Mt. Pleasant, IA- Washington still has some softball left to play after the Demons knocked off Assumption in the Regional Championship to earn the #7-seed in the Class 3A state tournament. Along the way, Washington earned their first outright SEC title since 2013.
SEC Player of the Year
There was little question on who was going to come away with Player of the Year honors as Leighton Salazar, a junior, led the conference in batting average at 0.530, on-base percentage, doubles (15), and steals with 53.
Add in a fielding percentage of 0.911 and her reliable glove proved to be more than enough to present her with the honor.
Washington
Isabella Salazar joined Leighton on the 1st Team along with Ella and Colbie Greiner and Alyvia Anderson. Isabella is the ace for the Demon team, collecting a 15-3 record on the season, holding teams to an opponent batting average of 0.255 with a 2.66 ERA on 95 strikeouts.
Colbie attracted seven wins on a 5.38 ERA with 92 strikeouts in only 65 innings of work. She also batted 0.407 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 39 RBIs. Ella could slug herself with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 45 RBIs, while providing some patience at the plate with a conference-leading 22 walks.
Anderson clubbed two home runs for 30 RBIs as her 0.358 batting average ranked 16th in the SEC.
Halle Cuddeback, a senior, was the lone 2nd Team honoree as knocked home 16 runs with 10 doubles and a home run.
Makenzie Messer and Natalie Hartman grabbed spots on the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.
Fairfield
The Trojans completely reversed fortunes from their 2024 form to 2025, going from 4-11 in conference last year to 11-4 this year and finishing in second place. Additionally, after a two-year hiatus, Fairfield got back to their 20-win season ways.
A big reason for that success was their trio of 1st Team members: Olivia Hollander, Leah Helmick, and Lilly Bergren. Helmick destroyed the ball with five home runs and 14 doubles on her way to lead the conference with 50 RBIs. Helmick also brought home 12 wins in the circle with a 3.73 ERA.
Lilly Bergren held sneaky power with four home runs and two triples as she knocked in 29 runs. Lastly, Hollander hit for a 0.453 average and worked 21 walks to finish the year with a 0.567 on-base percentage.
Faith Jones, who batted 0.310, and Laney Norris, who touted 25 RBIs, were named to the 2nd Team and Haylee Eklund and Emma Septer were Honorable Mentions.
Burlington
After two consecutive seasons of finishing atop the conference standings, the Grayhounds found themselves taking home an 8-7 record in the SEC and a 13-14 mark for the season. The squad did have three members bat over 0.400 for the season, including two members of the 1st Team.
Kierah Wiseman finished the year with a 0.430 batting average with a 0.521 on-base percentage, bringing home 11 runs with two triples. Ava Brandenburg had the 9th-best batting average, while collecting 24 RBIs with five doubles.
Bricelyn Patton, who finished right behind Brandenburg with a 0.410 batting average, was the sole member of the 2nd Team for Burlington. Sophie Brown and Lilly Hand made the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.
Fort Madison
The Bloodhounds advanced past the first round of the postseason, defeating Keokuk to do so, and finished with an overall record of 13-15 with a 7-8 conference record.
Brylie Lorence slugged her way onto the 1st Team with a conference leading 14 home runs, which also ranked 7th in Class 4A. Her 1.070 slugging percentage ranked 2nd in the class as she brought in 49 runs with another nine doubles.
Kylie Lumino, Laci Gathers, and Jordyn Marshall all earned spots on the 2nd Team, while Lucia Darnell and Emma Snaadt were placed on the Honorable Mention list.
Mt. Pleasant
For the first time since 2019, the Panthers finished outside of last in the SEC standings with a 3-12 mark and 6-30 overall record. They got there by ending two 15-plus win streaks against them by beating Fort Madison and Burlington—a 4-0 shutout, which was their first shutout since 2021—and a victory over Keokuk. Amazingly, all those wins were on the road.
Mt. Pleasant had Saige Burchett and Keagyn Coleman earn spots on the All-SEC 2nd Team. Coleman led the team with 20 RBIs as the sophomore finished the season batting above 0.300 and tossed out five runners from behind the plate. Burchett’s return to the diamond was gradual, but eventually the power returned as she slugged six doubles and rallied in 17 runs on a 0.267 batting average.
Parker Coleman, an 8th grader, and Izzy Sloat, a freshman, were named All-SEC Honorable Mentions for the Panthers.
Keokuk
The Chiefs fell hard back to earth after going 8-7 in conference last year to finishing in last place with a 2-13 SEC record with an overall record of 3-30.
Ada Wood finished on the 1st Team with a slash line of 0.456/0.515/0.644, which all ranked within the top six of the conference. Wood collected 16 RBIs with 13 doubles and two triples.
Kylie Sisk’s 0.312 batting average was good enough to get her on the 1st Team with a home run and 12 RBIs.
Gracie Thompson earned a spot on the 2nd Team and Suzie Whittaker and Kenadi Ames grabbed a spot on the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.
Full List
1st Team
Ava Brandenburg 9 Burlington
Keirah Wiseman 12 Burlington
Lilly Bergren 12 Fairfield
Olivia Hollander 12 Fairfield
Leah Helmick 10 Fairfield
Brylie Lorence 12 Fort Madison
Ada Wood 12 Keokuk
Kylie Sisk 11 Keokuk
Leighton Salazar 11 Washington
Isabella Salazar 12 Washington
Ella Greiner 12 Washington
Colbie Greiner 10 Washington
Alyvia Anderson 12 Washington
2nd Team
Bricelyn Patton 9 Burlington
Faith Jones 11 Fairfield
Laney Norris 12 Fairfield
Kylie Lumino 10 Fort Madison
Laci Gathers 12 Fort Madison
Jordyn Marshall 9 Fort Madison
Gracie Thompson 12 Keokuk
Saige Burchett 11 Mount Pleasant
Keagyn Coleman 10 Mount Pleasant
Halle Cuddeback 12 Washington
Honorable Mention
Sophie Brown 12 Burlington
Lilly Hand 11 Burlington
Haylee Eklund 9 Fairfield
Emma Septer 11 Fairfield
Lucia Darnell 8 Fort Madison
Emma Snaadt 10 Fort Madison
Suzie Whittaker 12 Keokuk
Kenadi Ames 11 Keokuk
Parker Coleman 8 Mount Pleasant
Izzy Sloat 9 Mount Pleasant
Makenzie Messer 9 Washington
Natalie Hartman 9 Washington
All-Conference Academic
Sophie Brown Burlington
Keirah Wiseman Burlington
Emmelia Miller Fairfield
Caroline Van Pelt Fairfield
Maddy Martin Fairfield
Faith Jones Fairfield
Emma Septer Fairfield
Lilly Bergren Fairfield
Laney Norris Fairfield
Olivia Hollander Fairfield
Kaitlyn Sissel Fort Madison
Olivia Buckner Fort Madison
Ava Taylor Fort Madison
Taylor Huffman Fort Madison
Laci Gathers Fort Madison
Brylie Lorence Fort Madison
Bella Crew Keokuk
Kylie Sisk Keokuk
Destiny Tedrow Keokuk
Gracie Thompson Keokuk
Suzie Whitaker Keokuk
Saige Burchett Mt. Pleasant
Leighton Salazar Washington
Alyvia Anderson Washington
Halle Cuddeback Washington
Ella Greiner Washington
Isabella Salazar Washington