University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Five Panther softball players named to the 2026 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team
5/4/2026 2:30:00 PM | Softball
ST. LOUIS — Five members of the UNI softball team were named to the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Scholar-Athlete Team on Monday afternoon.
Second baseman Skylar Benesh, outfielder Katelyn Callahan, infielder Kate Lappe, first baseman Ella Smithson, and pitcher Anna Wischnowski were named to the 2026 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team.
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.
Ella Smithson (3.85 | Biology: Biomedical | Biochemistry), Skylar Benesh (3.91 | PE Teaching), Katelyn Callahan (3.98 | Management: Business Administration | Finance: Financial Management), and Anna Wischnowski (Grad 4.00 Speech-Language Pathology | Undergrad 3.75 Communication Disorders) are all named to their first MVC Scholar-Athlete team, while Kate Lappe (3.69 | Accounting) is appearing on the Scholar-Athlete Team for the third time in her career.
UNI softball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Softball), X (@UNISoftball), and on Instagram (@unisoftball). The 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
