ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Five members of the Drake softball team were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon. Tatum Aragon, Frankie Rita, Jayme Scheck, Ashlynn Sheets and Natalee Watts were selected among the 52 total student-athletes to be named to the team.

Aragon concluded her senior season hitting at a clip of .293 for the Bulldogs, which was the third-best mark on the team. The Fort Collins, Colorado native racked up 44 hits on the year, which was also the third-best mark on Drake, along with Rita who also tallied 44 knocks. Hitting mainly out of the middle part of the lineup, Aragon produced six doubles, three home runs, and a team-best 32 RBI to pair with a .393 slugging percentage. She was named MVC Player of the Week one time this season following a three-homer performance against UNI. Aragon owns a 3.87 GPA while studying Psychology.

Rita, a junior studying Mathematics Education specializing in Secondary Education with a GPA of 3.80, started all 51 games for the Bulldogs this season and displayed her versatility by making at least one start at every infield position other than catcher and pitcher. She hit at a clip of .284 for the year with a team-high 31 runs scored. The Lemont, Illinois product tied for the team lead with 10 doubles and picked up two homers in 2026. Defensively, Rita compiled a .942 fielding percentage over 226 chances and was second on the team in putouts (140) and assists (73).

A Junior College transfer from Indian Hills Community College, Sheets was a staple among the Drake pitching staff in her first year in Des Moines. She led the team with 29 appearances and was mainly used in relief duty logging a record of 4-9 over 69.1 innings of work. The lefty tallied 23 strikeouts from the circle, carried an ERA of 5.45 and threw one complete game against Southern Illinois on April 10. Sheets is pursuing her degree in Elementary Education and owns a GPA of 3.80.

Scheck, another arm from the Drake pitching staff who also is studying Elementary Education, led Drake with an ERA of 4.61 over 24 appearances (16 starts). Hailing from Palo, Iowa, she ranked second on the team with 41 strikeouts and tossed a total of 74.1 innings. Scheck threw three complete games and picked up the only shutout recorded by the Bulldogs this season in a 3-0 win over Valparaiso. The fifth-year senior carries a GPA of 3.88 from the classroom.

In her second season donning the Blue and White after transferring from St. Louis Community College, Watts provided some pop at the plate for the Bulldogs ranking second on the squad with seven long balls. The local product from Clive, Iowa hit .281 on the year and slugged .492 while driving in 14 RBI and scoring 21 runs of her own. Mainly controlling the traffic in the outfield from her center field position, Watts recorded 85 putouts and five assists to go along with a fielding percentage of .957. The junior is majoring in Health Science with a focus of Clinical and Medical studies and has a GPA of 3.83.

The entire list of the MVC Softball Scholar-Athlete Team is listed below.

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: P Maya Johnson, Belmont
 
Tatum Aragon, Drake, Sr., 3.87 Psychology       
Megan Asher, Indiana State, Sr., 3.7667 Biology
Isabella Atkinson, Illinois State, Sr., 3.60 Agriculture
Skylar Benesh, UNI, So., 3.91 PE Teaching 
Maleah Blomenkamp, Southern Illinois, Sr., 4.00 Dental Hygiene          
 
Brenna Blume, Belmont, Sr., 3.813 Economics
Niki Bode, Evansville, Jr., 3.552 Nursing
Bailah Bognar, Illinois State, Sr., 4.00 Business Admin and Marketing
Ashley Breeding, Bradley, Sr., 3.64 Criminology
Cadan Brinkman, Valparaiso, Sr., 3.714 Biology
Katelyn Callahan, UNI, So., 3.98 Management: Business Administration | Finance: Financial Management
 
Austin Comstock, Bradley, Sr., 4.00 Psychology
Ellie Giles, Belmont, Sr., 3.897 Marketing
Morgan Goodrich, Indiana State, Sr., 3.959 Interior Architecture Design
Sage Grann, Southern Illinois, So., 3.932 Exercise Science        
Breanna Haislip, Murray State, Sr., 3.72 Exercise Science/Pre-Health Professional   
Adison Hicks, Murray State, Sr., 3.94 Health & PE/P-12 Certification
 
Taylor Howe, Evansville, Sr., 3.806 Communication
Kathryn Huels, Murray State, Jr., 3.64 Business Administration
Nicole Hughes, Belmont, Sr., 3.702 Hospitality and Tourism Management
Maya Johnson, Belmont, Gr., 3.85 Nursing (undergrad: 3.893 Nursing)
Amanda Knutson, Southern Illinois, Jr., 3.794 Sport Administration            
Kayden Krug, Valparaiso, Jr., 3.944 Elementary Education
 
Kate Lappe, UNI, Sr., 3.69 Accounting     
Erin Lee, Southern Illinois, Sr., 3.821 Exercise Science          
Kierston McCoy, Bradley, Sr., 3.73 Public Health Education
Sydney McDermott, Valparaiso, Sr., 3.684 Health Sciences
Paige Mcleod, Illinois State, Jr., 3.70 Prelicensure BSN
Hannah Meshnick, Illinois State, Sr., 3.96 Exercise Science
 
Kenley Minor, Murray State, So., 3.91 Business Administration     
Larissa Ortiz, UIC, Gr., 4.00 Marketing (undergrad: 3.78 Management)
Madison Poulson, Indiana State, So., 3.915 Insurance & Risk Management
Caitlyn Quickle, Valparaiso, Jr., 3.575 Health Sciences
Kate Ridgway, Evansville, So., 4.000 Creative Technologies
Cameran Rios, UIC, Sr., 3.55 Biological Sciences
 
Frankie Rita, Drake, Jr., 3.80 Mathematics Education; Secondary Education         
Isabelle Saylor, Indiana State, Sr., 3.7198 Sport Management
Jayme Scheck, Drake, Sr., 3.88 Elementary Education         
Morgan Schlosser, Bradley, So., 3.82 Kinesiology
Ella Shafer, Bradley, Jr., 4.00 Sports Communication
Ashlynn Sheets, Drake, Jr., 3.80 Elementary Education       
 
Ella Smithson, UNI, Jr., 3.85 Biology: Biomedical | Biochemistry
Rylee Spindler, Belmont, So., 3.783 Exercise Science
Sam Tourtillott, UIC, Sr., 3.64 Psychology
Brooke Voss, Evansville, Jr., 3.832 Exercise Science - Applied Track
Annie Waggoner, Indiana State, Jr., 3.975 Physical Education All-Grade
Kynadee Warner, Murray State, So., 3.63 Exercise Science/Exercise Physiology
 
Natalee Watts, Drake, Jr., 3.83 Health Science: Clinical & Medical
Emily Williams, Southern Illinois, Jr., 3.564 Nursing 
Jess Willsey, Evansville, Sr., 3.605 Sports Communication
Anna Wischnowski, UNI, Gr., 4.00 Speech-Language Pathology (undergrad: 3.75 Communication Disorders)
Tatum Wolford, Illinois State, So., 3.92 Elementary Education