Academic Player of the Year
Taryn Barney of the University of Texas at Tyler leads the nine-player 2026 Lone Star Conference Softball All-Academic Team announced by the Conference on Wednesday (May 6).
Barney is a senior studying criminal justice posting a 4.0 grade-point average and has earned recognition on the LSC Commissioner's Honor Roll. The Patriots’ catcher, Barney has started all 52 games this season, hitting.380 and leading UT Tyler in home runs (11), RBI (49) and slugging percentage (.744). A member of the UT Tyler 2024 and 2025 NCAA Division II national champion teams, Barney has earned LSC All-Conference and All-Tournament honors in addition to NFCA and D2CCA All-Region citations during her collegiate career.
Joining Barney on the nine-member LSC Softball All-Academic Team are
Tatiana Trotter, Angelo State;
Jill Dickson, Oklahoma Christian;
Iliana Melendez, St. Mary’s;
Alli Kimball and
Dezirae Lopez, UT Tyler; and
Avery Cannon,
Cadence Colburn and
Emily Liskai, West Texas A&M.
Liskai is a two-time LSC Softball All-Academic Team member. In addition, all nine of the 2026 academic honorees have grade-point averages between 4.00 and 3.73 with five posting a 4.00 grade-point average. Six players have been named All-Conference during their LSC careers.
The Softball All-Academic Team is selected by vote of the LSC sports information directors and recognizes student-athlete accomplishments in the classroom and in their sport. To be eligible for the All-Academic Team ballot, individuals must maintain a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
Barney will be a candidate for the 2025-26 LSC Fred Jacoby Academic Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June.
2026 LSC Softball All-Academic Team
Academic Player of the Year: Taryn Barney, University of Texas at Tyler
Sorted alphabetically by institution.
| Player |
Team |
Yr. |
Field of Study |
Hometown |
| Tatiana Trotter |
Angelo State |
Sr. |
Intelligence and Analysis |
Lubbock, Texas |
| Jill Dickson |
Oklahoma Christian |
Sr. |
Marketing Management |
Edmond, Okla. |
| Iliana Melendez |
St. Mary's |
Jr. |
Bioinformatics |
Seabrook, Texas |
| Taryn Barney |
UT Tyler |
Sr. |
Criminal Justice |
Lewiston, Idaho |
| Alli Kimball |
UT Tyler |
Jr. |
Communications Studies |
Gig Harbor, Wash. |
| Dezirae Lopez |
UT Tyler |
So. |
Psychology |
Thrall, Texas |
| Avery Cannon |
West Texas A&M |
So. |
Health Science |
Frisco, Texas |
| Cadence Colborn |
West Texas A&M |
So. |
Pre-Veterinary Medicine |
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Emily Liskai |
West Texas A&M |
Jr. |
Political Science |
Waterville, Ohio |