IRVING, Texas – On the eve of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Softball Championship, the league announced its regular-season awards, including major individual honors, All-Conference teams, and the All-Freshman team, as selected by the conference’s 10 head coaches.
Charlotte’s Jenna Lord made history as the first 49er to be named American Player of the Year, while Autumn Courtney of Florida Atlantic earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Florida Atlantic’s Jesiana Mora was named Defensive Player of the Year, and the Owls’ coaching staff was recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year for the second consecutive season. Jaylah Jarrell of Charlotte and Ryley Nihart of Wichita State were honored as the Freshmen of the Year.
In total, 24 players from seven member institutions earned All-Conference recognition. Six additional players were selected to the All-Freshman Team. Florida Atlantic led all programs with seven players named to the first and second All-Conference teams, including three first-team selections. Courtney and North Texas’ Madison Conley were unanimous first-team honorees.
Jenna Lord was a force at the plate, finishing in the top five in The American in multiple offensive categories: second in slugging percentage (.844), hits (38), RBIs (30), triples (2), and home runs (10); third in runs scored (28); fourth in batting average (.422); and fifth in OPS (1.329). She tallied multiple hits in 12 conference games and drove in at least one run in 19 contests.
Autumn Courtney anchored the Owls’ rotation and led them to the outright American regular-season title and No. 1 tournament seed. In conference play, she posted a league-high 14 wins across 18 appearances, with a 1.85 ERA over 90.2 innings. Courtney struck out a conference-best 80 batters (26 looking) and held opposing hitters to a .161 average. She did not allow an earned run in eight of her 18 conference outings.
Jesiana Mora became the first Owl to receive Defensive Player of the Year honors. Starting all 27 conference games, she was flawless in the field, compiling a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 34 putouts and 38 assists on 72 total chances.
Jaylah Jarrell impressed in her freshman campaign at second base for Charlotte, slashing .419/.443/.645 in conference action. She drove in 19 runs, scored 13 times, and ranked fifth in the league in batting average (.419).
Ryley Nihart, a freshman pitcher for Wichita State, joined Jarrell in earning Freshman of the Year accolades. Nihart emerged as the Shockers’ ace, finishing conference play with 10 wins (tied for second most in the league), a 3.08 ERA, and 49 strikeouts.
Under head coach Jordan Clark, Florida Atlantic captured its second straight American regular-season title. The Owls led the conference in nearly every major offensive category, including hits (250), doubles (46), RBIs (172), and on-base percentage (.433). Defensively, the team committed just three errors all season, posting a .955 fielding percentage. In the circle, FAU led the league in ERA (2.35), wins (23), strikeouts (137), home runs allowed (12), and opposing batting average (.192).
2025 American Athletic Conference Softball Regular-Season Awards
Player of the Year
Jenna Lord, Charlotte
Pitcher of the Year
Autumn Courtney, Florida Atlantic*
Defensive Player of the Year
Jesiana Mora, Florida Atlantic
Freshmen of the Year
Jaylah Jarrell, Charlotte
Ryley Nihart, Wichita State
Coaching Staff of the Year
Florida Atlantic
Head Coach Jordan Clark, Assistant Coach, Nicole Newman, Assistant Coach Shelby Petik, Assistant Coach Katelynn de Leon, Graduate Assistant Elizabeth Hightower, Graduate Assistant Dezarae Maldonado, Graduate Assistant Trinity Schlotterbeck
All-Conference First Team
P – Autumn Courtney, Florida Atlantic*
P – Payton Dixon, South Florida
P – Belle Sardja, South Florida
C – Chloe Yeatts, Florida Atlantic
1B – Morgan Johnson, East Carolina
2B – Cierra Simon, North Texas
SS – Maci Cole, Tulsa
3B – Jenna Lord, Charlotte
OF – Kylie Hammonds, Florida Atlantic
OF – Kailyn Bearpaw, North Texas
OF – Lauren Lucas, Wichita State
DP/U/Non-P – Madison Conley, North Texas*
All-Conference Second Team
P – Ainsley Lambert, Florida Atlantic
P – Ryley Nihart, Wichita State
C – Annie Kate Dalton, East Carolina
1B – Bella Cimino, Florida Atlantic
1B – Celeste Wood, Tulsa
2B – Jaylah Jarrell, Charlotte
SS – Kiley Channell, Florida Atlantic
3B – Jesiana Mora, Florida Atlantic
OF – Emma Jackson, East Carolina
OF – Bella Foran, Florida Atlantic
OF – Olivia Elliott, South Florida
DP/U/Non-P – Kari Shedrick, Charlotte
All-Freshman Team
P – Kendall Frost, East Carolina
P – Ryley Nihart, Wichita State
1B – Ausha Moore, North Texas
2B – Jaylah Jarrell, Charlotte
2B – Destiny Johns, Florida Atlantic
OF – Bella Foran, Florida Atlantic
DP – Brookelyn Livanec, Wichita State
