Four Panther softball players named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Team
5/15/2025 10:04:00 AM | Softball
ST. LOUIS — Four members of the UNI softball team were named to the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Scholar-Athlete Teams on Thursday morning including three first teamers and a second teamer.
Third baseman Kate Lappe, designated player Addison McElrath and outfielder Ava Smithson were named to the first team while outfielder Makenna Kuper was named to the second team. The MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams are selected by a vote of the league's sports information directors.
The criteria for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams parallels that of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) standards for its Academic All-America program. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in the MVC Championships or at least 75 percent of the team's regular season games with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (GPA). Nominees in grad school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better both as an undergrad and in graduate school.
The 2025 MVC Most Valuable Player, Kate Lappe earns Scholar-Athlete First Team honors for the first time in her career with a 3.72 GPA in accounting and finance after being named to the Second Team last season. A junior from Bondurant, Iowa, Lappe was a Preseason All-MVC Third Base selection and was named ... MVC Player of the Week twice and D1Softball.com National Player of the Week once during the 2025 regular season. She was named All-MVC First Team Third Base and MVC All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the season. Lappe finished the 2025 campaign with 61 hits, 34 runs, and 48 RBIs for a .433 batting average and a .915 slugging percentage. Her 19 home runs are tied for second on UNI's single-season home runs record list while her batting average and slugging percentage are solo-second in each single-season category along with her .542 on-base percentage. Through the MVC Tournament, Lappe led the league in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases and was second in home runs per game, RBIs, RBIs per game, and total walks.
An All-MVC First Team DP and MVC All-Tournament Team selection, Addison McElrath was named to the Scholar-Athlete First Team for the first time in her career with a 3.92 GPA in kinesiology and exercise science. A Moville, Iowa native, McElrath batted .354 on the season with 56 hits, 16 home runs, and 29 runs with 47 RBIs. The senior designated player hit back-to-back home runs in the Panthers' MVC Semifinal loss to Belmont in the 2025 conference tournament.
An outfielder from Granger, Iowa, Ava Smithson makes her first appearance on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team with a 3.92 GPA in biology. The junior made 40 starts in the outfield for the Panthers and recorded 29 hits, 23 runs, and 26 runs batted in with seven home runs.
The Spring selection for the State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award, Makenna Kuper was named to the Scholar-Athlete Second Team for the first time in her career. Kuper appeared in 43 games for the Panthers, mostly in a pinch-running capacity. The senior stole 10 bases on the season and scored 18 runs.
The Panthers ended the 2025 campaign with a 32-18 record including a 19-8 record in Valley play. The third-seeded squad in the MVC Tournament, the Panthers beat Evansville in Quarterfinal action before falling to the eventual Tournament Champion Belmont Bruins in the Semifinals.
Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Maya Johnson, Belmont
First Team:
Emma Austin, Southern Illinois
Abbot Badgley, Bradley
Delainey Bryant, Illinois State
Baie Ensio, Belmont
Moly Hoekstra, Drake
Maya Johnson, Belmont
Carey Koenig, Drake
Erin Lackey, Murray State
Kate Lappe, UNI
Jackie Lis, Southern Illinois
Addison Masching, Illinois State
Addison McElrath, UNI
Ella Shafer, Bradley
Ava Smithson, UNI
Makenzi Swick, Missouri State
McKenzie Vaughan, Missouri State
Emily Williams, Southern Illinois
Second Team:
Brenna Blume, Belmont
Anna Carder, Southern Illinois
Mackenzie Chacon, Missouri State
Emily Cockrill, Belmont
Emma Dighton, Drake
Zoe Frossard, Evansville
Morgan Goodrich, Indiana State
Hailey Griffin, Indiana State
Bre Haislip, Murray State
Sydney Kennedy, Bradley
Sofia King, Missouri State
Abby Knight, Illinois State
Kayden Krug, Valparaiso
Makenna Kuper, UNI
Erin Lee, SIU
Hannah Meshnick, Illinois State
Mckenzie Newcomb, Southern Illinois
Raylee Roby, Murray State
Annie Waggoner, Indiana State
Addison Welsh, Bradley
Heidi Wheeler, Drake
UNI softball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Softball), X (@UNISoftball), and on Instagram (@unisoftball). The 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
