COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Christian University junior Hanna Espinoza has been named the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball Academic Player of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday. Espinoza leads a 13-member First Team Academic All-RMAC roster as selected by the league’s athletic communications directors.

Espinoza claims the academic award after an outstanding season both in the classroom and on the field for the Cougars. In the classroom, the Kiowa native holds a perfect 4.00 grade-point average as a business major, which earned her the 2026 RMAC Softball Summit Award. Her performance in the classroom goes well beyond this year, as she was selected to the First Team Academic All-RMAC roster in 2025.

On the field, Espinoza has been a steady force for Colorado Christian in the circle, tallying six wins, five saves, and a 1.96 ERA across 57 innings of work. She has allowed only 59 hits, benefiting a fantastic Colorado Christian defensive unit. With the help of Espinoza, the Cougars finished the regular season with a 52-4 overall record, including a 42-2 conference mark. The junior looks to continue her strong play in the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament, where CCU earned the No. 1 seed in the South Central Region, giving them hosting rights and a matchup with No. 8 St. Mary’s (Texas) on their schedule.

Espinoza guides a 13-member First Team Academic All-RMAC group with 10 of the conference’s 12 softball-sponsoring member institutions represented. Colorado School of Mines’ Kenall Aragon, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Jacqueline Berkowitz, and Colorado State University Pueblo’s McKenna James join Espinoza as returners on the First Team Academic All-RMAC roster, while Black Hills State University’s Audrey Fouras, UCCS’ Alyssa Gutierrez, and Regis University’s Olivia Wick all made the jump from Honor Roll to First Team.

In addition, the RMAC recognized 90 student-athletes, including the 13 First Team Academic All-RMAC honorees, on its 2026 Softball Academic Honor Roll.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport who academically maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, have completed two consecutive semesters at their current institution, and have used a season of competition.

Each institution’s athletic communications directors nominate student-athletes who academically maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, along with the other criteria for the Academic Honor Roll, for recognition on the First Team Academic All-RMAC in each sport. The league’s athletic communications directors for that sport vote to compose the First Team Academic

All-RMAC and select the Academic Player of the Year. They are not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.  

About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colo., with 15 member institutions. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 54 national runners-up since 1992.

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2026 RMAC Softball Academic Player of the Year