CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2023 All-American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Softball Team as voted by the league’s head coaches:
| 2023 All-American Rivers Conference Softball Team |
Position Player of the Year – Abby Spore, Luther College |
Pitcher of the Year – Kendra Cooper, Luther College |
Coaching Staff of the Year – Coe College, Head Coach - Jake Koolbeck |
| First Team |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Haley Bach |
Central |
So. |
2B |
Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central |
| Emma Johnson ! |
Central |
Sr. |
OF |
Davenport, Iowa/Assumption |
| Ruby Kappeler ~ |
Coe |
Sr. |
OF |
Muscatine, Iowa/Durant |
| *Skyler Stookey # |
Coe |
Sr. |
C |
Solon, Iowa/Solon |
| Ashlyn Hemm ! |
Loras |
So. |
P |
Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale |
| Grace Houghton |
Loras |
Sr. |
DP |
Marengo, Ill./Marengo |
| Alyssa Hughes |
Loras |
Jr. |
1B |
Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook |
| Belle Berg $ |
Luther |
Sr. |
SS |
Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield |
| Kendra Cooper ! % |
Luther |
5th Year |
P |
Lansing, Iowa/Kee |
| Leah Crown |
Luther |
Sr. |
OF |
Plato, Minn./Central |
| Abby Spore % |
Luther |
Jr. |
C |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy |
| *Elise Warneke |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
Sr. |
P |
Bennington, Neb./Omaha Skutt Catholic |
| *Ashlyn Steen |
Simpson |
Fr. |
OF |
Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon |
| Reegan Deputy |
Wartburg |
Jr. |
3B |
Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy |
| Ella Link $ |
Wartburg |
Jr. |
UTL |
Dyersville, Iowa/Western Dubuque |
| Second Team |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jamie Wendt |
Buena Vista |
Jr. |
2B |
Omaha, Neb./Millard South |
| Emma Beck |
Central |
Fr. |
P |
Holland, Iowa/Grundy Center |
| Franie Burnett $ # |
Central |
Jr. |
3B |
Ankeny, Iowa/Centennial |
| *Sydni Huisman ~ |
Central |
Sr. |
P |
Treynor, Iowa/Treynor |
| *Hannah Ausenhus % |
Coe |
Sr. |
P |
Hanlontown, Iowa/Central Springs |
| Heather Boeckenstedt ! |
Coe |
Sr. |
SS |
Edgewood, Iowa/Beckman |
| Bree Mangelsen |
Coe |
Jr. |
UTL |
Charlotte, Iowa/Northeast |
| Ellie Thurow @ # |
Coe |
Sr. |
P |
Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock North |
| Dariann Diorio |
Dubuque |
Sr. |
OF |
Sulphur Springs, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo |
| Anna Forari |
Luther |
Sr. |
DP |
Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf |
| Sami MacDonald |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
Jr. |
1B |
Blair, Neb./Briar Cliff |
| *Alexis Ehlers |
Simpson |
So. |
SS |
Bryant, Iowa/Northeast Goose Lake |
| Maddie Luderman ! |
Simpson |
Sr. |
C |
Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East |
| Sydney Fellows |
Wartburg |
Jr. |
OF |
Iowa City, Iowa/City |
| Lauren Frerichs # |
Wartburg |
Sr. |
OF |
New Hampton, Iowa/New Hampton |
| Honorable Mention |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Marisa Vodicka |
Coe |
Fr. |
2B |
Shaumburg, Ill./Shaumburg |
| Morgan Machovec |
Loras |
So. |
OF |
DeWitt, Iowa/Central DeWitt |
| Emma Alfieri ~ |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
Sr. |
SS |
Omaha, Neb./Millard South |
| Hannah Happ |
Wartburg |
Sr. |
2B |
Durant, Iowa/Durant |
| Sydney Illg ! # & |
Wartburg |
Sr. |
SS |
Grimes, Iowa/Johnston |
| Previous Honors |
| * At Large Selection |
| ! - 2022 First Team All-Conference |
| $ - 2022 Second Team All-Conference |
| @ - 2021 Pitcher of the Year |
| # - 2021 First Team All-Conference |
| % - 2021 Second Team All-Conference |
| ~ - 2021 Honorable Mention |
| & - 2019 First Team All-Conference |
The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its major softball awards and the 35-member All-Conference team for the 2023 season. Luther College collected two major awards this season.
Kendra Cooper (Fifth Year, Lansing, Iowa/Kee) was named A-R-C Pitcher of the Year and
Abby Spore (Jr.,Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) was selected as the 2023 A-R-C Most Valuable Player of the Year. The Coe College Coaching Staff was awarded American Rivers Conference Softball Coaching Staff of the Year. The Kohawks are led by head coach
Jake Koolbeck earned this honor with his assistant coach
Ashlee Rush.
Cooper becomes the third Norse to be honored as Pitcher of the Year, joining
Becca Girvan (2012) and
Amanda Witzlib (2015-2016). The fifth year led the A-R-C with ten wins to her name this season in conference action, starting 11 games in the circle and pitching nine complete games. Cooper maintained a 1.66 ERA in conference play this season, which sat third in the conference, throwing 71.2 innings in the circle for the Norse. Cooper finished with 92 strikeouts, with 17 of them being looking. The fifth-year right-hander led Luther back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 when they earned an at-large bid after falling in the A-R-C Conference Tournament title game.
Luther’s Spore becomes eighth Most Valuable Player in program history, and first since 2017. Spore joins
Darsi Doyl (1985-1986),
Danielle Kittleson (1990),
Amy Mitchell (1992),
Lisa Huinker (2007),
Kelsey Rose (2014),
Miranda McCay (2016), and
Anna Strien (2017) to be named American Rivers Conference Most Valuable Player. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native ranked second in the A-R-C in batting average (.449) and hits (22). She batted in eight runs while maintaining an on base percentage of .550. She additionally hit three homeruns in conference action. She helped guide the Norse to a 32-8 overall record and a 12-4 record in league play, finishing second.
Koolbeck is collecting his first-career Coach of the Year honor at the helm of the Kohawks softball program. In his first season leading the Kohawks, Koolbeck led the team to an outright regular season title. Koolbeck and his staff led Coe to a 31-8 overall record and a 13-3 conference mark. In addition, Koolbeck led the Kohawks to the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large bid.
Joining Cooper and Spore as First Team All-Conference performers for the Norse include
Belle Berg (Sr., Chatfield, Minn./Chatfield) and
Leah Crown (Sr., Plato, Minn./Central). Berg batted a solid .382 in league play this season, scoring 13 times in 16 games. The senior shortstop recorded eight walks on the season with only four strikeouts. The outfielder, Crown collected 19 hits, including three doubles and three home runs. In addition, Crown tallied 10 RBI and 12 runs scored. The Plato, Minnesota native batted .358 in league play. Berg and Crown are both earning First-Team honors for the first-time in their career. Beg was named to the Second-Team last season.
Representing Central College as First-Team representatives are
Haley Bach (So., Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) and
Emma Johnson (Sr., Davenport, Iowa/Assumption). Bach ranked seventh in the conference batting average (.383) while recording 18 hits with 47 at-bats. Bach scored 21 runs on the season and drove in an additional nine for the Dutch. Johnson led the league with an impressive .474 batting average. She recorded 18 hits on 38 at-bats, while only striking out one time. They led the Dutch to making their 31st appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with an at-large selection.
Coe was represented by the duo of
Ruby Kappeler (Sr., Muscatine, Iowa/Durant) and
Skyler Stookey (Sr., Solon, Iowa/Solon). Kappeler carried a .375 batting average, collecting 18 hits, and scoring 13 runs for the Kohawks. Stookey led the Kohawks in batting average (.396) where she collected 19 hits and a league best eight home runs. Stookey earned an at-large selection to the First-Team.
Ashlyn Hemm (So., Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale),
Grace Houghton (Sr., Marengo, Ill./Marengo), and
Alyssa Hughes (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) earned First-Team honors for the Loras College Duhawks. Hemm was a starting pitcher for the Duhawks where she posted a 6-2 record in conference action from the circle this season. Hemm maintained an ERA of 1.97 in 60.1 innings pitched. Accounting for 64 strikeouts on 225 batters faced. Houghton ranked third in the league for batting average (.447) where she played all 16 conference games to total 21 hits, 16 runs batted in, 10 runs scored, and only four strikeouts in 47 at-bats. The junior, Hughes, put out a .400 batting average to rank fifth in the A-R-C. She appeared in all 16 conference games as well, coming up to the plate 50 times, earning 20 hits, 11 RBIs, and two home runs. The Duhawks made the conference tournament and finished their season 21-15 overall and 9-7 in league play.
The lone Prairie Wolf recognized on the First-Team was pitcher
Elise Warneke (Sr., Bennington, Neb./Omaha Skutt Catholic). Warneke went 7-6 in conference play this season from the circle. She started 14 games and pitched ten complete games. She maintained an ERA of 3.45 and recorded the second-most strikeouts in the league, 89, during 93.1 innings of work.
The Simpson College Storm had one First-Team All-Conference representative, freshman
Ashlyn Steen (Fr., Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon). The outfielder ranked ninth in the conference with a .382 batting average in the Storm’s 16 games. She picked up 21 hits in her 55 at-bats this season, to go along with 10 runs scored. In her 55 at-bats, Steen recorded five strikeouts.
The 2023 A-R-C Tournament Champion Knights saw
Reegan Deputy (Jr., Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy) and
Ella Link (Jr., Dyersville, Iowa/Western Dubuque) earn First-Team honors. Deputy led Wartburg on offense this season, putting up a .377 batting average. Deputy made 53 appearances at the plate, grabbing 20 hits, 15 runs scored, 11 RBIs driven in, and hit four home runs. She accounted for only two strikeouts while taking a walk six times. Link finished the year with a .364 batting average. Link recorded 16 hits, 13 runs driven in, 12 runs herself during 16 conference games. Additionally, Link hit six home runs.
