Wolf Pack Softball Earn High Praise from Mountain West Conference

RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) – The Mountain West Conference announced on Tuesday that Aaliyah Jenkins was awarded as the Mountain West Player of the Year, while Victoria Hayward received the honor for being the Coach of the Year. Jenkins secured this recognition following an outstanding season marked by exceptional batting performance. Meanwhile, Hayward became only the third rookie head coach within the last four years to earn such accolades. In addition to these two honorees, another quartet from the University’s team also earned spots among the All-Conference selections: Madison Clark, Hailey McLean, Haylee Engelbrecht, and Tess Bumiller.

In games against the Mountain West, Jenkins posted exceptional video game statistics, topping the league in several categories. She led with a batting average of .522, a slugging percentage of 1.159—a full .289 ahead of the next player—on-base percentage at .607, hits totaling 36, 10 home runs, four triples, 32 RBIs, 29 runs scored, an impressive 80 total bases, and 16 stolen bases. Additionally, her cumulative base tally was significantly higher than the runner-up’s by 33%. Jenkins rounded out her performance within the top ten for doubles (tied for sixth with six) as well as walks and being hit by pitches (both tied for ninth with 12 and third respectively with three each).

Renowned for dismantling the Nevada Softball record book, Jenkins etched her legacy into the Mountain West record book by shattering several classification marks. With a remarkable .522 batting average, she established a fresh senior benchmark within the Mountain West league. Additionally, her 1.159 slugging percentage ranks as the second-highest in conference annals, marking the peak achievement since 2012, and stands as a classification record. Jenkins also claimed a novel senior on-base percentage title with an impressive figure of .607. Furthermore, her cumulative tally of 80 total bases places her among the top three all-time performers in the conference’s chronicles. She secured the fourth position historically for both triples struck—with this number matching the classification standard—while tying Chelie Senini’s senior milestone of 16 stolen bases, which shares the same rank of fourth place in conference lore.

The Tracy, California-born player received Mountain West accolades during five out of the seven weeks when Nevada faced conference opponents. This ties her with the highest number of weekly honors in one season within conference records and marks the greatest tally since 2005. Additionally, Jenkins owns the top spot at Nevada for accumulating the most Player of the Week distinctions throughout her career.

Jenkins earned a spot on the All-Mountain West first team for the third time in her career, placing her alongside Senini and Brittany Puzey as the only athletes from Nevada to achieve this honor thrice throughout their collegiate tenure.

Hayward takes home the Coach of the Year award in her first year at the helm of a collegiate program. Hayward led the Wolf Pack to its first conference championship since 2009, winning the Mountain West outright by two games. The Pack’s 18-4 record in conference is the best since 2009 and breaks the program record for most wins in conference play in a season.

Hayward coached the Pack to the fourth 40-win season in program history, with the postseason yet to be played. Her squad reached 40 wins faster than any Pack team in program history and is four wins away from tying the program record.

Originally from Mountain View, California, Hayward followed in the footsteps of her previous supervisor, Stacey Nuveman Deniz, becoming one of just two rookie head coaches to guide their teams to the summit of the Mountain West rankings.

Hayward’s Wolf Pack secured the second spot in the conference for batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Additionally, they placed second in runs scored, hits, RBIs, and total bases. Meanwhile, Nevada topped the league in triples and stolen bases.

Taking home all-Mountain West first team honors were Clark and McLean. Clark set the tone for the Pack, leading off the last 16 conference games for Nevada. Clark hit .493 in conference play, recording a hit in 18 out of 22 games. Her conference season was highlighted by her twelve-game hit streak, which included a four-for-four game at Fresno State. Clark finished the season ranked second in batting average (.493), second in runs (25), third in hits (34), third in stolen bases (11), and fourth in on-base percentage (.514).

McLean guided the team through the conference games, securing victories in seven of their fourteen matches and recording forty-five strikeouts across fifty-six innings on the mound. She concluded with the seventh-best ERA at 3.50, ranked second for opponent’s batting average at .220, secured fifth place for strikeouts with forty-five, and took third spot for wins with seven. Early in the season, she threw two consecutive complete-game shutouts against Boise State and San Diego State.

Engelbrecht and Bumiller both earned spots on the All-Mountain West Second Team. Bumiller dominated for the team during conference play with an impressive record of 6-0 from her 10 outings. She placed fourth in ERA (3.05), held opponents to a .221 batting average which ranked her second, and secured six victories. Notably, she excelled particularly when facing San Jose State and New Mexico, recording up to seven strikeouts in one game versus the Spartans.

Engelbrecht ranked third amongst eligible Wolf Pack batters in terms of batting average, posting a mark of .339. She also recorded an impressive 1.061 OPS and concluded the conference season with 12 extra-base hits under her belt. In various categories, she ended up sharing the third spot in doubles (with eight), tying for ninth place in runs scored (accumulating 18 times), placing tenth in both slugging percentage (.661) and RBIs (driving in 16 runners), as well as homering four times which placed her tenth in that category. Additionally, she secured a tie for seventh position in stolen bases (stealing four bases). Notable highlights included setting an NCAA record with four doubles against Utah State and achieving her maiden two-home run game during their match versus New Mexico.

The Pack will head into the Mountain West Championships as the one-seed, awaiting the winner of a one-and-done game between Boise State and Utah State. Nevada is scheduled to play its first game of the tournament at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Full Mountain West Awards

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Aaliyah Jenkins, Sr., C/UTL, Nevada

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Serayah Neiss, Senior Left-Handed Pitcher from Fresno State

DEFENSE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Quinn Waiki, Freshman, Infielder, San Diego State

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Makenzie Butt, playing First Base for Boise State

COACH OF THE YEAR

Victoria Hayward, Nevada

FIRST TEAM ALL-MW

Makenzie Butt, freshman, first base, Boise State

Sophia Knight, Sophomore, Outfielder, Boise State

Serayah Neiss, Senior Left-Handed Pitcher for Fresno State

Maddie Clark, Sophomore, Utility Player, Nevada

Aaliyah Jenkins, Sr., Center/Utility, Nevada

Hailey McClean, Jr., right-handed pitcher from Nevada

Ashley Archuleta, Senior, Internal Function, New Mexico

Cece Cellura, Sophomore, Right-Handed Pitcher, San Diego State

Bella Espinoza, Senior, Outfielder, San Diego State

Ahmiya Noriega, Jr., Shortstop, San Jose State

Mia Reynolds, Senior Right-Handed Pitcher, San Jose State

Ariana Martinez, Senior, Infielder, UNLV

Jr. Kya Pratt, OF, Utah State

Tatum Silva, Sophomore, Outfielder, Utah State

Grace Matej, Jr., C/INF, Utah State

SECOND TEAM ALL-MW

Mykenzie Hanna, Sr., OF, Boise State

Leah McAnally, So., C, Boise State

Brooke Bohlender, Senior, Catcher/Utlateral, Colorado State

Kaylynn English, Sophomore, Information Systems major, attends Colorado State University.

Kennedy Bunker, Jr., First Baseman, Fresno State, C/1B

Natalie Elias, Jr., Outfielder, Fresno State

Tess Bumiller, Jr., Right-Handed Pitcher, Nevada

Haylee Englebrecht, Jr., INF, from Nevada

McKenna Guest, Sophomore, Right-Handed Pitcher, University of New Mexico

Julie Holcomb, Sophomore, Outfielder, San Diego State

Jade Ignacio, Jr., Catcher, San Diego State

Grace Uribe, Sr., RHP/UTL, San Diego State

Jesse Farrell, Sophomore, Center, UNLV

Ariel Fifita, Sr., INF, Utah State

Giselle Gonzalez, Sr., INF, Utah State

Claudia Medina, Sr., INF/OF, Utah State

HONORABLE MENTION

Megan Lake, OF, Sr., Boise State

Brooklynn Pettis, Senior, Center, Boise State

Reagan Wick, Sophomore, Left-Handed Pitcher, Colorado State

Lauren Almeida, Senior, Information Technology, Fresno State

Allie Williams, Freshman, Outfielder, University of New Mexico

Lacie Ham, Senior, Right-Handed Pitcher, San Jose State

Aubrie Thomas, Senior, Utility Player, San Jose State Spartans

Karmyna Becerra, INF, UNLV

Yanina Sherwood, Freshman, Right-handed pitcher, UNLV

Olivia Marble, Sr., Outfielder, Utah State