FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University graduate student pitcher and first baseman Jenna Walling has been named to the College Sports Communicators' (CSC) 2026 Academic All-America® softball team for NCAA Division II. She was a first-team selection.

A native of Johns Island, S.C., maintains a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average while pursuing a master's degree in business administration. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in biology (summa cum laude) in May 2025.

Fourteen of the 33 members of the Academic All-America® Division II softball teams sustain an unblemished 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The 11 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.91, with the entire Division II team maintaining a collective average GPA of 3.90.

Earlier, Walling was named the Conference Carolinas Spring Scholar-Athlete of the Year presented by Hudl for the sport of softball, becoming the first player to earn the accolade twice in a career. She also won the league's Elite 26 award. She received a Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award twice (2025, 2026) and has been placed on the FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll and the Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll on every possible occasion. She is also a multiple-time recipient of the NFCA/Easton All-America Scholar-Athlete honor (2024, 2025).

On the field, Walling was named an All-American at pitcher/utility by two organizations, including earning second-team status from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). She garnered Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year honors from the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and was the Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year in 2026.

Walling posted a 27-8 pitching record with four saves, a 1.92 earned run average, and 207 strikeouts in 230.0 innings.  She finished among the national leaders in victories and complete games (school-record 31).  Walling made 43 pitching appearances – equaling the second most in program history – and opponents batted only .231 against her.  At the plate, she batted .305 with nine home runs and 55 runs batted in. 

She concluded her career second on the program's career wins list with an 84-18 mark, and is only the second Patriot hurler to register three 20-win seasons.

Walling helped lead the Patriots to a 47-13 record, equaling the second-most wins in program history. FMU won its fourth consecutive conference tournament title and made its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance – and a second Super Regional appearance in as many years. The Patriots were ranked 10th nationally in the final NFCA/GoRout Top 25 poll.

She is the third softball player to earn both athletic and academic All-America distinctions in the same year, joining Monica Wofford (2008) and Emily Konz (2025).

Walling is a product of First Baptist School.

To qualify for the CSC Academic All-America® program, student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and participate in a specified percentage of athletic contests. The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division II Academic All-America® program.