Five Greyhounds Named to College Sports Communicators Softball Academic All-District
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University seniors Sarah DeStefano and Samantha Derickson and juniors Kyra Holtje, Shayla Morgan and Emma Grace Pachkowski have been named on the 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Softball Team for NCAA Division III schools.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University seniors Sarah DeStefano and Samantha Derickson and juniors Kyra Holtje, Shayla Morgan and Emma Grace Pachkowski have been named on the 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Softball Team for NCAA Division III schools.
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-America® honors, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.50 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior or senior and be a starter or significant reserve that must have competed in 90 percent of the team's games or started at lead 66 percent of the institutions contests in 2026. Moravian has had 56 Greyhounds named CSC Academic All-Americans®.
Academic All-District® honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. The CSC Academic All-America® teams will be announced Tuesday, June 16 for softball.
The group helped the Greyhounds to a 35-12 record this season, the program's fourth straight and 13th overall Landmark Conference Championship, the team's 22ns trip to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament that included an eighth regional title and a fifth berth in the Super Regionals last week in Oregon.
DeStefano, a biology major with a 3.59 grade-point average, was selected as the 2026 Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year as well as a member of the Landmark All-Conference First Team and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region V First Team, repeating honors she won in 2025 when she was also named to the NFCA All-America Second Team. She was honored on the 2024 Landmark All-Conference Second Team as an outfielder after making the Second Team in 2023 as a pitcher while being named the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year in 2023. DeStefano registered a 1.57 earned run average this season with a 17-7 record, five shutouts, a save, 17 complete games and 107 strikeouts in 165.1 innings in the circle, and she had a .348 batting average this season with 47 hits, 20 runs, two doubles, a triple and 26 RBIs at the plate. In her career, DeStefano, the 2025 & 2026 NCAA Division III Bethlehem (Pa.) Regional and 2023 NCAA Division III Medford (Mass.) Regional Most Outstanding Player, was 57-16 in the circle with two saves, 19 shutouts, 348 strikeouts and a 1.58 ERA in 495.2 innings, and she had 156 hits, 63 runs, 12 doubles, five triples, 28 stolen bases, 82 RBIs and a .369 average at the plate. DeStefano has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List six times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and a three-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Derickson, a business management major with a 3.93 grade-point average, had a .295 batting average in her first season with the Greyhounds after three years at the NCAA Division II level. She had 46 hits, 24 runs, 12 doubles, a triple, three homers and 29 RBIs at the plate, and Derickson added a school record 154 assists at shortstop to lead the nation, and to go along with 61 putouts. Derickson has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List twice, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and a will be a member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Holtje, a health sciences major with a focus on athletic training and a 3.66 grade-point average, was named as the 2026 Landmark Conference Player of the Year and to the Landmark All-Conference First Team and NFCA All-Region V First Team. Holtje, who made the 2025 Landmark All-Conference First Team and the NFCA All-Region V Third Team a year ago, registered a 12-4 record in the circle this spring with 57 strikeouts and a 2.10 ERA in 100 innings, and she had 61 hits, 39 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, seven homers, 36 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .394 average at the plate. In three campaigns, Holtje has 99 hits, 71 runs, 22 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 22 stolen bases, 75 RBIs and a .344 averaged to go with a 24-6 record, 105 strikeouts and a 2.05 ERA in 188 innings of work. Holtje has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List five times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and two-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Morgan, a biology major with a 3.67 grade-point average, was selected to the 2026 NFCA All-Region V Third Team while making the 2025 Landmark All-Conference Second Team for the second consecutive spring a year ago. Morgan recorded a .333 average this year with 38 hits, 28 runs, a double, a home run, 11 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. In three seasons at Moravian, Morgan has 98 hits, 72 runs, a double, two triples, a homer, 20 RBIs and 57 stolen bases. Morgan has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List five times Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and two-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Pachkowski, a business management major with a 3.50 grade-point average, was the Greyhounds starting second baseman this season. Pachkowski recorded nine hits, 12 runs, a double, a homer and seven RBIs in limited plate appearances to go along with 71 putouts and 88 assists. In three seasons at Moravian, Pachkowski has 11 hits, 18 runs, a double, a homer and eight RBIs to go with 74 putouts and 91 assists. Pachkowski has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List four times Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and two-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
To view the entire 2026 Softball Academic All-District Teams, visit https://academicallamerica.com/documents/2026/5/25//26SBAAD_Announcement.pdf?id=5659.
