Mustangs selected to NJCAA All-South Region Softball Teams

Accolades continue to roll in for members of the Northeast Alabama Community College softball program.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association released the 2026 NFCA National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball All-Region Teams today, and No. 3-nationally ranked and Alabama Community College Conference champion NACC had five players collect all-region honors — tied for most of in any region — and had the most first-team All-South Region selections with two.

The awards honor softball student-athletes from the NJCAA's three regions with first and second-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region nominated their student-athletes and voted for the teams. All the honorees are now eligible for selection to the 2026 NFCA NJCAA Division I All-America squads.

NACC freshman right-handed pitcher Addie Edwards and freshman third baseman Marti McCluskey were NJCAA Division I All-South Region first-team selections while NACC sophomore outfielder Chloe Hatch, sophomore catcher/designated player Francesca Lumpp and freshman outfielder Lorelai Sullivan were All-South Region second-team selections.

Edwards leads the NJCAA in wins (29), earned run average (0.82 ERA) and walks and hits per inning (0.71 WHIP). The 2026 Alabama Community College Conference Pitcher of the Year and ACCC Tournament MVP is 29-0 with three saves and has 192 strikeouts over 178 2/3 innings pitched. Edwards also leads the ACCC in strikeouts and complete games (27).

McCluskey is near the top of the ACCC in numerous hitting categories. She is batting .437 (73-for-167) with 60 runs, 21 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 72 RBIs and 29 walks. She has an on-base percentage of .515 and a slugging percentage of .856.

Lumpp, who hit a game-winning walk-off two-run homer in the ACCC Tournament championship game, has a .448 batting average (65-for-145) that is third in the conference and a .491 on-base percentage to go along with 28 runs, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 51 RBIs.

Hatch is batting .394 (69-for-175) with an on-base percentage of .473 while also totaling 59 runs, 14 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 51 RBIs, 14 walks and 14 stolen bases. 

Sullivan leads the ACCC in batting average and is also 10th in the NJCAA with a .508 average (66-for-130). She is fourth in on-base percentage (.542), and she also has totaled 51 runs, 15 doubles, seven triples, three home runs, 48 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Last week, the NFCA announced its regional Coaching Staffs of the Year. NACC's coaching staff, comprised of head coach Joe Guthrie and assistants Courtnay Foster and Jimmy Kolaitis, were named the NFCA 2026 South Regional Coaching Staff of the Year after directing the Mustangs to a 51-4 record and regular-season and tournament conference championships in only the program's second-year of existence.

By winning the ACCC/NJCAA Region 22 championships, the Mustangs earned an automatic bid to the 2026 NJCAA Division I Softball World Series, which is May 25-31 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. The NJCAA will release the bracket Tuesday night.