NEW YORK – The BIG EAST announced its 2026 softball regular season and all-conference award winners on Wednesday, ahead of the 2026 BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep scheduled for May 7-9 in Rosemont, Ill. The major award winners, as well as the first and second-team honorees, were decided by a coaches' vote based on performance in conference play this season. Butler's Makena Alexander, Cate Lehner, and Hailey Conger were chosen for the All-BIG EAST First Team, and Maren Berger and Katie Petran were selected as All-BIG EAST Second Team.
 
UConn shortstop Cat Petteys headlined the awards, earning BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades, while Alyssa Twomey from Providence was recognized as BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. Creighton's Ashten Pierson was named Defensive Player of the Year and her teammate, Keegan Mayhue, took Freshman of the Year honors. Led by Head Coach Kelsey Christensen, Providence garnered the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award.
 
Butler's Alexander, a junior from Frankton, Ind., led the BIG EAST this season with 1.35 RBI/game, a .544 on-base percentage, a .885 slugging percentage, and a .434 batting average. The infielder, who was fourth in the conference with 14 home runs, was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on three different occasions.
 
Lehner, a senior from Indianapolis, set the all-time BIG EAST record for career hits this season, surpassing the previous mark of 130 on April 24 at DePaul. The outfielder led the conference with 25 stolen bases this season and was second with 32.4 at bats per strikeout. Lehner was also a First-Team selection in 2025 and 2024.
 
Conger, a senior from Gurnee, Ill., led the BIG EAST with 1.23 runs/game, ranked second with a .538 on-base percentage, and was third with a .408 batting average. The outfielder was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on two different occasions.
 
Berger, from Snowflake, Ariz., led Butler with a 2.40 ERA over 43.2 innings of BIG EAST action in the circle. She went 2-2 with 11 appearances and six starts, pitching three complete games with one shutout. The redshirt sophomore struck out 17 and limited her opponents to a .260 batting average.
 
Petran, from Chillicothe, Ill., led the Bulldogs with 47.2 innings in the circle in conference games, going 6-3 with a 3.08 ERA. In 10 appearances with seven starts, she pitched five complete games with one shutout. The junior struck out 23 and allowed an opponent's batting average of .292.
 
No. 4 seed Butler opens the BIG EAST Tournament against No. 1 seed Providence on Thursday with a 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT) first pitch. The double-elimination tournament is scheduled to run through Saturday.
 
 
2026 BIG EAST Softball Major Awards & All-Conference Teams

BIG EAST Player of the Year: Cat Petteys, So., SS, UConn
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year: Alyssa Twomey, Jr., P, Providence
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year: Ashten Pierson, Jr., SS, Creighton
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Keegan Mayhue, Fr., 1B, Creighton
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Providence

All-BIG EAST First Team^
Makena Alexander, Jr., 1B, Butler
Hailey Conger, Sr., OF, Butler
Cate Lehner, Sr., OF, Butler
Cat Petteys, So., SS, UConn
Jessica Walter, Gr., P, UConn
Audrey Gilman, Fr., P, Creighton
Erika Perez, Sr., 3B, Creighton
Tara Vandewater, So., 2B, Creighton
Lily West, Sr., C, Creighton*
Dayanara Campos, Sr., DP, Georgetown
Emily Jonte, Sr., OF, Providence
Alyssa Twomey, Jr., P, Providence*
Ana Serafinko, Sr., P, St. John's
Maranda Runco, Jr., 1B, Villanova

All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Maren Berger, RS-So., P, Butler
Katie Petran, Jr., P, Butler
Caprice Bohmer, Fr., P, UConn
Kaitlyn Kibling, Sr., CF, UConn
Savannah Ring, Sr., 2B, UConn
Ashten Pierson, Jr., SS, Creighton
Kaelan Schultz, Jr., DP, Creighton
Jolie Adams, So., OF, DePaul
Cameron Dunn, Jr., 2B, Providence
Hailey Frantz, Fr., C, Providence
Sofia Peterson, Sr., 3B, Providence
Julia Renny, Sr., 1B, Providence
Angelina Benitez, So., OF, Seton Hall
Erin Howard, Sr., C, Seton Hall

^Denotes a tie in voting
*Denotes a unanimous selection