The Big South Softball Tournament championship game was played in front of more than 500 fans at the Presbyterian College softball complex. The Saturday noon game came just hours after PC’s Commencement on the Vance Lawn in front of Neville Hall. PC Softball did not qualify for the tournament.
By USC Upstate Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The anticipation of continuing the journey of USC Upstate Softball has officially been announced by the NCAA during the 2025 Softball Selection Show where the Spartans will stay in-state traveling to Clemson to begin the road to the Women's College World Series.
During USC Upstate's Division I era of making trips to the NCAA Regionals, Upstate Softball have been to the Tuscaloosa Regional four times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2024), Auburn Regional (2016), and the Knoxville Regional (2017). As the Spartans make another trip to the NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive year, Upstate will stay in-state heading to the Clemson Regional opening play against No. 11 Clemson University on Friday, May 16th.
USC Upstate Softball had another historic season coming into the year as the reigning Big South Tournament Champions, adding another 30-win season, finishing with eight all-conference players (six first team, two second team), having a Co-Freshman of the Year, being ranked #1 in the NCAA with the #1 batting average on February 24, 2025, and being ranked top-10 in the NCAA for total stolen bases (150). The Spartans followed with 39-14 record (10-8 Big South) going into the 2025 Big South Softball Championships as the No. 3 seed and sweeping through all three games played ultimately resulting in capturing the 2025 Big South Softball Championship with a 7-4 win over No. 4 seed Winthrop. Junior Pitcher, Maddie Drerup dominated in the circle with two wins against Longwood and Winthrop striking out a combined 10 batters while only surrendering five runs to win Tournament MVP.
USC Upstate enters the Clemson Regional joined by Northwestern (29-18-1), University of Kentucky (29-26), and host No. 11 seed Clemson University (44-12). USC Upstate enters as the No. 4 seed in the Clemson Regional taking on the Tigers who happened to be the team to eliminate Upstate in the 2024 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
Clemson University will host the third time in four years after winning their ACC Tournament Championship for the first time in program history with the dates taking place of May 16-May 18th. The winner of the Clemson Regional will advance to the best of three NCAA Super Regional against the winner of the Austin Regional.
Northwestern secured an at-large bid to NCAA Regionals making it their first postseason trip to and second trip ever to Clemson.
The lone SEC Opponent, University of Kentucky makes their 16th straight NCAA Tournament Appearance earning an at-large bid. The Wildcats enter as the No. 2 seed and take on Northwestern on Friday, May 16th at 2:00 P.M. EST.
NCAA Clemson Regional begins at McWhorter Stadium May 16th with Northwestern taking on Kentucky at 2:00 P.M. on ESPN+ followed by USC Upstate battling No. 11 seed Clemson University on the ACC Network. The format will be double elimination with the loser's bracket games beginning Saturday, May 17th.
Tickets for the Clemson Regional for the general public are expected to go live Wednesday, May 14th at 10:00 A.M.
By USC Upstate Athletics
CLINTON, S.C. - USC Upstate Softball came into Saturday morning with a goal to get the job done with their eyes on claiming the trophy in the 2025 Big South Softball Championship game against No. 4 seed, Winthrop University. From a storytelling perspective, the stage was set for a 2024 Big South Conference Tournament rematch with Upstate needing one win and Winthrop needing two wins. USC Upstate swept their way through the 2025 Big South Softball Championships with a 7-4 victory over Winthrop to punch their ticket to NCAA Regionals.
The Spartans came in hot with a lead off double from Denver Lauer and Alanna Deal being walked to first. Through the chilly winds, the bats were hot as Sophia Kardatzke drove in the first run with an RBI single. With zero outs still on the board, Carson Shaw followed with a hit past the infield with Kardatzke and Lauer sprinting home increasing Upstate's lead to 3-0.
The scoring continued with Abigail Pippen reaching first with a bunt that resulted in a fielding error to get her on base safely while Carson Shaw made her way to home plate for the fourth run. With a base hit from Abby Polk and a sacrifice bunt from Emily Stern, a groundout to first took the attention away from Pippen advancing home. The hot inning added a sixth run was driven in with another fielding error on Winthrop and Abby Polk sprinting home for a 6-0 lead.
Maddie Drerup entered the circle focused as ever striking out a batter while keeping the Eagles scoreless through two innings. Upstate entered the bottom of the third inning motivated to continue their offensive firepower which displayed with Liza Simmerson knocking a two-out double to left field driving in another run for a 7-1 lead. The Eagles began to push for a late rally with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and two hits in the of the seventh resulting in a groundout that advanced a run home.
As Winthrop looked for one last opportunity down three runs, a foul ball to left field was caught by Amie Johnson for the final out sealing the deal as the 2025 Conference Tournament Champions.
With the win over Winthrop to secure another conference championship, Upstate Softball punched their ticket with an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Following the game, Emily Stern, Alanna Deal, Carson Shaw, and Maddie Drerup were named to the All-Tournament Team. With Maddie Drerup gaining two wins in the circle through the 2025 Big South Softball Conference Championships against Longwood and Winthrop, Drerup was named the tournament MVP.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Maddie Drerup, USC Upstate (MVP)
Alanna Deal, USC Upstate
Carson Shaw, USC Upstate
Emily Stern, USC Upstate
Megan Powell, Winthrop
Lonna Addison, Winthrop
Emma Jackson, Winthrop
Rachel Smith, Radford
Morgan Cooper, Radford
Avery Drake, Longwood
Maryanna Guy, Longwood
The Spartans have officially punched their ticket in the NCAA Regionals. Information for Regionals is scheduled to be released Sunday, May 11th at 7:00 P.M. following the NCAA Softball Selection Show.
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT IN CLINTON here.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Winthrop senior designated player Megan Powell (Eden, N.C.) and Radford freshman Dakota Redmon (Stokesdale, N.C.) have been voted Big South Softball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this afternoon. Redmon and USC Upstate’s Sophia Kardatzke (Jacksonville, Fla.) shared Freshman of the Year honors, Winthrop’s Tia Beckham (Greenville, S.C.) earned Newcomer of the Year honors, and Radford head coach Kevin Fagan was voted Big South Coach of the Year. Radford’s Cassi Barbato (Milford, Conn.) was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s sports information directors.
Powell is the first Eagle to be voted Big South Player of the Year since 2009. One of the top hitters and pitchers in the conference, Powell completed the regular-season with a team-best .317 batting average while hitting nine home runs, driving in 32, slugging .568 and recording a .418 on-base percentage. During the 18-game Big South season, Powell ranked fourth in the league with a .373 hitting clip, was tops with a .492 on-base average and sixth with a .642 slugging percentage. In the circle, Powell was 14-11 with a 2.16 earned run average (second overall in the Big South) with 116 strikeouts in 146.0 innings pitched. Her .197 batting average allowed also ranked second in the league, and she was first in batters struck out looking (53), and second in fewest hits allowed per game (5.18). A three-time Big South Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2025, Powell went 7-4 with a 1.77 ERA in conference games to earn her second consecutive First-Team All-Conference honor. Powell collected three first-place votes and 13 points in the Player of the Year voting and finished ahead of Radford’s Rachel Smith (two first-place votes and nine points) and USC Upstate’s Taliyah Thomas (one first-place vote and eight points) for the league’s top honor.
Redmon is the second player in Big South history to be voted Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season. She is also Radford’s first Pitcher of the Year honoree since 2012, and the Highlanders’ first Freshman of the Year selection since 2009. Named a Top 25 Finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award, Redmon was Radford’s ace this season as she went 16-8 overall with league bests of 123 strikeouts and 19 complete games, plus a 2.45 ERA in a league-high 166.0 innings pitched. A three-time Big South Pitcher of the Week and Freshman of the Week honoree this season, Dedmon was the league’s top pitcher during the conference campaign with a 9-2 mark and 1.44 ERA, as well as first during the Big South season in wins, innings pitched (78.0), strikeouts (55), batting average against (.186). She completed all 11 of her league starts. Redmon received the maximum six first-place votes and 18 points in the Pitcher of the Year voting, ahead of USC Upstate’s Sierra Maness (12 points and the remaining first-place vote), and Winthrop’s Powell (nine points).
Kardatzke, Upstate’s first Big South Freshman of the Year since 2021, is also a Top 25 Finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award, and was a seven-time Big South Freshman of the Week honoree in 2025. She paced the conference in overall batting average with a .393 clip as well as her 66 hits. In addition, she had 54 runs scored, a league-high 13 home runs, was fourth with 14 doubles, second with 49 RBI, stole 20 bases and amassed 122 total bases for a Big South-leading .726 slugging average. Kardatzke hit .339 in 18 Big South games with six home runs, 18 runs scored, 20 RBI, 40 total bases and a .645 slugging percentage. In Freshman of the Year balloting, Redmon and Kardatzke tied with three first-place votes and 15 points each.
Beckham is the second Big South Softball Newcomer of the Year, which was added in 2024 to recognize the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time. She finished the regular-season as Winthrop’s leader and ranking among the conference’s Top 10 with 37 RBI (fourth in the Big South), .586 slugging percentage (fourth), 82 total bases (fifth), 11 doubles (tied-sixth) and 10 home runs (third). Beckham had nine multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games, in addition to hitting .356 with runners in scoring position. She hit .302 against Big South opponents with four home runs, 18 RBI and a .642 slugging mark. Beckham also batted .286 with 4 runs, 2 doubles, 2 HR and 8 RBI vs. the four other teams that qualified for the conference tournament. In Newcomer of the Year voting, Beckham received five first-place votes and 11 points, ahead of Longwood’s Morgan Strickland and Radford’s Isabel Harrison, who each finished with five points and one first-place vote.
Fagan earns Big South Coach of the Year honors in his first season leading the Highlanders, which featured the program’s first outright Big South regular-season championship since 2012 and the No. 1 seed in this week’s conference tournament. Fagan guided Radford to a 14-4 league record -- the school’s most Big South wins since 2014 (14 wins) and doubling last year’s conference win total -- as well as winning all six conference series, two of which were 3-0 sweeps. Radford’s 29 overall victories is its most since 2018 (36), and featured non-conference wins over notable programs Louisville, East Carolina, Charlotte and Campbell. In conference games, Radford had the top ERA (1.79), fielding percentage (.971), opponent batting average allowed (.193), innings pitched (125.0), fewest hits allowed and per game (88, 4.93) and fewest runs allowed (38). Fagan collected the maximum six first-place votes and 18 points in the voting, ahead of Longwood head coach Dr. Megan Brown (11 points, remaining first-place vote) and Charleston Southern’s Christi Musser and USC Upstate’s Chris Hawkins, who tied with five points each.
Barbato is the Highlanders’ first Big South Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient since 2021. The All-Conference infielder is a 4.0 student studying Exercise, Sport and Health Education. Barbato finished the regular-season with a .280 batting average, 10 doubles and 19 RBI, along with more walks (12) than strikeouts (8).
The conference also announced the 2025 All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Academic teams, which are listed below. The All-Conference and All-Freshman teams are voted on by the head coaches, while the All-Academic Team consists of one student-athlete from each institution that meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the league’s sports information directors.
2025 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE SOFTBALL AWARD WINNERS
First-Team All-Conference
OF – Taliyah Thomas, Jr., USC Upstate
OF - Denver Lauer, Sr., USC Upstate
OF – Grace Bechtol, Soph., Radford
1B – Carson Shaw, Jr., USC Upstate
2B – Cassi Barbato, Sr., Radford
SS – Abby Polk, Soph., USC Upstate
3B – Charlee Yourman, Jr., Charleston Southern
C – Brooke Bennett, Fr., Longwood
P – Dakota Redmon, Fr., Radford
P – Sierra Maness, Soph., USC Upstate
DP – Megan Powell, Sr., Winthrop
DP – Sophia Kardatzke, Fr., USC Upstate
UTL – Carsten Sandvig, Soph., Charleston Southern
Second-Team All-Conference
OF – Weslin Jones, Sr., Charleston Southern
OF – Amie Johnson, Jr., USC Upstate
OF – Tia Beckham, Soph. Winthrop
1B – Kendall Owens, Sr., Presbyterian
2B – Avery Jefferson, R-Fr., Longwood
SS – Rachel Smith, Sr., Radford
3B – Alanna Deal, Sr., USC Upstate
C – Kelley Feigen, Soph., Radford
P – Morgan Cooper, Soph., Radford
P – Er’ron Burton, Sr., Longwood
DP – Maryanna Guy, R-Soph., Longwood
UTL - Kasey Wolfe, Soph., Presbyterian
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Avery Drake, OF, Gr., Longwood
Jordyn Dimond, OF, Soph., Charleston Southern
Sophia Pisacano, OF, Fr., Longwood
Trina Van Dyke, OF, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Mallory Fletcher, OF, Sr., Presbyterian
All-Freshman Team
Dakota Redmon, P, Radford
Sophia Kardatzke, DP, USC Upstate
Brooke Bennett, C, Longwood
Baxleigh Arnette, SS, Presbyterian
Lauren Spainhower, OF, Gardner-Webb
Sophia Pisacano, OF, Longwood
Katie Beck, OF, Winthrop
All-Academic Team
Blakley Kingsmore, Charleston Southern
Araceli Pesqueira, Gardner-Webb
Maggie Chapin, Longwood
Peyton Duncan, Presbyterian
Cassi Barbato, Radford
Amie Johnson, USC Upstate
Grayson Buckner, Winthrop
Player of the Year
Megan Powell, DP/P, Winthrop
Pitcher of the Year
Dakota Redmon, Radford
Newcomer of the Year
Tia Beckham, OF, Winthrop
Co-Freshman of the Year
Dakota Redmon, P, Radford
Sophia Kardatzke, DP, USC Upstate
Coach of the Year
Kevin Fagan, Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Cassi Barbato, Radford
BLUE HOSE ALL_CONFERENCE
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A collection of five Presbyterian College softball players were included on the 2025 postseason roundup from the Big South Conference, formally announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior slugger Kendall Owens grabbed her first all-conference award by landing a spot on the All-Big South second team, as did sophomore utility Kasey Wolfe who snared an all-league pick for the second straight year.
In addition, Mallory Fletcher earned a shoutout on the "Honorable Mention" tab, while rookie shortstop Baxleigh Arnette made the cut on the Big South All-Freshman squad.
Junior pitcher Peyton Duncan was PC's representative on the All-Academic team (taking one student-athlete per school). This is Presby's largest batch of all-conference accolades since they bolstered six selections in 2022.
Throughout his seven-year stint as the head coach of the Blue Hose, David Williams has directed 13 different players to All-Big South status. Three of the four all-leaguers this season are first-time honorees.
KENDALL OWENS | Sr. | 1B
All-Big South Second Team
- Spending her last three seasons in Clinton after transferring from Mercer, Owens remained one of the most powerful hitters on PC's lineup and never missed a start in all 50 games as a senior.
- Her .458 on-base percentage, 15 doubles, and 25 walks are all the most of any player in the division this spring, going for 51 hits and 28 RBI during her final campaign in the blue and garnet.
- The Virginia native batted .359 in 142 plate appearances, striking out only 14 times and earning the fifth-best average over a single season in school history.
- Owens scattered 17 multi-hit efforts (including a combined nine knocks versus Norfolk State, Queens, and USC Upstate), named the Big South Player of the Week on March 17 after batting a filthy .620 in a 10-game stretch.
- She logged four home runs in year four – giving her nine longballs since 2023 – with the last homer of her career coming in a Game 2 victory against the Spartans which aided PC's first-ever series W over their in-state rivals.
KASEY WOLFE | So. | UTL
All-Big South Second Team
- Ranked as the 15th-best utility/pitcher dual threat player in America by D1Softball prior to the start of the season, Wolfe delivered a solid encore to a phenomenal freshman year by repeating an all-conference second team membership.
- Dividing her starts between pitcher, third base, and DP (but playing in all 50 games nonetheless), Wolfe matched Owens with 28 RBI offensively and totaled 48 hits along with 14 extra-base swings.
- She led all players on the roster with six dingers, also drawing 24 walks for a .424 OBP. The Spartanburg product accounted for at least two hits against 14 opponents, notching a 10-game hitting streak in March with a .500 BA over that time.
- Claiming her fourth career weekly award from the Big South in the non-conference portion of the schedule, Wolfe walked-off Wofford at home for the second consecutive season and put forth arguably her best-ever performance in a win over Furman.
- Versus the Paladins, she went 3-of-4 at the plate and hoisted up four RBI while finishing a triple short of the cycle. As if that wasn't enough, she also pitched the full seven innings on that day and held Furman to a single hit.
- Wolfe won five contests in the circle as a sophomore, leading all players in the conference with three saves. She tossed 102 innings and sent in 61 strikeouts, with another defensive highlight occurring in February where she threw eight frames against Cleveland State with zero earned runs.
MALLORY FLETCHER | Sr. | OF
All-Big South Honorable Mention
- Hanging up her Presbyterian jersey with an all-league mention as her final bow, Fletcher posted career-best numbers on the way out by reaching a .324 average (third on the club) and a team-high 30 runs-batted-in.
- The Georgia native is one of just 10 players in the Big South to have at least 30 RBI, batting .345 against divisional foes and witnessing more hits in league territory than any other teammate (19).
- Fletcher doubled 10 times as a senior and cleared the fence entirely on four occasions, blasting a home run against Northern Kentucky, Valparaiso, and North Carolina A&T twice.
- Red-hot out of the gates thanks to a .447 BA in the season's first 15 games, Mallory was responsible for an impressive eight RBI over a three-game window during non-conference action.
- She wraps up her Blue Hose career with 23 doubles and eight home runs, three-year totals after spending her freshman campaign at Georgia State. Fletcher slugged .486 in 2025 alone, scoring 18 of her 37 runs this semester.
BAXLEIGH ARNETTE | Fr. | SS
Big South All-Freshman Team
- Following in Wolfe's footsteps to denote a PC player on the Big South All-Freshman squad in back-to-back years, Arnette fit right in under Williams' system and never missed a single start at shortstop from February to May.
- Baxleigh was Presby's lead-off hitter from the get-go, beginning a promising Blue Hose career with 42 hits and a .269 average. She also drew 22 walks and was 26-for-29 in stolen base attempts, good enough for second-place in the division and tied for 38th nationally.
- Her 26 successful steals are the fourth-most in a single season by any Presbyterian player, perfect in that category when facing a league opponent (11-for-11).
- Hailing from Lake View, S.C., Arnette led the roster with 33 runs scored at the top of the order. She touched home plate at least once in eight straight outings back in March, named the Big South Freshman of the Week only eight games into her college career.
- Arnette posted a couple of three-hit showings against Maryland-Eastern Shore and Queens, producing 10 runs in Big South terrain.
PEYTON DUNCAN | Jr. | P
Big South All-Academic Team
- Recognized as PC's All-Academic rep thanks to a 3.84 GPA in the field of Biology, Duncan has been an exceptional student in all three years as a Blue Hose while also rising up the totem pole of Blue Hose twirlers.
- Included on the Big South Presidential Honor Roll in each of her three seasons thus far, Peyton was a member of the PC Dean's List in the fall and morphed into Williams' ace as a junior.
- In year three, the North Carolinian started 29 affairs (the seventh-most in all of NCAA), ranking second in the conference with 123 strikeouts. Opponents hit only .249 off of the junior, while she gathered 12 personal victories and 14 complete games.
- Duncan struck out at least eight batters on five different dates, including 10 apiece versus Norfolk State and N.C. A&T. She combined for at least six innings and two or fewer earned runs on nine occasions.
- Peyton pinned 35 more K's than she issued walks, finishing the 2025 journey with a 3.68 ERA in 163.2 innings.
