Softball | 5/26/2026 10:00:00 AM

(Greenwood, Ind. - May 26, 2025) - Four Utah Tech softball student-athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team on Tuesday.

Senior outfielder Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona (Communication Studies, 3.97), junior pitcher Riley Price (Exercise Science, 3.63), junior infielder Drew McKown (Exercise Science, 3.81) and sophomore infielder Kinley Pappas (Recreation & Sports Management, 3.93) all earned the academic honor for maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher while being at least sophomores.

Position players had to compete in at least 90 percent or start 66 percent of the team's total games this season while pitchers had to make at least 17 appearances or pitch 35.0 innings.

Kahahawai-Kekona, who earned First Team All-WAC honors & NFCA Third Team All-Mountain Region honors along with being selected to the WAC All-Defensive Team, finished fifth in the WAC in batting average hitting .392 and tied for fifth in the league with 14 stolen bases.

Her third selection to the CSC Academic All-District team after selections in 2024 & 2025, Kahahawai-Kekona also ranked second on the team with 56 hits, totaled 15 multi-hit contests and tallied a season-best three hits in five games.

Price, who earned her second straight CSC Academic All-District honor, appeared in 20 games in the circle making four starts. She tossed 38.1 innings striking out 20 and went a season-high six innings against UC Davis (Feb. 21) and struck out a season-best three in early season games against UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 8) & in a 6-4 win over Colorado State in San Diego on Feb. 13.

McKown, who made 52 starts at second base, hit .223 from the plate and tallied 25 base hits, including a pair of doubles. The Roseville, Calif., native had a season-high three base knocks with an RBI and run scored against Omaha at the Trailblazer Classic on March 13.

Pappas, the WAC Player of the Year along with being named a Third Team All-Mountain Region selection, started all 53 games and led the WAC in batting average (.450), slugging percentage (.858) & total bases (145). She also ranked second in the conference in doubles (21), triples (6), RBI (54) & on-base percentage (.492) and finished third in runs (52) & hits (76).

Kahahawai-Kekona & Pappas along with 125 other student-athletes nationally were selected as CSC Academic All-America finalists and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members.

The 2026 Academic All-District® Softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 16. 

The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.

For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.