The United East Conference announced their Softball All-Conference and Major Award winners for the 2026 season on Tuesday morning, with Lancaster Bible landing seven total players on the All-Conference release with one Major Award winner as head coach John Clemens was named Coach of the Year. For the Chargers, freshman Ava Stern, senior Maddison Atkins, and junior KariAnn Mecke all earned All-Conference Second Team selections to lead the release. The Third Team featured four LBC selections as sophomore Grace Goodman, junior Carleigh Cleland, freshman Kendall Jackman, and sophomore Keira Price all earned Third Team honors. This is a program record for the Softball team with seven All-Conference selections, shattering the previous program record of four set back in 2023. In addition, head coach John Clemens was named United East Coach of the Year, becoming the first LBC head coach in program history to earn the award after leading the Chargers to a program-record 20 wins in 2026 with their first-ever postseason berth and a 13-3 conference finish.
 
Ava Stern lands United East Second Team honors for outfield in her first season in Lancaster, tying for the team-lead with a .386 batting average and recording a team-best 44 hits. Stern tied for the team lead in doubles with nine and led the Chargers with four triples, totaling a team-leading 64 bases this season and leading LBC with 34 RBI. Ava also had 15 stolen bases for the season and was one of two Chargers to score 30 runs this season. In the United East, Ava ranked in the top-10 of the conference in both RBI (34) and stolen bases (15), becoming the fourth player in program history with a 30-RBI season and tallying the fourth-highest RBI total in a single season with 34. Stern becomes the first LBC freshman to earn Second Team All-Conference honors since Phoebe Clemens in 2021 and her 44 hits were the ninth-best single-season total in LBC history. Ava also threw 93.0 innings as a pitcher this season, recording 12 complete games with an 8-7 record and 66 total strikeouts, ranking eighth in the conference.
 
Maddison Atkins lands her fourth career United East Second Team honor in four seasons including both seasons with the Chargers, being recognized as a pitcher who led LBC all season in the circle. Atkins had the third-most wins in the conference through the regular season, setting a new LBC program record with 12 victories and tying the single-season record with four total shutouts as well, all coming against United East opponents. She finished seventh in the conference with 110.2 total innings pitched and ninth overall in strikeouts with 64, recording a season-high nine strikeouts twice against both Mitchell and Valley Forge. She is also tied for fourth in the conference with 16 complete games in 2026 and ranks 14th in ERA at 3.54 for the year, the fifth-lowest mark in a season in program history. Atkins was named United East Pitcher of the Week twice this season as she threw 26 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, the best streak in LBC history. Maddison finishes her career among the program leaders in pitching, ranking second in ERA (4.29) and shutouts (6), third in wins (19) and strikeouts (140), and fourth in complete games (33). Atkins also batted .303 from the plate this season with 33 hits and 12 extra-base hits with 26 total RBI.
 
KariAnn Mecke nabs her first career All-Conference selection with Second Team honors, holding down 1st Base for the Chargers this season in 32 total starts for an at-large selection. She finished third on the team with a .385 batting average with 35 hits, boasting a team-best .542 average in United East play with a 1.287 OPS against conference foes. She had 18 RBI for the year with 16 of them in United East play, including a career-high eight RBI in a road win over Gallaudet on March 28, the highest single-game RBI total in the United East this season. Her .542 conference batting average was the third-best in the United East this year, and on defense she led the Chargers with 175 total putouts at 1st Base. Kari added 24 runs scored as well as a .917 season OPS to her All-Conference résumé this season.
 
Grace Goodman made an immediate impact in her first season in Lancaster, earning Third Team honors as she slashed for a .333 average with 25 total hits. The transfer sophomore from Geneva (Pa.) earned All-Conference honors at 2nd Base, starting all 33 games there and driving in 16 RBI with 16 runs scored for LBC. Grace had the second-highest team batting average in conference play as she hit .432 against United East teams, hitting for 13 of her 16 RBI in conference games with an OPS of 1.026 and three doubles in those games.
 
Carleigh Cleland earns her first career All-Conference selection with Third Team honors as a junior, playing both Catcher and 3rd Base for the Chargers this season and batting all throughout the lineup. She finished fourth on the team in batting average at .341 with 30 total hits including six doubles, hitting .421 in conference play in 38 at-bats. Cleland had 18 total RBI and scored 25 total times as she was one of three Chargers this season with 10+ walks at the plate, drawing 11 walks in all. Carleigh's season highlight included a 7-7 day at Wilson on April 21 as she hit for two doubles, two RBI, and three runs scored.
 
Kendall Jackman joined Stern as LBC's first two freshman to earn All-Conference honors since 2021 as she landed on the Third Team for outfield, leading the team with a .386 batting average and a team-high .479 on-base percentage. Batting leadoff for the Chargers all year, Jackman showed both discipline and attack at the plate as she drew a team-high 14 walks and tallied a team-leading 1.014 OPS, with her team-leading 34 runs scored landing her in a tie for 11th in the conference even after the postseason. Kendall also established herself as a strong running threat, stealing a team-best 22 bases and tying for fifth in the United East in total steals. Her 34 runs and 22 stolen bases both mark the fifth-highest single-season total in program history and she was also hit by five pitches this season, tied for the second-highest season total all-time. Kendall was named both United East and NCCAA Player of the Week on April 6 after an 8-13 week from the plate with a 1.308 weekly OPS and five extra-base hits.
 
Keira Price rounds out the historic release for the Chargers with Third Team honors as an at-large for Catcher, starting all 33 games and hitting for a .322 season average. She was second on the team with a 1.009 OPS and led the Chargers in slugging percentage at .621, launching a team-best five home runs including four in conference play. Keira tied for third in the conference in home runs and landed 14th in the United East in slugging percentage for the season, ranking in the top-5 in conference slugging percentage for the season at .829 and seventh in OPS at 1.308 in conference games. Her five home runs are tied for the second-most in a season in program history and she tallied 25 total RBI this season with 27 runs scored. Price earned her first career Player of the Week award on April 27 and ranks in the top-5 in career home runs (7) and stolen bases (27) for the Chargers after just two seasons.
 
Across the United East, Wilson sophomore Emily Randalls was named Player of the Year, Penn College sophomore Mackenzi Tice was named Pitcher of the Year, and Wilson freshman Addison Woods was named Rookie of the Year.
 
To view the full conference release, click here.