Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference is officially done with the 2024 softball season, and they released their All-Conference teams. Burlington led the way in the rankings with a 13-1 record and All-Conference nominations with nine.
SEC Player of the Year
Saydee Plummer, Senior: Burlington
First Team
Saydee Plummer, Senior: Burlington
Lilly Hand, Freshman: Burlington
Keirah Wiseman, Junior: Burlington
Kylee Hill, Freshman: Burlington
Gabrielle Ruble, Senior: Fort Madison
Alivia Holmes, Freshman: Fort Madison
Lauryn Helmick, Senior: Fort Madison
Leighton Salazar, Sophomore: Washington
Bella Salazar, Junior: Washington
Suzie Whitaker, Senior: Keokuk
Ada Wood, Junior: Keokuk
Faith Jones, Sophomore: Fairfield
Emma Starr, Senior: Mt. Pleasant
Breakdown
Saydee Plummer led a ranked Burlington squad from the circle and at the plate. She sported a conference best 0.76 ERA and 0.55 WHIP. Her 174 strikeouts were 25 more than Ada Wood’s impressive second place mark of 149. Additionally, she notched 15 wins for the season.
Plummer also took a big step forward on offense with a 0.433 batting average, knocking three home runs and tallying 16 RBIs for the season.
Lilly Hand, who led the team in RBIs, was third in the conference with 32 RBIs. Most impressive was the fact that the freshman only struck out 11 times for the year.
Keirah Wiseman was a speedster on the diamond with 14 steals, which ranked 2nd, and scored 31 runs, which was 6th best. She also hit for average with 0.348 batting average.
Kylee Hill did not quite have the same power surge from the year before but her five home runs ranked 2nd in the conference, while her 0.362 batting average ranked 12th.
Interestingly, Fort Madison finished third in conference with an 8-7 record but had the second most First Team selections.
Gabrielle Ruble had a monster season with a slash line of 0.455/0.525/0.792, which ranked 2nd, 4th, and 1st, respectively. She also led the conference with seven home runs and 11 doubles.
Lauryn Helmick also saw success at the plate with a 0.381 average to go along with her 18 RBIs.
Lastly, Alivia Holmes will cause teams fits for the next couple of years as the freshman had the 6th best batting average in the SEC, 0.398, while bringing home 25 RBIs with a home run. Add in 11 steals and she will be a menace for the Bloodhounds for years to come.
The Salazar’s led Washington to a Class 3A top 15 ranking for the entire season and stood out in the conference rankings.
Bella Salazar had the 4th best ERA in the SEC, sitting at 2.67, and tossed 100 strikeouts on the season with 13 wins, which ranked 2nd in the conference.
Isabella Salazar followed up a co-SEC Player of the Year award last season with an almost identical statistical season for her sophomore campaign. She led the conference with a 0.524 average, brought home 29 runs on 10 doubles, scored 54 runs, and stole a conference best 36 steals—that was 22 more than second place.
Keokuk finished with a 7-8 conference record and Ada Wood would have made a great case for bringing home a pitching award. The junior finished with a 3.26 ERA, 5th in the SEC, with 149 strikeouts, which ranked 2nd in the conference. She also batted 0.430 with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
Suzie Whitaker batted 0.385 and scored 27 runs, both ranked in the top 10 of the SEC.
Faith Jones led the Trojans to a 4-11 conference record with the best batting average on the team at 0.340. She also brought home 18 RBIs, while committing only three errors on the season.
Lastly, Emma Starr finished her Mt. Pleasant career with a First Team All-Conference nod. Starr ended the season with a 0.341 average, nine RBIs, two triples, and a team leading seven doubles along with the team’s only home run.
Second Team
Madison Taeger, Senior: Burlington
Ava Bradenburg, 8th Grade: Burlington
Ava Fawcett, Freshman: Burlington
Ella Greiner, Junior: Washington
Alyvia Anderson, Junior: Washington
Colbie Greiner, Freshman: Washington
Brylie Lorence, Junior: Fort Madison
Elizabeth Tanner, Senior: Fort Madison
Savannah Hollander, Senior: Fairfield
Gracie Thompson, Junior: Keokuk
Keagyn Coleman, Freshman: Mt. Pleasant
Honorable Mentions
Burlington: Sophie Brown and Gemma Plummer.
Washington: Kendall Hinrichsen and Emery Walton.
Fort Madison: Taylor Johnson and Olivia Buckner.
Keokuk: Kylie Sisk and Kenadi Ames.
Mt. Pleasant: Lila Cook and Myah Starr.
Fairfield: Laney Norris and Olivia Hollander.
Academic All-Conference
Player Team
Sophie Brown Burlington
Madison Taeger Burlington
Keirah Wiseman Burlington
Saydee Plummer Burlington
Lilly Bergren Fairfield
Laney Norris Fairfield
Olivia Hollander Fairfield
Kenna Haynes Fairfield
Gabrielle Ruble Fort Madison
Katelyn Sissel Fort Madison
Lauryn Helmick Fort Madison
Taylor Johnson Fort Madison
Olivia Buckner Fort Madison
Ava Taylor Fort Madison
Taylor Huffman Fort Madison
Elizabeth Tanner Fort Madison
Brylie Lorence Fort Madison
Lexi Whaley Fort Madison
Suzie Whitaker Keokuk
Ada Wood Keokuk
Gracie Thompson Keokuk
Destiny Tedrow Keokuk
Macy Jones Mt. Pleasant
Emma Starr Mt. Pleasant
Alyvia Anderson Washington
Halle Cuddeback Washington
Ella Greiner Washington
Kendall Hinrichsen Washington
Lauren Hinrichsen Washington
Isabella Salazar Washington
Rylee Libe Washington
Brylie Lorence Fort Madison