TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) posted its All-PAC Softball teams and top award winners Tuesday. The All-PAC teams, along with the league's yearly award winners, were determined by vote of the league's 11 head coaches.

Waynesburg University won its second straight PAC Tournament title on Saturday and the repeat theme continued with the award winners. Three of the four top awards went to previous winners, starting with Geneva College senior outfielder Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) earning this year’s PAC Player of the Year, the second of her career after she was the Player of the Year in 2021. Also earning a second award was Waynesburg sophomore pitcher Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle), who was honored as the PAC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year.

The Newcomer of the Year honor went to a Waynesburg player for a second straight season in sophomore second baseman Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Waynesburg fourth-year head coach Brett Shimek collected PAC Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row. 

Johnson becomes the first player to win two PAC Player of the Year awards since Rachael Schafer from Bethany College won three straight from 2001-03. Johnson's final season as a Golden Tornado saw her set a plethora of Geneva career records, including career hits, stolen bases, runs scored and triples, as she earned First Team All-PAC for a fourth time.

A two-time PAC Hitter of the Week selection during the year and member of the All-Tournament Team this past weekend, Johnson led the conference this season in five different categories. Her .500 batting average was tops in the PAC by 28 points, while also posting league-leading numbers in hits (71), triples (eight), on-base percentage (.523) and stolen bases (35).

Wilson's sophomore season proved to be every bit as effective as her freshman year when she also won Pitcher of the Year. She posted a 17-4 record in 2023 to lead the conference in victories, while also leading the league with a 1.32 ERA, 18 complete games and tying for the top spot with seven shutouts. Wilson was at her best against the PAC this year, going 10-2 with a 0.99 ERA, six shutouts and a .191 batting average against when facing league foes.

Another repeat occurred last weekend when Wilson was named the PAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row. She helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a second straight PAC title by going 2-0 and allowing just five runs, four earned, while scattering 17 hits and striking out eight over 14 innings of work, as she improved to 5-0 in the PAC Tournament over the last two seasons.

The Yellow Jacket program has now won consecutive Newcomer of the Year accolades, as Higgins follows Wilson, who won the award in 2022. Higgins had a stellar first season for Waynesburg, batting .400 for the season, but like Wilson, she was at her best against PAC teams. Higgins hit .486 with 34 of her 42 hits coming in league action. She finished the year with 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 16 RBIs, as well as 17 stolen bases in 17 attemps.

Higgins played a pivotal role in the Jackets' championship run over the weekend, as she was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored in Friday's 9-2 win over Westminster. In Saturday's 6-3 victory over the Titans in the title game, she had two more hits, including a solo home run in the fifth inning.

In leading Waynesburg to a second straight PAC title and third in program history, Shimek is the first repeat PAC Coach of the Year winner since Thomas More's Lindsay Bramhall was recognized in 2009 and 2010. After the program set a new single-season record for wins last season, Waynesburg reset that mark this year with their 29-9 record, which included going 15-5 in PAC contests this season. 

As the winner of this year’s championship tournament title, Waynesburg secures the league's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Softball Championship, with teams and regional site selections announced on Monday, May 15. Regional round play is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 and the Super Regionals will be played Friday-Saturday, May 26-27. The eight teams advancing from the Super Regionals will participate in the Division III Championship finals, slated for Thursday-Wednesday, June 1-7 at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas. 

PAC Award Winners
Player of the Year: Geneva senior outfielder Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista)
Pitcher of the Year: Waynesburg sophomore Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle)
Newcomer of the Year: Waynesburg sophomore second base Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan)
Coach of the Year: Waynesburg fourth-year head coach Brett Shimek
 

All-PAC First Team
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Brin Hunter	Sr.	Waynesburg	West Alexander, Pa./McGuffey
1B	Julia Hart	Jr.	Geneva	Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock
1B	Mackenzie Latess	Sr.	Westminster	New Castle, Pa./Laurel
2B	Grace Higgins	So.	Waynesburg	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan
SS	Kimberly McDaniels	So.	Franciscan	Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic
SS	Alexis Yates	Sr.	Westminster	Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette
3B	Rachel Zona	So.	Grove City	New Castle, Pa./New Castle
OF	Sarah Johnson	Sr.	Geneva	Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista
OF	Alex Dillner	Jr.	Saint Vincent	Irwin, Pa./Norwin
OF	Brooke Atkins	Sr.	Westminster	New Castle, Pa./Laurel
DP	Sophia Godzak	So.	Allegheny	Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon
UTIL	Janessa Dawson	Sr.	Grove City	Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley
P	Aleya Belardinelli	So.	Allegheny	Melbourne, Fla./West Shore
P	Sydney Wilson	So.	Waynesburg	Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle
P	Madison Brown	Grad.	Westminster	Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool

 

All-PAC Second Team
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Cameron Long	Jr.	Allegheny	Midlothian, Va./Midlothian
1B	Sofia Genareo	So.	Allegheny	Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central
1B	Ella Brookman	Jr.	Waynesburg	Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston
2B	Maci Linhart	So.	Grove City	Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana
SS	Peyton Eckenrode	Sr.	W&J	York Haven, Pa./Northeastern
SS	Kayla Gratton	Jr.	Waynesburg	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
3B	Sydney Senay	Jr.	Waynesburg	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan
OF	Reghan Benschoter	Sr.	Waynesburg	Newark, Ohio/Granville
OF	Jasmine DeMaske	Fr.	Waynesburg	Waynesburg, Pa./Jefferson-Morgan
OF	Ashley Wire	Sr.	Westminster	Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary
DP	Jessica LaPorte	Jr.	Saint Vincent	Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks
UTIL	Mia Meholick	So.	Westminster	DuBois, Pa./DuBois Central Catholic
P	Haley Smith	Sr.	Geneva	Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley
P	Autumn Stemple	Sr	Waynesburg	Morgantown, W.Va./University
P	Elizabeth Malczak	Jr.	Westminster	Grove City, Pa./Grove City

 

Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Mackenzie Dunn	Sr.	Chatham	Butler, Pa./Karns City
1B	Destiny Goodnight	Jr.	Bethany	Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
2B	Kylie Heid	Fr.	Thiel	Monaca, Pa./Central Valley
SS	Lexi Buck	Sr.	Grove City	Akron, Ohio/Lake Center Christian
3B	Kylee Yothers	Sr.	Thiel	Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville
OF	Samantha Phillips	Fr.	Allegheny	Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon
OF	Paige Shaftic	Grad.	Chatham	New Castle, Pa./New Castle
OF	Payton James	Fr.	Geneva	McKinney, Texas/McKinney
OF	Julia DiPietro-Harvey	Fr.	W&J	Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice
DP	Kaitlyn Collins	Sr.	Chatham	Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion
DP	Peri Ceasri	Sr.	Geneva	El Dorado Hills, Calif./Vista Del Lago
UTIL	Morgan Huey	Sr.	Bethany	Hermitage, Pa./Hickory
P	Victoria Murren	Fr.	Chatham	New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs
P	Kaitlyn Constantino	Jr.	Grove City	Clarion, Pa./Clarion
P	Olivia Bushore	So.	Saint Vincent	Claysburg, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel