NEW ORLEANS – A trio of Georgia Southern softball players were honored by the league's coaches as the Sun Belt Conference announced the selections for its all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon. 

Freshman Maddie Johnson earned first-team All-Sun Belt while junior Alana Barnard and sophomore Delanie Thames were named to the second-team All-Sun Belt. The trio of Eagles are the most all-conference selections under head coach Sharon Perkins and the most since the 2017 season. 

Johnson led the Georgia Southern pitching staff and Sun Belt Conference posting a 2.03 overall ERA. Johnson tossed five complete games in league play. Overall, Johnson went 12-10 on the season tossing a team-high 145.0 innings including 110 strikeouts, for fifth most in the conference, and held opponents to a .220 batting average. In non-conference play, Johnson picked up wins over three power four schools in Michigan, UCF, and Maryland. She led GS to its first ranked win since 2022 in a 2-0 win over #22 Michigan and its first ranked shutout since the 2016 season. She tossed Georgia Southern's first no-hitter since 2017 and 19th all-time against George Mason earlier in the season and picked up a career high 11 strikeouts. The freshman is a two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week winner and the first Eagle to take the honors twice in a season. 

Delanie Thames hit .267 overall and .262 in conference play. She led the Eagles with seven home runs and a slugging percentage of .479. She led the conference in hit by pitches with 17, which also marks a new program record. Thames led the Eagles to a non-conference victory, launching a two-run homer to walk off Campbell in the bottom of the seventh. Thames drove in 26 runs on the season for second in the team. Thames scored the second-most runs with 24 and led the team in total bases (70). 

Alana Barnard led Georgia Southern with a 5-2 record and a  2.15 earned run average in conference play this season. The Statesboro native, holds the second-best conference ERA (2.15). In 45.2 innings pitched, the junior allowed just 14 runs and tallied 20 strikeouts. Barnard tossed one complete game, tossing seven innings to pick up the shutout over Marshall in game three of the series while also fanning a career high seven batters. Barnard's 2.04 overall ERA is second-best in the Sun Belt. She is holding opponents to a .220 batting average which ranks fourth-best in the conference. Barnard has allowed the fewest hits (50), runs (18), and walks (14) in conference play this season. 

Below are the entire first and second teams, and individual awards: 
2025 Sun Belt Conference Softball Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
Pitcher of the Year: Nicolette Picone, Coastal Carolina (Sr., LHP – Bethpage, N.Y.)
Freshman of the Year: Emily Smith, Louisiana (Fr., 1B – Kountze, Texas)
Newcomer of the Year: Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
Coach of the Year: Molly Fichtner, ULM

All-Sun Belt First Team
P Madison Azua, Texas State (So., LHP – Round Rock, Texas)
P Maddie Johnson, Georgia Southern (Fr., RHP – Athens, Ga.)
P Nicolette Picone, Coastal Carolina (Sr., LHP – Bethpage, N.Y.)
C Megan Kelnar, Texas State (Jr., C – Kyle, Texas)
1B Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
2B Morgan Brown, ULM (R-Fr., 2B – Katy, Texas)
2B Makayla McClain, App State (Jr., 2B – Liberty, N.C.)
3B Olivia Branstetter, South Alabama (So., 3B – Liberty, Mo.)
SS Grace Barrett, App State (So., SS – Milton, Ga.)
OF Meagan Brown, ULM (So., OF – Katy, Texas)
OF Hannah Christian, Southern Miss (Fr., OF – Hoover, Ala.)
OF Diamond Leslie, Marshall (Fr., OF – Alpharetta, Ga.)
OF Brooklin Lippert, ULM (So., OF – Loganville, Ga.)
OF Taylor McKinney, Troy (Sr., OF – Montgomery, Ala.)
DP Payton List, James Madison (R-So., DP – Beaver, Pa.)

All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Alana Barnard, Georgia Southern (Jr., RHP – Statesboro, Ga.)
P Alyssa Faircloth, Troy (So., LHP – Northport, Ala.)
P Sophie Moshos, App State (Jr., LHP – Brazil, Ind.)
C Maddie Jennings, Coastal Carolina (Sr., C – Belton, S.C.)
1B Georgia Hood, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 1B – Mount Gambier, Australia)
1B Emily Smith, Louisiana (Fr., 1B – Kountze, Texas)
1B Gabby Stagner, South Alabama (Sr., 1B – Mobile, Ala.)
2B Keirstin Roose, Coastal Carolina (Sr., 2B – Wolcottville, Ind.)
3B Sam Roe, Louisiana (Sr., 3B – Destin, Fla.)
SS Haleigh Adkins, Marshall (So., SS – Hamlin, W.Va.)
SS Delanie Thames, Georgia Southern (So., SS – Statesboro, Ga.)
OF Kayla Falterman, Louisiana (Sr., OF – The Woodlands, Texas)
OF Maddie Hayden, Louisiana (Sr., OF – West Monroe, La.)
OF McKinnon Howard, Troy (So., OF – Smiths Station, Ala.)
DP Layla Thompson, ULM (Sr., DP – Gonzales, La.)