Texas softball slugger Katie Stewart was named the SEC’s player of the year, the conference office announced Friday. In addition, seven Longhorns earned All-SEC honors.
Stewart, a junior first baseman, joined junior center fielder Kayden Henry, junior pitcher Teagan Kavan and junior shortstop Viviana Martinez on the all-conference first team while senior catcher Reese Atwood, senior second baseman Leighann Goode and freshman utility player Hannah Wells were named to the second team. Atwood also earned All-SEC defensive team honors.
The All-SEC teams consist of 25 players on the first team, 26 on the second team and a nine-member all-defensive team. Texas and Oklahoma led the conference with seven first- and second-team selections.
All awards were chosen by the league’s head coaches, and no ties were broken.
Stewart is the first Longhorn in program history to earn the player of the year award for the SEC and is the fourth Longhorn to garner conference player of the year honors, joining former Big 12 players of the year Atwood (2024), Taylor Thom (2014) and Amy Hooks (2011). Texas’ first softball season in the SEC was 2025.
Stewart, a top 25 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year Award, is a three-time all-conference selection. She has put together a record-breaking junior campaign, setting a single-season program record with 24 home runs. She entered Friday’s SEC Tournament semifinal against Georgia hitting .441 with a slugging percentage of 1.015 to go with 61 RBIs. Prior to the start of the SEC Tournament, she led the conference in batting average while ranking second in home runs and fifth in RBIs.