Softball Places Four on CSC Academic All-District Team

GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State softball program placed four athletes on the College Sports Communicators 2026 Academic All-District® Softball Teams, as announced Tuesday by CSC. Marin Jacobs garnered the honor for the second straight year, while Aaliyah Dang-Gutierrez, Haley Emmerson and Haeley Vasquez each earned the distinction for the first time.
 
Jacobs, a repeat Second Team All-Sooner Athletic Conference selection, tossed 145.1 innings and worked to a 3.41 ERA in 2026. Throughout her career (including Jacobs' freshman season at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods), she has logged 66 complete games and over 460 innings in the circle while being named second-team all-conference all three years. The junior from Bloomington, Indiana, has also been steady in the classroom as a mathematics major, having now picked up her second Academic All-District nod.
 
Dang-Gutierrez led OPSU with 29 stolen bases in her debut season with the team, in which she made 45 appearances and started 36 contests as a second baseman and corner outfielder. The transfer from Northwestern Oklahoma State also collected 28 hits and scored 20 times on the season. Dang-Gutierrez, who hails from Guymon, Oklahoma, was named OPSU Athletics' Female Scholar-Athlete Award winner for 2025-26 in late April, with her near-perfect GPA as an academic senior majoring in health & physical education ranking tops among softball upperclassmen.
 
Emmerson earned an Academic All-District spot as an outfielder who started 37 games for the Aggies. The Sterling, Colorado, native showcased her plate discipline and speed, drawing 14 walks and stealing 16 bases to rank second and third, respectively, on the team. Emmerson has excelled as a health & physical education major in her junior year with a 3.90 GPA.
 
Vasquez rounded out the Aggies' 2026 Academic All-District recipients, as the utility player nears completion of a degree in elementary education with an outstanding GPA. On the field, the Guymon native posted a .312 batting average and team-high .447 slugging percentage by collecting 44 hits, including 10 doubles and three homers. Those numbers led to Vasquez driving in 21 runs and earning Honorable Mention All-Sooner Athletic Conference status.
 
Through two seasons under the direction of head coach Jim Walker, OPSU softball has accumulated six CSC Academic All-District awards.
 
About the CSC Academic All-America Program
The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom.
 
CSC Academic All-District honorees are nominated by their respective institution's sports information department for exceeding high standards set as a student-athlete.
 
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have achieved sophomore status academically, maintain a GPA of 3.50 or higher and meet minimum playing-time requirements. Position players must either play in a minimum of 90 percent, or start in at least 66 percent, of her team's games throughout the season; pitchers, meanwhile, must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched 35-plus innings.
 
2025-26 CSC Academic All-District Softball Teams | OPSU Honors Page