Bobcat Softball Crowned Regular Season Sun Belt Champs led by Player of the Year Aiyana Coleman

By Ben Cameron 

 SAN MARCOS – The Texas State Bobcats were crowned the Sun Belt regular season champions in the last game of the season after their 6-2 win over ULM. They finished the season 34-18 with a 16-8 conference record, outlasting the Marshall Thundering Herd by one game.  

 Entering her 25th season as the Head Coach, Ricci Woodard and the reigning tournament champion Bobcats lived up to high expectations after they were voted to finish 1st in the preseason coach’s poll.  

 Junior first baseman Aiyana Coleman was named both Sun Belt Player and Newcomer of the year. She is Texas State’s first Player of the Year since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, and just the third player in conference history to win both Player and Newcomer of the Year in the same season.  

 Coleman was joined by Junior catcher Megan Kelnar and Sophomore pitcher Madison Azua (SBC preseason pitcher of the year) as Bobcats voted All-Sun Belt First Team members. 

 Following her transfer from Texas A&M, Coleman made her statement as one of the best hitters in the country. Coleman started 51 of 52 games, hitting a program record 17 home runs with a .429 batting average and 55 RBI. She also finished 12th in the country for OPS (1.485), 9th in OBP (.577) and 13th in SLG (.908).  

 Despite Coleman’s historic season, the Bobcats offense finished middle of the pack amongst the SBC in run production. Luckily for the Bobcats, there’s two sides to the game. 

 Texas State dominated with the arms in 2025, tossing a team ERA of 2.81, second in the Sun Belt only behind Georgia Southern (2.49). However, the Bobcats were by far the headlining strikeout artists of the SBC, tallying 326 K’s as a staff, 78 more than the next highest.

 This dominant pitching staff was a two-headed monster made up of Madison Azua and Junior Emma Strood. The two combined for a 32-15 record, 284.2 IP, 2.76 ERA, 292 strikeouts, and a conference leading 11 shutouts. Junior Analisa Soliz also served as a great arm with a 2.28 ERA in 43 IP of her own. 

 The Bobcats travel to Troy, Alabama for this year’s Sun Belt tournament held May 7th-10th. Texas State looks to replicate last year’s outcome and finish as Sun Belt tournament champs, once again.