By: Nash Loibl, Advanced Graduate Assistant / Strategic Communications

DENVER, Colo. – Colorado Christian University sophomore Kat Hanson is the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Year, the conference announced Thursday, ahead of the Quarterfinal round of the 2026 RMAC Softball Championship. Hanson headlines this year’s slate of major award winners, All-RMAC rosters, and Gold Glove honorees.

Colorado State University Pueblo senior McKenna James earned the Pitcher of the Year award, while Colorado Mesa University freshman Molli Magaña is the Freshman of the Year. Colorado Christian head coach Larry Hays joins Hanson as a major award winner, claiming the Coach of the Year title.

The league’s 12 head softball coaches nominated and voted for the RMAC Softball Major Awards, All-RMAC teams, and Gold Glove roster, with coaches unable to vote for their own student-athletes.

Hanson is the Player of the Year after leading the Cougars throughout the 2026 season. The sophomore from Apache Junction, Arizona, paced the team with 201 at-bats and delivered a remarkable .488 batting average, along with a 1.332 on-base percentage and an .816 slugging percentage. She also led her squad in runs (66), hits (98), doubles (19), and triples (4), while ranking second in RBI (64) and home runs (13). Throughout the season, Hanson played and started all 56 games for the Cougars, collecting one Player of the Week honor along the way.

James was a dominant force in the circle for the ThunderWolves this season, earning Pitcher of the Year honors. The senior made 33 appearances, logging 177.1 innings of work while facing 752 batters. She compiled an outstanding 1.70 ERA to go along with 19 wins, 21 complete games, and five shutouts. Opponents hit just .233 against her, as she surrendered only 43 earned runs all season. Her consistency and impact were recognized throughout 2026, earning her five RMAC Pitcher of the Week honors.

Magaña earned Freshman of the Year honors following an impressive debut season with the Mavericks. The Windsor native stepped to the plate 144 times, collecting 49 hits, scoring 33 runs, and driving in 41 RBIs. She finished the regular season with a strong .340 batting average, a 1.064 on-base percentage, and a .660 slugging percentage. Behind her contributions, the Mavericks secured a berth in the 2026 RMAC Championship as the No. 4 seed.

Hays earned Coach of the Year honors after leading the Cougars to another exceptional season. Under his direction, CCU posted a 52-4 overall record, including a dominant 42-2 mark in conference play. The Cougars’ success propelled them to No. 6 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, the RMAC regular-season title, and the No. 1 seed in the RMAC Championship, giving them hosting rights.

Ten of the RMAC’s 12 softball sponsoring institutions are represented among the 26 selections to the league’s First and Second Team All-RMAC squads. Colorado Christian leads the way with seven honorees on the All-RMAC rosters, while the University of Colorado Colorado Springs is represented by five student-athletes. CSU Pueblo and Metropolitan State University of Denver each hold three total roster spots, as Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa each have two. Adams State University, Black Hills State University, Fort Lewis College, and Regis University are all represented by one student-athlete.

Five institutions are represented among the nine spots on the RMAC Softball Gold Glove roster, led by Colorado Christian with four selections. CSU Pueblo is represented by two student-athletes, as MSU Denver, Colorado School of Mines, and UCCS each earned one spot.  

2026 First Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Softball
Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	McKenna James (HM)	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	Windsor, Colorado
P	Autumn Kunze	UCCS	Sr.	Chandler, Arizona
C	Leah Garcia	Colorado Christian	Sr.	Amarillo, Texas
1B	Arriana Wright	Colorado Christian	Sr.	Houston, Texas
2B	Kat Hanson	Colorado Christian	So.	Apache Junction, Arizona
3B	Brooklyn Enny	MSU Denver	Jr.	Lyons, Colorado
SS	Peyton Marvel (HM)	Colorado Christian	So.	Lakewood, Colorado
OF	Caitlyn Cole (1)	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	Merced, California
OF	Kendall Aragon (2)	Colorado School of Mines	Sr.	Thornton, Colorado
OF	Kellan Ton (HM)	Colorado School of Mines	Jr.	Sugar Land, Texas
DP	Tayler McCombs (HM)	UCCS	So.	Gilbert, Arizona
UTIL Player	Cheyenne Prieto	MSU Denver	Sr.	Conifer, Colorado
UTIL Pitcher	Elyse McMullin (PoTY, 1)	Colorado Christian	Jr.	Issaquah, Washington

 

2026 Second Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference: Softball
Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	Felesha LePenske	Colorado Christian	So.	Dixon, California
P	Natalie Romero (2)	MSU Denver	Jr.	Anaheim, California
C	Desi Hernandez (HM)	Black Hills State	So.	Amarillo, Texas
1B	Molli Magaña	Colorado Mesa	Fr.	Windsor, Colorado
2B	Laynee Case (HM)	UCCS	Jr.	Loveland, Colorado
3B	Cailynn Parsons	Colorado Mesa	Jr.	Gilbert, Arizona
SS	Madelyn Huerta (2)	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	Azusa, California
OF	Olivia Wick (HM)	Regis	Sr.	The Colony, Texas
OF	Alyssa Gutierrez	UCCS	Sr.	Castle Rock, Colorado
OF	Maya Schroeder	Colorado Christian	Fr.	Stillwater, Minnesota
DP	Aubree Davis	Adams State	Jr.	Henderson, Colorado
UTIL Player	Jennavieve Goldsworth (HM)	UCCS	Jr.	Roseville, California
UTIL Pitcher	Izzy Cueva	Fort Lewis	Fr.	Vacaville, California
Symbols in parentheses: (PoTY) was the Player of the Year in 2025; (1) was a First Team All-RMAC selection in 2025; (2) was a Second Team All-RMAC selection in 2025; (HM) was an Honorable Mention in 2025.

   

2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Gold Glove Team: Softball
Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	Hometown
P	Natalie Romero	MSU Denver	Jr.	Anaheim, California
C	Leah Garcia	Colorado Christian	Sr.	Amarillo, Texas
1B	Arriana Wright	Colorado Christian	Sr.	Houston, Texas
2B	Kat Hanson	Colorado Christian	So.	Apache Junction, Arizona
3B	Elyse McMullin	Colorado Christian	Jr.	Issaquah, Washington
SS	Madelyn Huerta	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	Azusa, California
OF	Kendall Aragon	Colorado School of Mines	Sr.	Thornton, Colorado
OF	Alyssa Gutierrez	UCCS	Sr.	Castle Rock, Colorado
OF	Caitlyn Cole	CSU Pueblo	Sr.	Merced, California

 
 
2025-26 Honorable Mention All-RMAC: Softball
Black Hills State: Sammie Kaufman- Warner, Kaitlyn Geschwill, Carly Reyes Mims, Carli Maley
Chadron State: Brogan Allen
Colorado Mesa: Makayla Westmoreland, Sophia Tassinari, Brynn Escobar, Khloe Kubitschek
Colorado School of Mines: Katie Bauer, Rylee Church
CSU Pueblo: Darleen Falcon, Emma Case, Reese Reimler
MSU Denver: Shay Cwelich, Trinity Kennemer, Victoria Pearson
New Mexico Highlands: Jazmyn Griego
Regis: Isabella Porter
UCCS: Katie Steinmetz, Halley Redd