PSUAC Announces Baseball and Softball All-Conference Teams
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State University Athletic Conference has announced its 2026 Baseball and Softball All-Conference teams, with more than 100 student-athletes being recognized for their outstanding achievements on the diamond.
Penn State New Kensington's Linda Shepard was named the PSUAC Softball Player of the Year after leading the conference in home runs with nine and finishing second in RBIs with 36. Shepard hit .462 on the season, finishing fourth. Shepard also picked up seven wins in the circle, pitching to a 2.02 ERA in nearly 70 innings pitched.
Shepard's teammate Olivia Waldrop earned Pitcher of the Year honors after finishing 8-1 on the season with a 1.43 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Waldrop allowed just 43 hits in nearly 54 innings pitched and only 11 earned runs. Waldrop also excelled in the batter's box, hitting .389 and driving in 21 runs. Alexis Thompson of Penn State Mont Alto was named the PSUAC Softball Rookie of the Year after compiling a 6-1 record as a pitcher. Thompson threw nearly 50 innings and allowed just 23 earned runs, striking out 46 in 13 appearances.
Mont Alto's James Sibert took home PSUAC Baseball East Division Player of the Year honors after leading the league in homers with 12 and RBIs with 58. Sibert hit .426 on the season while leading the league with 58 total hits. In the West, Penn State Greater Allegheny's Eric Valentin earned Player of the Year honors after finishing second in the PSUAC in home runs with nine and fourth in RBIs with 39. Valentin slugged .793 on the season as more than half of his hits went for extra bases.
The East's Pitcher of the Year was Penn State Schuylkill's Dylan Siwik, who finished a perfect 5-0 on the bump. In 49 innings pitched, Siwik pitched to a 2.39 ERA, but was even better in conference. Siwik's 1.33 ERA in PSUAC play was second best in the league. His counterpart in the West comes from Penn State DuBois, as Maclain Welshans earned the honor. Welshans went 3-0, all in PSUAC play, and struck out 45 batters in just 31 innings pitched. Welshans finished the year with a 2.32 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97.
Baseball Rookie of the Year honors went to Penn State Hazleton's Cooper Ansbach in the East and Penn State Shenango's Tyler Houk in the West. Houk went 5-1 on the mound with a save, finishing with a 2.62 ERA. Over 34.1 innings, Houk struck out 19 and allowed opposing batters to hit just .197. Ansbach was a two-way player for Hazleton, cracking 43 hits and driving in 22 runs while also pitching 28.2 innings. Ansbach finished the season with 17 extra-base hits and scored 34 times.
Penn State Mont Alto's Heath Newell collected the Marty Mrozinski Softball Coach of the Year award after leading his team to a 20-9-1 record, including 12-2 in the PSUAC, which tied for first in the conference. Mont Alto enters the postseason on a six-game winning streak, and has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Baseball Coach of the Year honors went to Greater Allegheny's Len Piccini, whose team finished 23-14, including 16-4 in the PSUAC. Piccini's team earned the West's number two seed in the PSUAC playoffs, and had an impressive 15-game winning streak between March 28 and April 17.
Full PSUAC All-Conference teams are available on the PSUAC awards pages below.
BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM