HAMMOND – The 2026 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana Collegiate Softball Team features a pair of Livingston Parish players in Southeastern Louisiana’s Brilee Ford of Albany and LSU-Alexandria’s Lainee Bailey of Walker.
Ford was named first team All-Louisiana for the second straight season after earning second team All-Southland Conference honors last month. She hit .360 with five home runs and 39 RBIs in her first season at first base.
Bailey, who was a second-team selection, went 19-7 with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP with 77 strikeouts in 31 appearances. She was a first-team All-RRAC selection and the RRAC Co-Pitcher of the Year while earning first-team NFCA NAIA Region I honors.
Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern placed a state-high seven student-athletes on the team, which was announced by the LSWA Tuesday.
Southeastern coach Rick Fremin was named Coach of the Year for the third straight season, while sophomore pitcher Hallie Burns was tabbed the state's Pitcher of the Year.
Burns was one of a state-high five Lions to earn first team All-Louisiana honors along with pitcher Cera Blanchard, catcher Cydnee Schneider, first baseman Ford and second baseman Shelby Morris. Outfielder Ka'Lyn Watson represented SLU on the second team, while third baseman Maria Detillier was an honorable mention selection.
Fremin led Southeastern to a 46-16 overall record, as the Lions finished 24-3 in conference play on the way to the first Southland Conference regular season title in program history. One of eight Division I programs to win 40 or more games each of the past five seasons, Fremin's 2026 SLU squad claimed the first at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament by an SLC school since 2003.
Fremin helped Southeastern crack the NFCA Coaches and Softball America Top 25 rankings for the first time this spring. The Lions posted a single-season Southland and school record 25-game winning streak during the historic season.
Burns added to a growing list of postseason accolades that saw her be named second team NFCA All-Gulf Region, the SLC Pitcher of the Year and the Southland Student-Athlete of the Year. The Booneville, Miss. native finished 20-5 with a 1.68 ERA and two saves, holding opponents to a .168 batting average and striking out 107 in 112.2 innings pitched.
Burns and Blanchard provided Southeastern with an elite 1-2 punch in the circle this spring. Blanchard, previous named second team All-SLC and third team All-Gulf Region, posted a 13-3 record and a 1.20 ERA with three saves, striking out 71 and holding opponents to a .189 batting average in 111.0 innings pitched.
Schneider received first team all-state recognition to go with her first team All-Southland nod. The Elkhorn, Neb. native hit .386 with a school-record 20 doubles and six sacrifice flies to go with 39 RBI and 68 hits.
Morris rounded out the Lions' first team all-state honorees. The first team All-Southland selection from Clinton, La. set new single-season school marks with 60 runs scored and 121 total bases to go with a .398 batting average, 14 doubles, seven triples, 33 RBI and 22 stolen bases.
Watson was honored as a second team All-Louisiana selection after earning first team All-SLC honors. Batting .358 for the season, the Missouri City, Texas native hit nine home runs with 44 runs scored, seven triples and 35 RBI in her final season in Hammond.
Closing out the SLU honorees was Detillier, who was previously named first team All-Southland Conference earlier in the postseason. Finishing her career as the program's all-time leader in runs, RBI, extra-base hits, total bases and sacrifice flies, the Gramercy, La. native hit .307 with 41 runs scored, 13 doubles, nine home runs and a team-high 56 RBI.
LSU outfielder Jalia Lassiter was tabbed the state's Hitter of the Year, while her teammate and Tiger shortstop Kylee Edwards was named the Newcomer of the Year. UL Lafayette second baseman Haley Hart claimed Freshman of the Year honors.
2026 All-Louisiana Collegiate Softball Team
Pitcher of the Year: Hallie Burns, Southeastern
Hitter of the Year: Jalia Lassiter, LSU
Newcomer of the Year: Kylie Edwards, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Haley Hart, UL Lafayette
Coach of the Year: Rick Fremin, Southeastern
First Team
P – Cera Blanchard, Southeastern
P – Hallie Burns, Southeastern
P – Ashanti McDade, ULM
P – Aaliyah Zabala, Southern
C – Cydnee Schneider, Southeastern
1B – Brilee Ford, Southeastern
2B – Shelby Morris, Southeastern
3B – Brooke Otto, UL Lafayette
SS – Kylee Edwards, LSU
OF – Laila Clark, Southern
OF – Kaetlyn Dunbar, LSU Alexandria
OF – Jalia Lassiter, LSU
DP – Kayleigh Lugowski, Nicholls
UT – Brynn Daniel, Northwestern State
Second Team
P – Lainee Bailey, LSU Alexandria
P – Mattison Buster, Northwestern State
P – Clelia Costes, Bossier Parish CC
P – Molly Yoo, Nicholls
C – Kennedy Marceaux, UL Lafayette
1B – Abigail Mitchell, Southern
2B – Haley Hart, UL Lafayette
3B – Jessica Battiste, Dillard
SS – Kassidy Chance, McNeese
OF – Ka'Lyn Watson, Southeastern
OF – Nyjah Fontenot, McNeese
OF – Elena Heng, Louisiana Tech
DP – Maddie Taylor, McNeese
UT – Gracie Flores, Louisiana Tech
Honorable Mention
P – Mary-Elizabeth Landry, Dillard; Skylar Waggoner, ULM
2B – Morgan Brown, ULM; Sierra Daniel, LSU; Claire Sicco, Nicholls
3B – Maria Detillier, Southeastern; Jada Munoz, McNeese
SS – Mia Liscano, UL Lafayette
OF – Meagan Brown, ULM; Rylee Cloud, McNeese; Madison Moak, Nicholls; Payton Prince, LSU Eunice
UT: Mylie Elsensohn, LSU Eunice; Sophia Romero, LSU Alexandria
