NEW ORLEANS – The Coastal Carolina softball team had four student-athletes earn spots on the 2025 All-Sun Belt Conference teams, and senior pitcher Nicolette Picone earned Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honors, the league office announced on Tuesday.

Coastal's four all-conference selections mark its most since 2016.

Picone earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt first team and became the program's first Pitcher of the Year since current associate head coach Kiana Quolas earned Big South honors in 2014.

Maddy Jennings, Keirstin Roose and Georgia Hood were named to the All-Sun Belt second team. Jennings and Roose are first-time honorees, while Hood received all-conference recognition for the second straight year.

Picone, a four-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week this season, commanded the defense with a 2.42 ERA, 24 wins, and 154 strikeouts. The senior made her mark in the NCAA statistics standings placing third in victories (24), fourth in complete games (21), games started (31), and innings pitched (208.0) while ranking 10th in saves (5). The Bethpage, N.Y., native also recorded two ranked wins over No. 24 Kentucky and No. 9 South Carolina.

Hood played a pivotal role in the Chanticleers' lineup, leading the team in batting average (.430), hits (64), RBIs (51), slugging percentage (.866), and on-base percentage (.548). The senior earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on Feb. 18 and drove in the game-winning run in 13 contests. She currently ranks 22nd in the nation in on-base percentage and 25th in home runs (18).

Roose has been on top form during the 2025 season pacing the team with 14 doubles, two triples and four sacrifice flies. The second baseman came in clutch launching a two-run home run to give Coastal a 3-1 victory over No. 25 Kentucky and has recorded the game-winning RBI in four other contests. 

Jennings has been a force both behind the plate and in the batter's box posted a .285 batting average while recording 35 RBIs, 12 home runs, 41 hits, nine multi-RBI games, and five multi-hit games on the season. The catcher earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors on Feb. 25 after she hit four home runs and recorded nine RBIs to help secure wins over No. 24 Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State.

The Chanticleers will return to action for the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Troy, Ala., where they will face the No. 10 seed Southern Miss at 5 p.m. ET.

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 Maddy 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.)

For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (X), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.