HBCU Athletic Conference announces 2026 Softball Preseason All-HBCUAC Team, Ranking
NEW ORLEANS - The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) reveals the 2026 Softball Preseason All-HBCUAC Team and rankings which were voted on by the conference's head softball coaches on Monday.
Nominations were done by the head coaches and points were derived by the order they ranked each athlete and team. Stillman College first baseman Avary Lumpkin garnered Preseason Player of the Year with 53 points. She was an All-HBCUAC First Team Selection and the 2025 HBCUAC Championship Most Valuable Player. She hit .317 and ranked second in the HBCUAC with seven home runs and third with 37 RBI. Her performance helped the Tigers go 15-0 in conference play and 3-0 in the HBCUAC Championship.
Jasmine Wade took home Preseason Pitcher of the Year. She was the 2025 HBCUAC Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-HBCUAC and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Wade led the conference with 12 wins and was third with a 3.26 earned run average. She struck out 57 batters in 113.2 innings. Below is the rest of the All-HBCUAC Team.
C Lily Stone, Stillman: Second Team All-HBCUAC selection, hit .328 with 33 RBI
1B Avary Lumpkin, Stillman
2B Gracie Fjeldstad, Stillman: Played 22 games, recorded nine hits and seven RBI
SS Jordan Howard, Oakwood: 2025 Freshman of the Year, Hit .303, scored 22 runs and drove in 14
3B Mhallayah Picou: Played 20 games, recorded six hits and three RBI
OF Alex Erwin, Stillman: 2025 HBCUAC Newcomer of the Year, ranked third in the HBCUAC with a .412 batting average, ranked fifth with 35 runs and top 10 with 31 RBI
OF Nialah Long, Dillard: Second Team All-HBCUAC, ranked in the top 10 of the HBCUAC with a .392 batting average and 27 RBI
OF Toni Sims, Oakwood: Earned All-Tournament, ranked eighth in the conference with a .581 slugging percentage, hit .337 with 19 runs and 19 RBI
DP Nialah Long, Dillard
UTL Katelyn Lankford, Stillman: 2025 Utility Player of the Year, First Team All-HBCUAC, Hit .304 with 32 RBI
P Jasmine Wade, Stillman
P Leona Joshua, Rust: First Team All-HBCUAC, All-Tournament, Went 7-6 with a 3.53 ERA, struck out 106 in 87.1 innings
P Mary-Elizabeth Landry, Dillard: Went 7-7, ranked in the top 10 of the HBCUAC with 77 strikeouts and a 4.11 earned-run average
The coaches also voted for the Preseason Rankings. The defending champion Stillman College topped the rankings with 64 points and all eight first-place votes. Regular season and postseason runner-up Dillard University followed with 54. Talladega College, which finished third in the regular season, took third with 45. The HBCU Athletic Conference gains two new schools with Huston-Tillotson University joining from the Red River Athletic Conference and Wiley University, which competed as a club team last season, will play its first season in over two decades. The full rankings are below.
1. Stillman College 64 (8)
2. Dillard University 54
3. Talladega College 45
4. Oakwood University 35
5. Rust College 28
Voorhees University
7. Huston-Tillotson University 26
8. Wiley University
Fans can catch all the action on the Urban Edge Network which can be viewed online or downloaded to mobile devices via the free app. The season will culminate with the 2026 HBCUAC Softball Championship which will be played at River Run Park in Northport, Alabama, from April 25-29.
About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.