UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the recipients and All-GLIAC teams on Wednesday afternoon. The Saginaw Valley State University softball team captured two conference specialty awards for the second consecutive season, with junior Macy Irelan named the Pitcher of the Year and head coach Ryan Schalk the Coach of the Year.
Irelan joined four of her teammates as a First-Team All-GLIAC recipient with Ella Reifschneider (outfield), Olivia Elliott (DP), Jenna Morse (utility), and Aalana Kimble (pitcher) listed. Both Kimble and Reifschneider are repeat selections, as Kimble was a first-team selection a season ago and Reifschneider was on the second team in 2024.
Kenzie Bromley (2B) makes her debut on the All-GLIAC list as a member of the second team. She is joined by Kate Pnacek (OF) on the second team (Pnacek was a second-team selection for SVSU in 2023).
Junior Ella Schneider and sophomore Natalie Savage were named All-GLIAC honorable mentions.
Schalk earned GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading the Cardinals to back-to-back GLIAC regular season titles. This year's championship was the first outright regular-season title since 2009. Schalk led SVSU to the third-highest win total in program history with 40 wins. They are just two wins away from tying the second-most wins, a mark the team has hit twice before (2011 & 1999). Additionally, the team won the most conference games in program history with a 23-5 mark, the first 20-win season in conference play. Schalk has coached back-to-back GLIAC Pitchers of the Year with Macy Irelan this season and Emily Depew last season. Saginaw Valley State holds the top seed in the GLIAC Softball Tournament and is seeking its fourth-consecutive Tournament title in 2025. The Cardinals lead the GLIAC in batting average, doubles, ERA, hits, home runs, on-base percentage, RBI, scoring, slugging percentage, strikeout-to-walk ratio, team strikeouts per seven innings, total runs, and WHIP. They are also top 25 in the country strikeout-to-walk ratio (11th), WHIP (11th), team strikeout per seven innings (13th), total runs (14th), RBI (16th), and scoring (17th).
"This award should really be named the coaching staff of the year award. Even then, it wouldn't really cover all the people that make our season successful," said Cardinal head softball coach Ryan Schalk. "Coach Bohn is one of the best minds in our game and prepares our team at an elite level. Coach Gersch is one of the best players to come through our program, and our players really benefit from having someone who has been in their shoes. Our student manager, Lacy, makes everything go smoothly by handling all the little things behind the scenes. The list goes on and on from there with all the people who make this team successful. From our strength coach, athletic trainer, facilities, grounds, all the way to the top with our director of athletics. Without all of these people, we wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as we are."
Irelan is the second-consecutive Cardinal to be named GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and the third SVSU pitcher overall to receive the honor. She finished the regular season with a 17-3 record. Irelan became the first Cardinal pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a single season. Her first came in her 15th start against Parkside. She was two walks shy of a perfect game in that contest while striking out seven. The second no-hitter happened just two starts later against Davenport. Irelan was three walks from a perfect game in that contest. The junior from Owosso, Michigan, set a career-high for strikeouts in a game against Findlay with 17, and has recorded double-digit strikeouts nine times this season. Her 10.5 strikeouts per seven innings mark leads the GLIAC and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II. She leads the conference in complete games (33rd NCAA), ERA (14th), hits allowed per seven innings (4th), shutouts (46th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (14th), strikeouts (14th), victories (48th), and WHIP (3rd).
"Macy is a dominant pitcher, a tremendous competitor, and a leader on our team. Her numbers speak for themselves, being top in the country in several pitching statistics. She has been consistent for us in the circle all year long and is a huge part of our success," said Schalk.
Reifschneider finished the season with 47 hits, five doubles, a triple, and 16 RBI. Her hits rank second on the team. She holds a .367 batting average for the season, which ranks her sixth in the GLIAC conference.
"Ella is an opposing team's nightmare. She is a tough out, has tremendous plate discipline, and can use the short game to get on base at any point. She runs the bases aggressively and will take an extra base if you give her the opportunity. Additionally, she has become a really solid defender in left field and takes away a lot of hits," lauded Schalk.
Elliott finished the year with 39 hits, seven doubles, and 10 home runs on the season. Her long balls are second-best on the team, and her 41 RBI are second-most on the team and rank fifth in the league. She is fourth in the conference in OPS (1.103) and home runs (10), while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.679) and RBI (41).
"Olivia is one of the most feared hitters in the conference. She has tremendous power and drives in runs at big moments in the game. Also, she walks more than she strikes out, which can be rare for a hitter with that much extra base power," said Schalk.
Morse totaled 37 hits, six doubles, two triples, and three home runs at the plate for the Cardinals. She had 22 RBI and a .316 average. She leads the GLIAC in hit by pitch with 11 and is third in stolen bases (20). Morse is top-10 in the GLIAC in three other categories, including fifth in runs scored (39), sixth in on-base percentage (.467), and eighth in walks (22).
"Jenna is a 5-tool player and the definition of a utility player. She hits for average, power, and has tremendous speed on the base paths. She does whatever it takes to get on base, whether that's a walk, hit by pitch, or a hit. She's played four positions in a single game a couple of times this year and is a plus defensive player at all of them," stated Schalk.
Kimble improved on nearly every single stat category inside the circle this season. She finished 17-5 with one save and 12 complete games. She pitched 130 innings and struck out 99 hitters with a 5.33 K/7, an ERA of 2.64, and WHIP improved to 1.09. She leads the league in wins with 17 while ranking top five in opposing batting average (2nd), strikeouts (4th), ERA (5th), and innings pitched (5th). She also compiled 64 hits, six doubles, seven triples, 29 RBI, and a .366 batting average at the plate.
"Aalana has taken a big step forward this year in the circle. She can be impossible to hit at times with her location and movement from the left side," said Schalk. "On top of that, she is one of the top offensive players in the conference as well. She is always on base, doesn't strike out, and scores a ton of runs for us."
Bromley was SVSU's three-hole hitter. She finished the year with 37 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, and 49 RBI. She finished second in slugging (.748), RBI, and home runs, while finishing top-10 in the GLIAC in doubles (9th) and runs scored (10th) with 35. Bromley hit two home runs in a single game twice and also hit at least one home run in both games of a doubleheader twice this season.
"Kenzie has become the three-hitter we've been searching do the last three years. Her power is insane, and she has more extra-base hits than singles this season. She drives in runs consistently and makes our lineup that much tougher for pitchers to face."
Pnacek completed her junior season with 38 hits, 12 doubles, four home runs, and 24 RBI. She scored 34 runs and had a batting average of .336. She is sixth in the league in doubles with 12, eighth in on-base percentage (.441), and 10th in OPS (.990).
"Kate has had an outstanding year coming back from injury. She was great as a freshman in a utility role and was really starting to put it together last year before her injury. She's on base consistently and also has the ability to hit for power. She's one of the best defensive center fielders in our game, on top of that," said Schalk.
Schneider saw her numbers go up in every offensive category as she completed the year with 34 hits, 10 doubles, four home runs, and 23 RBI. She hit for a career-best .301 as well. She had eight games this season with multiple hits, including two outings with three hits in a game.
"Ella has really worked hard to become a solid first baseman for us this year. Offensively, her skills were always enough to be in the lineup, but adding a great glove at first base has made it a no-brainer," stated Schalk.
Savage totaled 30 hits, eight doubles, a triple, and a home run this season. She hit for .316 and brought in 19 runners as well. She set a career best with two hits in a single game three times and hit her first career home run in the 8-6 win over Parkside on March 28.
"Natalie has been great this year while stepping into a full-time starting role as a sophomore. Her range, arm, and glove make her a plus defender, and she has really shown she can produce offensively as well. As our nine hitter, she turns the lineup over consistently for the top of the order," said Schalk.