranked seventh in the conference while her 53 hits were the sixth-best mark in the league. The first team all-conference selection added five doubles, and one home run on the season. She also recorded 15 RBIs and scored 25 times.
Crawford finished the season with a conference-high 64 hits and finished just behind Rinker with a .438 batting average. She added a league-high 15 doubles, six home runs and 48 RBIs on the year. The conference first-team catcher finished third with a .760 slugging percentage and had a .449 on-base percentage.
Randalls was stellar at the plate all season with a conference-best batting average of .557 which ranked fourth in the nation. Her on-base percentage was also eye-popping at .593, good for No. 10 in Division III. She clocked 61 hits on the year which included seven doubles and five triples. The speedy centerfielder also swiped 27 bases almost guaranteeing she'd be in scoring position once on base. She was second in the conference with 43 runs scored and fifth with 24 RBIs, culminating in her earning conference Player of the Year honors.
Keller joined Randalls as one of the best hitters with a .472 batting average that was fifth in the conference and in the top 50 in the nation. Keller was one of just six in the conference to reach 60 hits while adding five doubles, seven triples and four home runs in the Phoenix lineup.
McElroy posted the conference's second-highest batting average, hitting at a .484 clip, with 60 hits while playing all 41 games in center field. She hit safely in 38 games with a pair of double-digit hitting streaks, including a 15-game streak during the season. McElroy also homered five times and totaled 15 extra-base hits, while stealing 28 bases in 29 attempts. She ranked third in the United East in both home runs and stolen bases.
Bussenger was the spark at the top of the Lions' lineup all season as Brandywine finished 29-3 when she scored at least one run. She hit .427 out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, collecting 56 hits and 52 runs scored in 41 games as the Lions' starting second baseman. Bussenger led the United East in stolen bases with 40 steals, tied for 17th-most overall in Division III. She finished second in runs scored and eighth in total hits among United East hitters to earn conference second team accolades.
Stern, a conference second team outfielder, garnered region third team utility/pitcher as she helped the Chargers to one of the best turnarounds in program history. Stern tied for the team-lead with a .386 batting average and recorded a team-best 44 hits placing her 18th in conference hits. Stern tied for the team lead in doubles with nine and led the Chargers with four triples, totaling a team-leading 64 bases this season and leading LBC with 34 RBI, 15 stolen bases for the season and was one of two Chargers to score 30 runs this season. Stern also threw 93.0 innings, recording 12 complete games with an 8-7 record and 66 total strikeouts, ranking eighth in the conference.
NFCA All-Region honorees are automatically nominated for All-American awards, which will be announced prior to the start of the Division III World Series on May 27.