ATLANTA — The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2026 preseason all-conference softball teams and predicted order of finish on Wednesday featuring eight returning players from the 2025 All-SIAC lineup.
Benedict College had four players earn preseason All-SIAC honors, with one first-team selection and three on the second team.
Earning first-team preseason All-SIAC at catcher is
Elisha Ramirez. Last season, Ramirez hit .292 at the plate with 25 RBIs.
On the second team are
Shamaria Dupree at second base, relief pitcher
Alaina Harvey and designated player
Cayla Crooks.
Dupree hit .220, and drove in 10 RBIs on her 18 hits. She was also one of the top players in the league in stolen bases, ranking sixth with 23 stolen bases on 26 attempts.
Harvey comes to Benedict after playing last season at Allen University. She was 0-8 in the circle with a 12.44 ERA and struck out 22 in 43 innings of work.
Crooks hit .250 last season for the Lady Tigers, with 16 RBIs.
In the preseason predicted order of finish, Benedict was sixth out of seven teams in the East Division. The Lady Tigers went 18-22 overall in 2025 and 12-12 in the SIAC, finishing in fourth place in the East Division, and advanced to the Cricket SIAC Softball Championship.
The Lady Tigers open the 2026 season on Saturday, Feb. 7 with a home non-conference doubleheader against Winston-Salem State, starting at 1 p.m. at Tiger Field.
Preseason honors are as voted by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
| FIRST TEAM |
| POSITION |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Starting Pitcher |
Monica Rose* |
Tuskegee |
Sophomore |
Pleasant Grove, Ala. |
| Starting Pitcher |
Emma Curry* |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Slidell, La. |
| Starting Pitcher |
Leighanna Turk* |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Bay Minette, Ala. |
| Starting Pitcher |
Gabrielle Stonecypher |
Fort Valley State |
Sophomore |
Bowdon, Ga. |
| Catcher |
Elisha Ramirez |
Benedict |
Sophomore |
Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| First Base |
Avery Fisher* |
Albany State |
Senior |
Richmond Hill, Ga. |
| Second Base |
McKenzie King |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Mobile, Ala. |
| Shortstop |
Kelby Harvey* |
LeMoyne-Owen |
Junior |
Carthage, Miss. |
| Third Base |
Jesslyn Gordon |
Spring Hill |
Sophomore |
Fairhope, Ala. |
| Outfield |
Jaci Joiner* |
LeMoyne-Owen |
Sophomore |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Outfield |
Jasmin Stewart* |
Fort Valley State |
Senior |
McDonough, Ga. |
| Outfield |
Amanda Glowacki |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Barrington Hills, Ill. |
| Relief Pitcher |
Taylor Watson* |
Fort Valley State |
Senior |
Lowell, N.C. |
| Designated Player |
Bethany Ahrens |
Spring Hill |
Junior |
Peshtigo, Wisc. |
| Utility Player |
Natalee Curry |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Joliet, Ill. |
| – * RETURNING 2025 ALL-SIAC SELECTION |
| SECOND TEAM |
| POSITION |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
CLASS |
HOMETOWN |
| Starting Pitcher |
Riley Kapparis |
Edward Waters |
Sophomore |
Yulee, Fla. |
| Catcher |
Cat McCulley |
Spring Hill |
R-Junior |
Woodstock, Ga. |
| First Base |
Jesslyn Gordon |
Spring Hill |
Sophomore |
Fairhope, Ala. |
| Second Base |
Shamaria Dupree |
Benedict |
Junior |
Jackson, Ga. |
| Shortstop |
Hailey Vela |
Edward Waters |
Senior |
Flower Mound, Texas |
| Third Base |
Ava Mearideth |
Tuskegee |
Senior |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Outfield |
Abigail Christ |
Spring Hill |
Sophomore |
New Orleans, La. |
| Outfield |
Tamiya Martin |
Tuskegee |
Senior |
Nettleton, Miss. |
| Outfield |
Erielle Reid |
Albany State |
Senior |
Decatur, Ga. |
| Relief Pitcher |
Alaina Harvey |
Benedict |
Junior |
Orlando, Fla. |
| Designated Player |
Cayla Crooks |
Benedict |
Sophomore |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| Utility Player |
Alarryn Beckley |
Tuskegee |
Senior |
Pontotoc, Miss. |
| PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH |
| EAST DIVISION |
| 1. Edward Waters |
| 2. Albany State |
| 3. Fort Valley State |
| 4. Savannah State |
| 5. Clark Atlanta |
| 6. Benedict |
| 7. Allen |
| WEST DIVISION |
| 1. Spring Hill |
| 2. Tuskegee |
| 3. Miles |
| 4. Kentucky State |
| 5. Lane |
| 6. LeMoyne-Owen |
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
www.thesiac.com.
