KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced new Athletes of the Week for week three of the 2026 softball season. Missouri Western’s Kalee Hidgon was selected as the Hitter of the Week and Washburn’s Sadie Walker was unanimously named the Pitcher of the Week.
MIAA HITTER OF THE WEEK: Kalee Higdon, Missouri Western
Kalee Higdon put together a dominant four-game stretch as the Griffons went 3-1 at the Branson Division II Battle over the weekend. The senior shortstop hit .500 (7-for-14) while scoring six runs and driving in 10 RBI. She also hit two doubles and a home run for a .857 slugging percentage. Higdon showed discipline at the plate with a .533 on-base percentage and added seven stolen bases to create pressure on opposing defenses. Defensively, she recorded six putouts and 10 assists with no errors, playing a key role on both sides of the ball in a strong week for the Griffons.
MIAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Sadie Walker, Washburn
Sadie Walker collected three straight wins last the week with a 0.35 ERA in three starts. The senior struck out 17 total batters with two walks, allowing one earned run in 20 innings of pitching. In the Ichabods’ 2-0 win over No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Baptist, Walker tossed a four-hit complete game shutout, striking out seven with no walks for the win. She scattered seven hits in a 7-3 win over Harding, striking out four while allowing one earned run. In her final appearance of the weekend, Walker tossed another complete game shutout, allowing five hits with six strikeouts and one walk in the Ichabods’ 6-0 victory.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
HITTERS
Gianna Saggese, Missouri Southern
Gianna Saggese batted .571 (.857 SLG, .667 OB%) with eight hits, eight RBI and seven runs scored as Missouri Southern softball went 5-0 at the Division II Cherokee Nation Festival over the weekend. The freshman had hits in each of the last four games for the Lions. She went 3-for-3 with three RBI in the 8-0 shutout of Arkansas Monticello and finished 2-for-4 in the 6-5 win over Southeastern Oklahoma with a double and an RBI. She concluded the tournament 2-for-4 with three RBI, including a homer in MSSU’s 10-9 victory over Harding.
RayLin Morgan, Rogers State
RayLin Morgan was lights out at the Division II Cherokee Nation Softball Festival last weekend, finishing with a slash line of .462/.467/1.077 in four games. The sophomore outfielder tallied eight RBI, six hits, two runs and a walk. Four of her six hits were for extra bases, with two home runs and a pair of doubles. Morgan hit her first career home run in the 4-2 win over No. 24 Oklahoma Baptist and added her second against East Central.
Kaylee Cords, Northwest Missouri
Kaylee Cords batted .583 (.917 slugging percentage) with seven RBI as she helped lead Northwest to a 3-1 mark in Branson, Mo. The sophomore catcher blasted a three-run homer in the first inning of Northwest's 7-1 win over Truman State, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBI against the Bulldogs. Cords then went 1-for-3 with the game's only RBI in a 2-1 win over Southwest Baptist. She recorded a 4-for-4 outing in a 5-0 win against Missouri-St. Louis, recording three singles, a double and two RBI against the Tritons. Cords also reached on a walk in the sixth inning of a 3-2 eight-inning loss to Maryville to end the week's action.
PITCHERS
Kiki Pickens, Missouri Southern
Kiki Pickens went 2-0 over four appearances with a 2.40 ERA as Missouri Southern softball finished undefeated at 5-0 at the Division II Cherokee Nation Festival. Pickens notched 22 strikeouts over 11.2 innings over the weekend in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She pitched 5.0 innings in relief for the Lions’ 10-3 win over Southwestern Oklahoma, allowing no earned runs on two hits with 12 strikeouts. Pickens also started Southern’s 8-0 win versus No.11-ranked Southern Arkansas, throwing a complete-game shutout. She registered seven strikeouts while surrendering eight hits and three walks. Pickens is now 5-1 in the circle in 2026.
Jadyn Streigle, Northwest Missouri
Jadyn Streigle made two appearances in the circle and went 1-0 with a save and a 0.00 ERA with four strikeouts and a walk in 8.0 innings. The senior tossed a perfect seventh inning to gain the save in the Bearcats’ 2-1 victory over Southwest Baptist. Streigle then threw a four-hit shutout of Missouri-St. Louis, 5-0. She induced 12 groundball outs as she stymied the Tritons in Branson, Mo., at the Division II Battle and Juco Jam.
ALSO NOMINATED:
HITTERS – Heather Arnett [Pittsburg State], Makenzie Sais [Washburn], Zaria Birgham [Nebraska Kearney], Abbey Duarte [Fort Hays State], Rylee Lemos [Central Oklahoma]
PITCHERS – Emma Crabb [Pittsburg State], Harley Culie [Rogers State], Solana Carpenter [Fort Hays State], Zakayia Fredrick [Nebraska Kearney], Ashlyn Finarty [Missouri Western], Shelby Beard [Central Oklahoma]
WEEK ONE HITTER: Korynn Tindel, Northeastern State
WEEK ONE PITCHER: Emily Davis, Missouri Southern
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WEEK TWO HITTER: Katie Gray, Missouri Southern
WEEK TWO PITCHER: Harley Pruetting, Missouri Western
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WEEK THREE HITTER: Kalee Higdon, Missouri Western
WEEK THREE PITCHER: Sadie Walker, Washburn