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NEW ORLEANS – South Alabama freshman catcher Kara Wine and Texas State junior left-handed pitcher Maddy Azua earned the Sun Belt Conference’s weekly softball awards following the season’s first week of league competition.
Wine is the Jaguars’ first Player of the Week honoree since Gabby Stagner on March 18, 2025, while Azua collects her fifth-career Pitcher of the Week selection and second this season.
Player of the Week
Kara Wine, South Alabama
[Fr. | C | Cantonment, Fla.]
Wine was instrumental in helping South Alabama post a 3-1 record, including a Sun Belt series sweep of in-state rival Troy. In her four outings, Wine led the club with a .500 batting average and reached base safely in seven of her 12 plate appearances while drawing a pair of walks. The freshman catcher drove in five runs, homered twice and posted three extra-base hits, as she had at least one hit and one RBI in each game. On Wednesday, March 11 at ninth-ranked Florida State, Wine went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double and a walk. In the series against Troy, she broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-out, RBI-single in the Jags’ 3-2 victory Friday evening. In Saturday’s 7-0 win, Wine lined a bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle in the top of the first inning. Behind the plate, she helped the Jaguar pitching staff secure its conference-leading eighth shutout of the season. In Sunday’s 5-4 victory, Wine’s sixth-inning home run provided insurance and proved to be the game-winning run.
Pitcher of the Week
Madison Azua, Texas State
[Jr. | LHP | Round Rock, Texas]
Azua was a force in the circle for the Bobcats this week, posting a 3-0 record and spinning 22 innings with a 0.64 ERA. Azua tossed three complete games, two of which were shutouts. Her shutouts came in a pair of 1-0 wins against ULM and Sam Houston. The junior lefty struck out 21 batters while surrendering just three walks and 16 hits, including just two hits that went for extra bases, in her three outings for the Bobcats. In addition to that, she only walked three batters in that time.
2026 Sun Belt Conference Softball Players of the Week
Week 1 – Chloe Hatcher, DP, Georgia State
Week 2 – Brie Normandin, SS, Coastal Carolina
Week 3 – Makaley Boswell, UTIL, Troy
Week 4 – Kayla Christensen, INF, Georgia Southern
Week 5 – Taylor Schafer, INF, App State
Week 6 – Kara Wine, C, South Alabama
2026 Sun Belt Conference Softball Pitchers of the Week
Week 1 – Ryley Harrison, RHP, South Alabama
Week 2 – Maddy Azua, LHP, Texas State
Week 3 – Bethaney Noble, RHP, Louisiana
Week 4 – Makayla Stephens, RHP, Georgia State
Week 5 – Emma Strood, RHP, Texas State
Week 6 – Maddy Azua, LHP, Texas State