SAN BRUNO, Calif. – West Coast Conference champion Saint Mary's, picked up two major awards as the softball all-conference teams, all-freshman team and major awards were announced Tuesday.
Sonja Garnett was voted the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, while Odhi Vasquez was tabbed the Pitcher of the Year. The major award winners were spread out throughout the league as Jaeya Butler from Oregon State claimed Player of the Year, Avery Francis from LMU won Defensive Player of the Year and Santa Clara pitcher Ellison Schroeder won Freshman of the Year.
All five major individual awards, along with the all-conference teams and the all-freshman team, were both nominated and voted on solely by the league’s seven head coaches. The West Coast Conference recognizes a 12-member first and second team, and a nine-member All-Freshman Team.
Garnett has won Coach of the Year for the second time in the last three years as she prepares her Gaels for the NCAA Tournament later this week. Under her guidance, Saint Mary's has won at least a share of the last three consecutive conference championships. History has already been made this season for the Gaels with program records set for total wins (40), most wins in conference games (15) and longest win streak in program history (12). The Gaels will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history and second time in the last three years.
A constant standout in the circle all year and throughout her career with the Gaels, Vasquez delivered in the championship-clinching contest over Santa Clara last Friday. She led the league in numerous categories including ERA (2.36), wins (19), strikeouts (141) and saves (7). No stranger to conference awards, Vasquez won Pitcher of the Year in 2024 and this season she won Pitcher of the Week five times.
Butler earns Oregon State's first softball major award during the program's two-year stint in the conference. Butler was a force all year at the plate, leading the league in home runs (23) and RBI (61). A three-time Player of the Week award winner, Butler also ranks tied for 10th nationally in home runs and 11th in total bases (157). She collected multi-home run performances three times during the season and 23 multi-hit games, including one four-hit performance and four games with three hits.
The future looks bright for Santa Clara softball with Schroeder in the circle. The freshman standout ranked fourth in the league in ERA (2.66), tied for fourth in wins (11) and tied for third in saves (3). Schroeder came up clutch for the Broncos in the second-to-last series of the season at Seattle U, earning a key win over the Redhawks to keep the Broncos in the hunt for the conference title. She also hung in tough in the championship-deciding series against Saint Mary's. This is the second straight year a Bronco pitcher has won Freshman of the Year after Cari Ferguson won it last year.
Francis fielded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in the field in 2026. She produced 96 putouts with six assists and two double plays. Francis was also strong at the plate, leading the league in batting average (.433) along with a league-best 32 stolen bases. Francis becomes the second Lion to win Defensive Player of the Year since Maddison Flores won it in 2018.
Saint Mary's and LMU garnered the most first-team members with four each. Santa Clara, Oregon State, Pacific and Seattle U each garnered one all-conference first-team honoree.
Overall, there were four repeat all-conference selections from a year ago - Vasquez, Sam Buckley (Saint Mary's), Izzy Jamgotchian (LMU) and Olivia Silvestre (Pacific). Jamgotchian earned first-team honors for the fourth year in a row and this year marks the third year in a row that Buckley picked up all-conference first-team accolades. This is also the fourth year that Vasquez has earned All-West Coast Conference recognition.
West Coast Conference Major Awards
| COACH OF THE YEAR |
| Sonja Garnett |
Saint Mary's |
| PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Jaeya Butler |
Oregon State |
Jr. |
| DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Avery Francis |
LMU |
Jr. |
| PITCHER OF THE YEAR |
| Odhi Vasquez |
Saint Mary's |
Sr. |
| FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR |
| Ellison Schroeder |
Santa Clara |
P |
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POSITION |
YEAR |
| Sam Buckley |
Saint Mary's |
INF |
Jr. |
| Jaeya Butler |
Oregon State |
INF |
Jr. |
| Alex Cutonilli |
Saint Mary's |
INF |
Jr. |
| Hannah Ferguson |
Saint Mary's |
OF |
Jr. |
| Avery Francis |
LMU |
OF |
Jr. |
| Izzy Jamgotchian |
LMU |
C |
Sr. |
| Justine Lambert |
LMU |
UTL |
Jr. |
| Rubi Lopez |
LMU |
UTL |
Fr. |
| Avari Morris |
Seattle U |
P |
Jr. |
| Rebecca Rubio |
Santa Clara |
UTL |
Jr. |
| Olivia Silvestre |
Pacific |
OF |
Sr. |
| Odhi Vasquez |
Saint Mary's |
P |
Sr. |
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POSITION |
YEAR |
| Braxton Brown |
Saint Mary's |
P/INF |
Jr. |
| Victoria Castillo |
Saint Mary's |
UTL |
Sr. |
| Taryn Clements |
Santa Clara |
C |
Jr. |
| Cairah Curran |
Santa Clara |
UTL |
Jr. |
| Cari Ferguson |
Santa Clara |
P |
So. |
| Taylor Fitch |
Seattle U |
INF |
Sr. |
| Morgan Howey |
Oregon State |
OF |
Sr. |
| Lindsay O'Dell |
LMU |
P |
Sr. |
| Sara Pinedo |
LMU |
P |
Fr. |
| Ellison Schroeder |
Santa Clara |
P |
Fr. |
| Ava Sin |
Seattle U |
C |
Sr. |
| Taelor Walker |
LMU |
UTL |
Fr. |
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POSITION |
| Mya Allen |
LMU |
OF |
| Abrielle Diaz |
San Diego |
INF |
| Kaia Galaviz |
Seattle U |
P |
| Camryn Gordon |
Oregon State |
INF |
| Mya Harrison |
Oregon State |
OF |
| Madeline Haun |
Saint Mary's |
P |
| Rubi Lopez |
LMU |
UTL |
| Ellison Schroeder |
Santa Clara |
P |
| Taelor Walker |
LMU |
UTL |
HONORABLE MENTION
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Robynn Balmediano |
Santa Clara |
| Kaitlyn Bartlow |
San Diego |
| Allie Capello |
Pacific |
| Kaia Galaviz |
Seattle U |
| Madeline Haun |
Saint Mary's |
| Taylor Johnson |
San Diego |
| Camille Lara |
Saint Mary's |
| Jada Lewis |
Oregon State |
| Mikee Morris |
Seattle U |
| Karen Spadofora |
Seattle U |
| Tristian Thompson |
Oregon State |
| Berkley Vance |
Seattle U |
| Kaitlyn Wynia |
San Diego |