LSU Gold

Five Softball Players Earn Degrees

Hannah Carson, Emilee Casanova, Ali Kilponen, Ali Newland, and Karli Petty, will receive their diplomas this weekend. 

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Five Softball Players Earn Degrees

BATON ROUGE, La. – Five LSU softball student-athletes, including Hannah Carson, Emilee Casanova, Ali Kilponen, Ali Newland, and Karli Petty, will receive their diplomas this weekend. 

Newland will receive her bachelor’s degree in mass communications. She is the program’s second SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, and a three-time SEC Community Service Team honoree. On the field, the outfielder is a two-time NFCA South All-Region and All-SEC First Team selection. She has a career .297 batting average on 161 hits, including 24 career home runs and 118 RBIs, and has a .977 career fielding percentage with 407 putouts and 25 assists.

Petty will earn her Master of Business Administration from LSU after receiving her undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State in 2022. In Petty’s two years as a Tiger, she has been tabbed to the 2023 CSC Academic All-District team, and on the field, she has 82 hits, eight homers, and 62 RBIs. Defensively, she has 170 assists and 178 total putouts.

Carson is a two-year letter at LSU and will graduate with a master’s in kinesiology after graduating from Michigan in 2022. Casanova, a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, earns her bachelor’s in biological sciences. 

Former Tiger student-athlete and current student assistant coach, Kilponen, will receive her Master of Social Work. Kilponen is already an LSU graduate after earning her bachelor’s degree in 2022. The Colorado native is a five-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and ranks No. 3 all-time in the program’s record book with eight saves, No. 8 with 474 strikeouts, and No. 9 with 57 wins, 47 complete games, and a .206 opponent batting average. 

For the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsusoftball on Instagram and X.