Five Tigers Earn 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region Selections
Jayden Heavener and Jalia Lassiter are named to the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region First Team, Tori Edwards was placed on the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region Second Team, and Sierra Daniel and Kyle Edwards grace the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region Third Team.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Five players from the LSU softball team have been tabbed to the 2026 National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s (NFCA) Gulf All-Region Team, announced on Thursday. Jayden Heavener and Jalia Lassiter were placed on the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region First Team, Tori Edwards made the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region Second Team, and Sierra Daniel and Kylee Edwards earned spots on the 2026 NFCA Gulf All-Region Third Team.
LSU has garnered 64 total NFCA first-team selections, with the addition of Heavener and Lassiter this season, and has 104 players named to an all-region team, with Daniel and K. Edwards as new additions.
Heavener earns her second NFCA Gulf All-Region nod and first on the first-team. The sophomore lefty pitcher is 12-8 on the season with a staff-best 109 strikeouts in 126.1 innings pitched. She has a 2.88 ERA, four complete-game shutouts, including a no-hitter, and has 14 complete games. With her perfect game in 2025, Heavener is the first LSU pitcher to throw a no-hitter in consecutive seasons since 20119-2020, and the sixth to do it in program history.
Lassiter is now a four-time NFCA All-Region honoree. She leads LSU with a .353 batting average, 60 hits, 59 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. She has totaled 23 extra-base hits, including a team-high 13 doubles, two triples, and a career-high eight home runs. Lassiter has also added 37 RBI and 29 walks. Her 59 runs scored are tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history, and she becomes the seventh LSU player to record multiple seasons with at least 60 hits and 50 runs scored. In the outfield, Lassiter has maintained a perfect fielding percentage for the second straight season, totaling 73 putouts and two assists in 2026.
T. Edwards, a 2025 NFCA All-American, claims her second NFCA Gulf All-Region selection. T. Edwards leads LSU with 12 home runs, 43 RBI, and 45 walks this season. Her 45 walks are tied for the fifth-most in LSU single-season history. T. Edwards is batting .287 with 41 hits and 37 runs scored. At first base, she has recorded a .981 fielding percentage with 308 putouts, eight assists, and six errors. She has also been part of 21 double plays, ranking second in LSU program history for a single season.
Daniel earns her second NFCA postseason award in as many seasons. A career .300 hitter inside and outside of SEC play, Daniel has recorded a .340 batting average this season, 55 hits, including four home runs, has scored 41 runs, has 30 RBI, and has drawn 32 walks. Daniel enters the tournament on a team-best seven-game hitting streak and has logged hits in 14 of the last 20 games. She is a stout defender, registering a .983 fielding percentage with 89 assists, 86 putouts, and just three errors at second base. Daniel has turned 15 double plays this season, tying at No. 8 in the program’s single-season record book.
K. Edwards earns her second NFCA All-Region selection. In her first season as a Tiger, K. Edwards has a .344 batting average, 55 hits, 10 home runs, 39 runs, and 35 RBI. In 160 at-bats, she has struck out only 10 times and leads LSU with 16 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games. On April 3 at Missouri, she became the first LSU Tiger to hit for the cycle and the fifth player in the SEC all-time to accomplish the feat. Defensively, K. Edwards owns a .961 fielding percentage with a team-high 96 assists, along with 75 putouts and three errors. She has also turned 11 double plays this year.
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