LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Thursday afternoon, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced its 2026 NFCA All-Region Teams with the Sun Devil Softball program having five selections on the All-West Team. Kenzie Brown (First Team), Kaylee Pond (Second), Samantha Swan (Third), Katie Chester (Third) and Emily Schepp (Third) were all selected at their respective positions throughout the all-region’s three teams.
The five all-region selections for the Sun Devils are the most by an Arizona State team since having five – Lindsay Lopez, Cydney Sanders, Yannira Acuña, Jazmine Hill and Alynah Torres – following the 2022 regular season. The five selections are also the second most in a single season by a single ASU squad, joining the 2015, 2017 and 2022 teams.
The 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2021 Sun Devil Softball teams are all tied for the most NFCA All-Region selections by an ASU team in a single season with six.
(Click here to see all the NFCA All-Region selections throughout Sun Devil Softball’s program.)
Brown, the Big 12 Softball Tournament Most Valuable Player, has a team-leading 15 wins with 238 strikeouts along with a 2.29 earned run average (ERA) in 143.2 innings of work across 31 appearances in the pitching circle. She’s limited opposing batters to a team-low .172 batting average, while issuing only 70 walks and scattering just 89 hits. She’s been credited with three saves and six shutouts, including a seven-inning complete game shutout against No. 3/4 Texas Tech during last weekend’s Big 12 Softball Tournament Championship.
Pond, who is the only Sun Devil to appear in and start all 57 games of the 2026 season entering this weekend’s NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional, drew a team-high 39 walks, 17 more than the next closest Sun Devil Katie Chester (22). She was also the only Arizona State student-athlete to be hit by 10-or-more (12) pitches thus becoming the only Sun Devil to draw 30-or-more walks and being hit by 10-or-more pitches. The first-year Sun Devil was also one of just four with 110-or-more (110) total bases.
Swan, the Sun Devil’s unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, broke the program’s single-season doubles record with 20 and will enter the NCAA Regional with a .381/.450/.694 slash line with 10 home runs, 37 runs scored and 111 total bases. She drove in 46 runs, while positing a .985 fielding percentage while spending at least one game at catcher, third base, left field and right field.
Schepp, who moved out from behind the plate to play third base, had a team-leading 64 hits with 14 doubles and 12 home runs after a team-leading 177 plate appearances. She is also the only Sun Devil batter with 100-or-more at bats (177) and less than 10 strikeouts (9) on the season. She’s one of just three Arizona State players to score 40-or-more runs scored, while her three sacrifice flies
Chester is chasing the Arizona State softball single-season home run and RBI records as the second-year Sun Devil has connected for 19 home runs – three shy of breaking the record – and 64 RBI – 10 shy of breaking the record – entering this weekend’s NCAA Regional in Texas. Her 42 runs scored this season are the second most on the team behind Kaylee Pond’s 53, while her 117 total bases lead all Sun Devils.
UP NEXT
Arizona State (41-16) will open its stay at the NCAA Bryan-College Station Regional on Friday, May 15, when the second-seeded Sun Devils take on the third seed McNeese Cowgirls (40-20) at 1:30 p.m. MST / 3:30 p.m. CDT at Davis Diamond on the campus of Texas A&M.
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