WHAC ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS: 6 Cardinals earn All-Conference Honors; Headlined by Player of the Year Shannon McAlinden

Posted: Apr 30, 2024

(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) announced its yearly awards on Tuesday afternoon and was highlighted by several Cardinals earning postseason honors.

Cardinal senior Shannon McAlinden earned WHAC Player of the Year as she was a part of the six different Cardinals to make their way onto an All-Conference Team.

CONFERENCE AWARDS

The Cardinal centerfielder, Shannon McAlinden took home Concordia Softball's fifth Player of the Year award as a program and the first time the Cardinals have gone back-to-back with the award since the 1997 and 1998 seasons as Payton Lewis earned Player of the Year in 2023.

FIRST TEAM

SHANNON MCALINDEN | SR | RIVERVIEW, MICHIGAN

Shannon McAlinden appears on her fourth straight WHAC All-Conference Team, the previous three on the First Team, after leading the conference in batting average (.478), hits (76) and is tied for first in RBIs with 47. She also added a league-high in doubles (23), and extra-base hits (32), and was second in stolen bases going a perfect 34 for 34.

CASSIDY KANE | SR | WILLIS, MICHIGAN

Making her first appearance on an All-Conference team is Cassidy Kane. Kane collected 50 hits on the season, which was tied for the 11th most in the WHAC. Her batting average of .413 is the fourth-highest in the conference this season.

PAYTON LEWIS | JR | VICKSBURG, MICHIGAN

This is the third straight year that Payton Lewis has appeared on the WHAC All-Conference First Team. The Cardinal leadoff batter has collected 52 hits on the season, which is tied for the eighth-most in the WHAC. She adds 26 RBIs on the season as well.

EMILEE UNDERWOOD | FR | CHELSEA, MICHIGAN

The freshman earns her first All-Conference award in her first year as a Cardinal. Emilee Underwood pitched in 27 games for CUAA this season as she earned a 17-3 record, which is the third most wins in the WHAC. Her 1.98 ERA is the fourth-lowest in the WHAC and the 130 strikeouts she had is the third most.

SECOND TEAM

KATIE TOBIAS | SR | BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN

Katie Tobias makes her second appearance on a WHAC All-Conference team after being on the First Team last season. The Cardinal catcher brought in 45 runners this season which was fourth most in the WHAC as she recorded a batting average of .371 with 49 hits.

JADA STEPHENSON | SR | WASHINGTON, MICHIGAN

Jada Stephenson is making her second straight appearance on the WHAC Second Team. On the season, Stephenson recorded 44 hits and 18 RBIs with a .349 batting average. She would also go 12 for 12 on stolen base attempts which is 17th-best in the WHAC.

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

CASSIDY KANE | SR | WILLIS, MICHIGAN

Earning her first All-Defensive honor is Cassidy Kane. The Cardinal third baseman made 25 putouts on the season with 58 assists, earning her a .922 fielding percentage.

PAYTON LEWIS | JR | VICKSBURG, MICHIGAN

The junior shortstop is on the All-Defensive team for the third straight year with a .940 fielding percentage. Lewis had 67 putouts and 90 assists and was a part of eight double plays.

SHANNON MCALINDEN | SR | RIVERVIEW, MICHIGAN

The centerfield for the Cardinals had a fielding percentage of .967 on the season. McAlinden had 50 putouts on the season with eight outfield assists.

CHAMPION OF CHARACTER

Kaleigh McClelland was recognized as the team's WHAC Champion of Character. The freshman was honored for her commitment to the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.