By: Jeff Evans, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University Softball team had six players recognized on the 2026 GNAC Softball All-Conference Team, highlighted by junior third baseman
Maleah Andrews earning Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.
WWU lead the All-GNAC selections with four players earning first-team honors, with senior
Hailey Rath becoming the second player in program history and the ninth in conference history to earn four first-team honors in a career. Andrews repeated as the GNAC Player of the Year after sharing the award during her sophomore season in 2025.
Pitcher
Alanna Wirtala was selected as the Freshman of the Year and catcher
EmmaJoy Wise was voted the Newcomer of the Year, with both also earning unanimous First Team All-GNAC honors.
Junior center fielder
Laila Carpenter and freshman right fielder
Payton Chacon wrapped up the Vikings award winners as honorable mention all-conference.
2026 GNAC Softball All-Conference Awards:
Andrews (Shoreline, WA/Bothell HS) added to her extensive awards collection with her third All-GNAC honor as a unanimous first-team selection. Heading into the postseason Andrews is batting .421 (61-for-145) with 51 runs scored, 18 doubles, 10 home runs, 42 RBI and 40 walks. The third baseman leads the conference in slugging percentage (.779), on-base percentage (.550), doubles (18) and OPS (1.329). This marks the third consecutive season a Viking has earned GNAC Player of the Year honors, with Rath winning in 2024 and Andrews the co-Player of the Year last season. Over three seasons and 173 games, Andrews is a career .413 hitter with top program marks in runs scored (172), walks (125) and currently has the highest batting average (.413/222-for-538) and on-base percentage (.525).
Rath (Eatonville, WA/Eatonville HS) continued her legacy as one of the most decorated players in conference history with her fourth consecutive First Team All-GNAC honor in unanimous fashion. Heading into the postseason the shortstop is batting .362 (51-for-141) with 40 runs scored, 11 doubles, 13 home runs, 52 RBI and a 1.229 OPS. Among the league leaders Rath is second in slugging percentage (.716), RBI (52) and OPS (1.229), and is the league leader with 13 home runs. Rath has started every game of her WWU career (222 games) and is the program all-time leader in hits (251), doubles (60) and extra-base hits (102), while ranking second in home runs (35).
Wise (Stanwood, WA/Everett CC) has had a breakout season in her first year at the NCAA level batting .385 (57-for-148) with 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI while starting all 49 games. In addition to being voted unanimously to the first team, Wise earned Newcomer of the Year honors as a first-year transfer from Everett Community College. She has started 35 games at catcher, nine in right field and five at designated player. She ranks in the top 10 in several offensive categories, including 3rd in slugging percentage (.682), 4th in OPS (1.142), 5th in RBI (45), 6th in hits (57), 7th in doubles (12) and 4th in home runs (10).
Wirtala (Puyallup, WA/Emerald Ridge HS) is enjoying a standout (and busy) first collegiate season going 23-10 with a 3.55 ERA (103 ER, 203.0 IP) while pitching in 42 of the Vikings 49 games (24 starts). Wirtala leads the conference in wins (23) and innings pitched (203.0), while also ranking 2nd in saves (4) and strikeouts (132), and 6th in ERA (3.55). She was a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection while also earning the Freshman of the Year award.
Carpenter (Snohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS) earned her first All-GNAC honor while starting 48 of 49 games in center field. The Gold Glove candidate has a .984 fielding percentage patrolling center field for the Vikings and is batting .309 (42-for-136) with 33 runs scored, four triples, four home runs, 22 RBI and 12-for-13 stealing bases.
Chacon (West Richland, WA/Richland HS) has solidified her role as the Vikings everyday right fielder appearing in 43 games with 38 starts. The freshman is batting .344 (42-for-122) with 37 runs scored and is 24-for-27 in stolen bases. Among GNAC leaders she ranks 10th in runs scored (37) and 3rd in stolen bases (24). The 24 stolen bases are tied for 7th-most in program single-season history.
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
The 2026 GNAC Softball Championships will be held May 7-9 at the CWU Softball Field on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The four-team double-elimination tournament will determine the recipient of the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. WWU has won the last two GNAC postseason tournaments, raising the trophy on its home field in Bellingham in 2024 and last season in Nampa, Idaho.
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: Noon - No. 2 Seed Western Washington vs. No. 3 Seed Northwest Nazarene
Game 2: 2:30 p.m. - No. 1 Seed Saint Martin's vs. No. 4 Seed Simon Fraser
Friday, May 8
Game 3: 10 a.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4: 12:30 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Elimination Game)
Game 5: 3 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (Elimination Game)
Saturday, May 9
Game 6: Noon - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 30 minutes following game 6
ABOUT WWU SOFTBALL
The WWU softball is in its 34th season in 2026 while coming off a historic 47-13 season in 2025. The Vikings claimed their fourth GNAC title by winning the 2025 postseason tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the seventh time in program history. Playing in the NCAA postseason for the seventh time, WWU won its second consecutive West Regional title defeating Cal State East Bay in the sub-regional and Cal State San Marcos in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the D2 World Series in Chattanooga, Tennessee, reaching the semifinal round (Final Four). WWU has posted a winning record 22 times during the 33-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title. Over the last three seasons the program has combined to go 129-44 (.746).
