FLORENCE, SC – Five members of the 11th-ranked Francis Marion University softball team have been named to the Conference Carolinas 2026 All-Conference Team, while senior shortstop
Madalyn White was selected as the Player of the Year and graduate student right-hander
Jenna Walling was tabbed as the Pitcher of the Year.
Joining White and Walling on the first team are senior outfielder
Anderson Thrower. Earning second-team recognition is junior designated player
McKenzie Jewell, while graduate student center fielder
Mikaela Goss was an at-large selection.
The announcement was made on Wednesday (April 22) prior to the scheduled start of the conference tournament in Duncan, S.C. The top-seeded Patriots (39-10) will play their first contest on Thursday at 4 p.m. against the winner of the Belmont Abbey College/King University play-in game. The tournament will continue through Sunday's noon championship game at the Tyger River Park complex.
Walling earns first-team honors for the third time, while White was a first-team selection last year.
White, a native of Currie, N.C., missed 10 games midseason due to an injury but still ranks second in the conference in hitting with a .464 average, runs scored (44) and on-base percentage (.543). She also ranks third in stolen bases (30-of-32) and sixth for both walks (23) and OPS (1.111). She has registered 11 doubles and driven in 14 runs from the leadoff spot, posted 19 multi-hit games, and has reached base safely in 38 of 39 contests. White also set FMU career records for hits (295) and runs scored (225). At shortstop, she posted a .962 fielding percentage and was part of six double plays.
Walling, a native of Johns Island, S.C., leads the nation in wins (25-6 record), innings pitched (198.2), and complete games (27), while ranking sixth nationally in strikeouts (194), 11th in earned run average (1.44), and 12th in saves (4). Opponents are batting only .218 against her. During the season, she has climbed to second on the FMU career wins list with an 82-16 mark and became only the fourth Patriot to surpass 500 career strikeouts. She holds the program's career saves record with eight.
Walling was also a double threat this season at the plate and playing first base when not pitching. She batted .294 with 11 doubles, seven home runs, and a team-leading 43 runs batted in.
Thrower, a native of Hanahan, S.C., ranks fourth in the conference in hitting (.444) and hits (67), while ranking eighth in on-base percentage (.485). She also registered four doubles 18 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases (in 11 attempts) and is currently riding a 13-game hitting streak. Batting in the two hole, she ranks second in Conference Carolinas with 12 sacrifice bunts. In left field, she committed only one error, while recording two outfield assists and a .982 fielding percentage.
Jewell, a native of Coral Springs, Fla., is batting .356 with 29 runs scored, nine doubles, a team-leading eight homers, and 39 RBIs. She ranks in the top 10 in the conference for slugging (.621), OPS (1.079), and home runs. She has reached base safely in 39 of her 48 games this season.
Goss, a native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., is batting .252 with 22 runs scored, 11 doubles, two triples, and 21 RBIs. Considered one of the premier defensive outfielders in the conference, she has not committed an error in 49 games and has three outfield assists. Against conference opponents in 2026, she is batting .347.
Walling is a product of First Baptist School and is part of the University's Masters of Business Administration program, while White is a graduate of Heide Trask High School and is a double major in biology and healthcare administration. Thrower is a product of Hanahan High School and is also a double major in biology and healthcare administration. Jewell is a product of Pompano Beach High School and is majoring in healthcare administration, while Goss graduated from Harnett Central High School and is also in the MBA program.
Walling, White, Thrower, and Goss were all named to the Academic All-Conference Team earlier this spring.
