NEW ORLEANS – App State junior second baseman Makayla McClain and freshman right-handed pitcher Mallory Wheeler have been named Sun Belt Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, presented by Jersey Mike’s Subs.
McClain earned her third Player of the Week award of the season and closes the regular season as the only player in the league to receive the honor on multiple occasions. Wheeler collected the lone Pitcher of the Week nod for the Ragin’ Cajuns this season and the third by a freshman after Georgia Southern’s Maddie Johnson was recognized twice.
Player of the Week
Makayla McClain, App State
[Jr. | 2B | Liberty, N.C.]
McClain provided one of her best weeks of the season to wrap up the regular season going 9-for-11 (.818) at the plate with a 1.545 slugging percentage and a 2.391 OPS. She reached base safely in 11 of her 13 plate appearances against Coastal Carolina and became the first player in App State history to hit for the cycle on May 3. McClain tallied a two-hit game on May 1, a three-hit game on May 2 and a four-hit game in the series finale which was the first by a Mountaineer this season. McClain's double with two outs in the seventh inning of game one of the series led to a game-tying home run later in the inning before the Mountaineers won in walk-off fashion in the eighth. In game two, the junior infielder tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning after Coastal had taken a one-run lead in the top of the frame. In game three, McClain tallied a double in the first, a single in the third, a home run in the fifth and a triple in the seventh to complete the cycle.
Pitcher of the Week
Mallory Wheeler, Louisiana
[Fr. | RHP | Jensen Beach, Fla.]
Wheeler went 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in 13.2 innings in the circle and fired just the third complete-game no-hitter by a Sun Belt pitcher and the only one in a conference game season in Louisiana's 2-0 win over Southern Miss on May 1. The freshman faced only one batter over the minimum in collecting the first no-hitter by a Cajuns pitcher since Karly Heath in February 2023. She followed up with another strong performance on May 3, extending her streak of hitless innings against the Golden Eagles into the fifth inning. She yielded just two runs and four hits just shy of fourteen innings in the series.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Players of the Week
Week 1 – Taylor McKinney, 2B/OF, Troy
Week 2 – Georgia Hood, 1B, Coastal Carolina
Week 3 – Maddy Jennings, C, Coastal Carolina
Week 4 – Makayla McClain, 2B, App State
Week 5 – Payton List, UTIL, James Madison
Week 6 – Gabby Stagner, INF, South Alabama
Week 7 – Rielly Lucas, 1B, Marshall
Week 8 – Makayla McClain, 2B, App State
Week 9 – Mikaila Fox, INF, Southern Miss
Week 10 – Carys Platt, UTIL, ULM
Week 11 – Hollie Thomas, C, ULM
Week 12 – Cali Legzdin, UTIL, James Madison
Week 13 – Makayla McClain, 2B, App State
2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Pitchers of the Week
Week 1 – Nicolette Picone, LHP, Coastal Carolina
Week 2 – Madison Azua, LHP, Texas State
Week 3 – Nicolette Picone, LHP, Coastal Carolina
Week 4 – Maddie Johnson, RHP, Georgia Southern
Week 5 – Nicolette Picone, LHP, Coastal Carolina
Week 6 – Madison Azua, LHP, Texas State
Week 7 – Maddie Johnson, RHP, Georgia Southern
Week 8 – Sophie Moshos, LHP, App State
Week 9 – Madison Azua, LHP, Texas State
Week 10 – Nicolette Picone, LHP, Coastal Carolina
Week 11 – Victoria Abrams, RHP, ULM
Week 12 – Ryley Harrison, RHP, South Alabama
Week 13 – Mallory Wheeler, RHP, Louisiana