2026 CSC Academic All-District Softball Teams

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team had five Spartans named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly CoSIDA, Academic All-District® team for softball, announced by the organization on Tuesday.
 
To be eligible, nominated student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average in their second year at the current institution and must have played in at least 90 percent of the team's games or start in 66 percent of the team's games.
 
Senior Salem Ward earned her third recognition, while classmates Rhyann Jones earned her second and Rylie Williams picked up her first. Nya South and Hadley Gardner received their first awards from the organization.
 
UNCG's five honorees brought The Southern Conference (SoCon) total to 29 awardees. Five were from Chattanooga, five from Furman, five from Mercer, five from Western Carolina and four from Wofford.
 
Salem Ward
Kinesiology
Senior | P/UT | Lexington, North Carolina

• 3x CSC Academic All-District® team (2024, 2025, 2026)
• Preseason All-SoCon Second Team (2026)
• Was a dual threat at the plate and in the circle this season for the Spartans
• Made 16 game starts with 27 appearances in the circle this season
• In 97.1 innings tossed this season, she struck out 47 batters
• Had a career best 2.52 ERA this season
• Went 11-7 in the circle with two saves, bringing her career record to 40-25 with eight saves
• Had career-best numbers in at-bats (65), hits (22), runs scored (8), doubles (4), triple (1), total bases (31), walks (5) and RBI (16)

Rhyann Jones
Gerontology, Social Work
Senior | P | Daleville, Virginia

• CSC Academic All-District® team (2024, 2026)
• SoCon All-Conference Second Team (2026)
• Had 20 starts with 24 total appearances in the circle
• In 92.2 innings pitched, she had a 2.64 ERA, the second lowest, and 47 strikeouts, the second most in her collegiate career
• Had career best numbers in hits allowed (87), runs given up (45), earned runs (35) and walks (22)
• Went 7-5 overall this season, bringing her career record to 23-13
• Among the SoCon, she is ranked first in walks allowed per seven innings (1.66), third in WHIP (1.18), and fourth in ERA and games started

Rylie Williams
Speech Pathology & Audiology
Senior | OF | Autryville, North Carolina

• CSC Academic All-District® team (2026)
• SoCon All-Conference Second Team (2026)
• Started in 47 games this season, while playing in 56 total
• Had eight multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games this season
• Had 68 total chances with 49 put outs, 17 assists and just two errors for a .971 fielding percentage
• Saw career numbers in batting average (.294), on-base percentage (.359), walks (8), runs (25), hits (37), doubles (5), triples (1), total bases (56), and RBI (28)

Nya South
Marketing, Accounting & Finance
Junior | INF | Sanford, North Carolina

• CSC Academic All-District® team (2026)
• NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Second Team (2026)
• SoCon All-Conference Second Team (2026)
• SoCon Player of the Week (April 27)
• Started in 59 games this season, while playing in 61 total
• Had 15 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games this season
• Saw career numbers in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.741), at-bats (162), runs scored (32), hits (60), doubles (9), total bases (120), home runs (17), walks (41), RBI (52)
• Among the SoCon, ranked first in walks and walks per game, second in homers and slugging percentage, third in home runs per game (.28) and on-base percentage, fourth in sacrifice flies and fifth in total bases

Hadley Gardner
Sociology
Sophomore | OF | Winchester, Tennessee

• CSC Academic All-District® team (2026)
• Preseason All-SoCon Second Team (2026)
• Started in 54 games this season, while playing in 55 total
• Had eight multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games this season
• At the plate, she went 36-for-150 (.240) with a .380 on-base percentage
• Tallied a career-best 10 doubles this season
• Had 78 put outs with seven assists and 91 total chances in the outfield this season

The 2026 Academic All-District® Softball Team, announced by CSC, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. First, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in mid-June.
 
UNCG concluded the 2026 season with the program's fourth 40-plus win season and second time with Head Coach Janelle Breneman at the helm. Team 41 earned its fourth SoCon sweep (2018, 2021, 2023, 2026) by earning its seventh Regular Season Title and fourth SoCon Championship. This is the first sweep since 2023. The Spartans won every SoCon series this season, accomplishing the feat for the first time since 2022. The Spartans also had an impressive 18 shutouts this season, the most since 2000 when UNCG had 19. The Spartans punched their fifth NCAA Tournament ticket after claiming the SoCon Championship and went on to win their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a 1-0 win over Clemson.
 
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