Texas State softball added some more individual hardware to the trophy case as the Sun Belt Conference revealed postseason awards and all-conference teams Tuesday afternoon. The Bobcats were one of four schools that each had three players recognized with awards.
First basemen Aiyana Coleman led the way for the Bobcats, as she was named the 2025 Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Year, along with Newcomer of the Year award. According to the press release, she is just the third player in conference history to win both awards in the same year.
She is the first Bobcat to win the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award in program history, and the first to win such an award since pitcher Chandler Hall in 2012 won the Southland Conference’s Player of the Year award prior to Texas State’s departure from the conference.
Coleman put up quite the numbers in a historic campaign that saw her lead the Sun Belt in RBIs (55), OPS (1.485), slugging (.908), walks (43) and OPB (.577). She ranked fourth in the conference in batting average, hitting .429. Among these stats, Coleman also collected several single-season records for Texas State, including home runs (17) & RBIs.
She was also one of just four players in the conference to have at least 130 putouts while committing no errors during her time as the starting first basemen.
Joining Coleman on the All-Sun Belt First Team is the battery unit of pitcher Maddy Azua and catcher Megan Kelnar. Texas State tied with the most first team selections, joining Louisiana-Monroe.
The ace of the pitching staff saw much more action in her sophomore year, tossing a 2.71 ERA in 38 appearances, starting in 25 of those games. In the 168 innings she pitched, Azua struck out 186 batters, tossing 11 complete games and earning 20 wins.
Azua continues what is a five-season streak of the Bobcats having a pitcher on the All-Sun Belt First Team, taking the mantle from Jessica Mullins who had previously received the selections in the last four seasons from 2021 to 2024.
Megan Kelnar had a breakout season in her junior campaign, slashing .340/.385/.457 in 37 games played. She racked up 32 hits, including eight doubles and one home run while producing 19 RBIs.
Kelnar is just the second catcher in program history to have All-Sun Belt First Team honors, joining Caitlyn Rogers, who received the honor in 2022.
