CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The coaches have selected the 2025 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) softball postseason award selections. These student-athletes have distinguished themselves through a challenging conference regular season schedule. 
 
Coaches from the conference nominated and selected this year's all-conference team, recognizing 15 on first-team and 15 on second-team. In addition to honoring the all-conference team, the release also recognizes the Position Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year. 
 

2025 All-American Rivers Conference Softball Team
Position Player of the Year - Megan Heidelbauer, Simpson College
Pitcher of the Year - Hannah Luellen, Wartburg College
Rookie of the Year - Kaili Henning, Loras College
Coaching Staff of the Year - Brent Matthias, Simpson College
First Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Haley Bach $ @	Central	Sr.	SS	Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central
Rylee Dunkin	Central	So.	C	Hamilton, Iowa/Twin Cedars
Mariah Parton	Central	Jr.	OF	Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny
Addie Menke	Coe	Sr.	UTL	LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley
Olivia Engler @	Luther	Sr.	P	Atlantic, Iowa/Atlantic
* Chloe Wagner	Luther	Jr.	OF	Blair, Wis./Blair-Taylor
Paige Davison #	Nebraska Wesleyan	Sr.	3B	Omaha, Neb./Omaha Burke
Lyndsey Roth #	Nebraska Wesleyan	Sr.	DP	Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska-Kearney
* Elise Warneke $ #	Nebraska Wesleyan	Grad.	P	Bennington, Neb./Omaha Skutt Catholic
* Alexis Ehlers % #	Simpson	Sr.	SS	Bryant, Iowa/Northeast Goose Lake
Megan Heidelbauer @	Simpson	Jr.	1B	Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar
Kate Kriegel #	Simpson	Sr.	2B	Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell
Ashlyn Steen $ @	Simpson	Jr.	OF	Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon
Sydney Fellows	Wartburg	Fifth Yr.	OF	Iowa City, Iowa/City
Hannah Luellen	Wartburg	Sr.	P	Woodward, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes
Second Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Abbie White	Coe	Sr.	P	West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Katie Hayes	Univ. of Dubuque	Sr.	C	Monroe, Wis./Monroe
Kaitlyn Powell	Univ. of Dubuque	Jr.	SS	Blue Grass, Iowa/Davenport West
Kaili Henning	Loras	Fr.	DP	Fort Dodge, Iowa/Saint Edmond
Dana Skorich	Loras	Fr.	1B	Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South
Kiya Steger	Loras	Fr.	UTL	Dyersville, Iowa/Western Dubuque
* Raven Allen	Luther	Jr.	SS	Birmingham, Ala/McAdory
Mya Larsen	Luther	Fr.	OF	Elkhorn, Neb./Elkhorn
* Val Gerlach @	Nebraska Wesleyan	Grad.	C	Waverly, Neb./Waverly
Hanna Roth @	Nebraska Wesleyan	Fifth Yr.	OF	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln North Star
Emma LaFave	Simpson	Jr.	P	Clive, Iowa/Valley
* Mackenzie James	Simpson	So.	OF	Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial
Caelynn Obleton #	Simpson	Jr.	3B	Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar
Katie Shaner	Simpson	So.	OF	West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
* Carley Bredar	Wartburg	So.	OF	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Alexa Anderson	Central	Sr.	DP	Mount Ayr, Iowa/Mount Ayr
Emma Beck % @ !	Central	Jr.	P	Holland, Iowa/Grundy Center
Maddie Harris	Coe	Jr.	1B	Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Bella Mulder	Wartburg	Fr.	UTL	Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes
Previous Honors
* - At-Large Selection
! - 2024 Pitcher of the Year
@ - 2024 First-Team All-Conference
# - 2024 Second-Team All-Conference
$ - 2023 First-Team All-Conference
% - 2023 Second-Team All-Conference

 
The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its major softball awards and the 30-member All-Conference team for the 2025 season. Simpson College collected two major awards this season. Megan Heidelbauer was named A-R-C Position Player of the Year and the Simpson College Coaching Staff was awarded American Rivers Conference Softball Coaching Staff of the Year. The Storm are led by head coach Brent Matthias and earned this honor with assistant coaches Kelsey Aikey, Kyle Owens, Ron Reusche, Addy Pender, Carlye Satterwhite, and student assistant Ellee Mortensen. Wartburg College's Hannah Luellen was selected as the 2025 A-R-C Pitcher of the Year and Loras College's Kaili Henning earned the inaugural Rookie of the Year honor. 
 
Heidelbauer becomes the fourth Storm student-athlete to be honored as Position Player of the Year, joining Nicki Stewart (1989), Kelly Schade (1997-1998-1999), and Whitney Oviatt (2010). She posited a .517 batting average and 30 hits in 16 conference games started. She batted in 28 runs while maintaining an on base percentage of .569. She additionally hit six home runs in conference action. She helped guide the Storm to a 31-6 overall record and go 11-5 in league play to grab the first regular season conference title for Simpson since 2010. 
 
Wartburg's Luellen becomes the third Pitcher of the Year in program history, and first since 2019. Luellen joins Angela Hartwig (2008) and Maddie Rog (2019) as previous Pitchers of the Year in the orange and black. She led the way for the Knights, maintaining a 2.37 ERA in conference play this season as she started ten games. She tossed 65.0 innings in the circle for the Knights, striking out 13 batters and giving up 22 earned runs. Luellen posted an 8-2 record and also grabbed one save. Luellen led the Knights back to the top as they earned a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2008. 
 
Loras' Henning puts her name in the record book first as the league hands out the inaugural Rookie of the Year honor. Not only was Henning a threat at the plate, but she also made noise from within the circle for the Duahwks. The rookie posted a 2.30 ERA and posted a 7-2 record in conference action. She tossed 54.2 innings in which she struck out 43 batters and held opponents to a batting average of .292. From the plate, Henning posted a .321 batting average with 17 hits and nine RBIs. She started all 16 games during the conference season. 
 
Matthias is collecting his first career Coach of the Year honor at the helm of the Simpson Storm softball program. He has built the Storm back into conference and national contention since arriving in Indianola in 2017. Matthias led the team to their first conference title since 2010 and earned the right to host the conference championship as the No. 1 seed. 

Luellen is joined on first-team with teammate Sydney Fellows. Fellows posted a .426 batting average in 16 starts in conference action. In 54 apperances at the plate, she recorded 23 hits, 20 runs, and 10 RBIs. The Knights clinched a share of the conference regular season title with an overall regular season record of 24-14 and conference record of 11-5. 

Alexis Ehlers, Kate Kriegel, and Ashlyn Steen join Heidelbauer on first-team all-conference this season after clinching a share of the conference regular season title at 11-5 in the conference at 31-6 overall to earn the right to host the conference tournament. Ehlers was consistent for the Storm posting a .413 batting average on 46 trips to the plate. She grabbed 19 hits, 18 RBIs, and 14 runs. Additionally, she drilled six home runs. Kriegel was another threat posting a .343 batting average. In the field, she recorded 23 putouts and only five errors through 16 conference games. Steen was a firm competitor on offense and defense. From the plate, she posted a .519 batting average with 28 hits, 28 runs, and 15 RBIs. In the outfield, she recorded 15 putouts and just a single error. 

Haley Bach, Rylee Dunkin, and Mariah Parton represent the Central College Dutch in this year's edition of the softball all-conference team. Bach was the strongest and most consistent batter in the Dutch lineup this season as she posted a .568 batting average with 21 hits, 14 runs, and 13 RBIs. She was consistent in the field too at shortstop. She posted 19 putouts, 18 assists, and just three errors. Dunkin was a wall behind the plate recording 45 putouts, 18 assists, and two errors. From the plate, she batted .385 through 16 conference games and recorded 15 hits, 15 runs, and 11 RBIs. Parton posted a .408 batting average for Central with 20 hits, 14 runs, and 11 RBIs. As an outfielder, she recorded 26 putouts, 18 assists, and two errors. 

Nebraska Wesleyan saw a trio earn first-team all-conference: Paige Daivson, Lyndsey Roth, and Elise Warneke. Davison posted a .404 batting average in 16 conference games this spring including adding 21 hits, seven RBIs, and six runs. At third base, she recorded 27 assists, 16 putouts, and just three errors for the P-Wolves. Roth recorded a .333 batting average with 14 hits, 11 RBIs, and nine runs. She hit three home runs during the conference regular season. Warneke played a strong presence in the circle for Nebraska Wesleyan again this season where she pitched 86.0 innings. She posted a 2.77 ERA and held opponents to a batting average of .244. She recorded a record of 9-5 with three saves. She struck out 51 batters while walking 26. 

Olivia Engler and Chloe Wagner earn first-team honors this season for the Norse of Luther. Engler put in valuable work from within the circle being in action 54.0 innings during the conference slate. She posted a 1.81 ERA while recording a 4-4 record. She struck out 28 batters while allowing just 14 earned runs. Wagner was a consistent tool for the Norse offense posting a .400 batting average with 18 hits, 12 RBIs, and ten runs. 

To round out the first-team all-conference team is Addie Menke of Coe. Menke posted a .375 batting average over 16 conference games. She saw the plate 48 times and recorded 18 hits, seven RBIs, and six runs.