ACU Softball Earns 5 Academic All-District Honors
5/26/2026 11:00:00 AM | Softball
Five Abilene Christian softball players have been recognized for excellence on the diamond and in the classroom been as they were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday morning.
These five -- Elizabeth Schaefer, Emalee Romero, Audrey Lacina, Ella Beeman, and Makayla Valle -- represent the maximum amount of honorees per team. It is the second year-in-a-row for Schaefer, Lacina and Beeman to land on the Academic All-District team.
To qualify, a student-athlete must hold at least a 3.5 GPA and play in 90% or start 66% of her team's games that season. A pitcher is required to appear in at least 17 games, or log 35 innings pitched.
Ella Beeman - Junior, Pitcher (Lowell, Ark.)
Audrey Lacina - Redshirt Sophomore, Infielder / Catcher (Bentonville, Ark.)
Emalee Romero - Senior, Infielder (Eastvale, Calif.)
Makayla Valle - Junior, Pitcher (Aurora, Colo.)
Elizabeth Schaefer - Graduate Student, Designated Player (Rockwall, Texas)
These five -- Elizabeth Schaefer, Emalee Romero, Audrey Lacina, Ella Beeman, and Makayla Valle -- represent the maximum amount of honorees per team. It is the second year-in-a-row for Schaefer, Lacina and Beeman to land on the Academic All-District team.
To qualify, a student-athlete must hold at least a 3.5 GPA and play in 90% or start 66% of her team's games that season. A pitcher is required to appear in at least 17 games, or log 35 innings pitched.
Ella Beeman - Junior, Pitcher (Lowell, Ark.)
- Biology major, 3.89 GPA
- Appeared in 27 games with 15 starts
- Finished 2nd on the team with 30 strikeouts
- CSC Academic All-District (2025)
Audrey Lacina - Redshirt Sophomore, Infielder / Catcher (Bentonville, Ark.)
- Nursing major, 3.79 GPA
- Played in 38 games with 32 starts
- Led the Wildcats with a .365 batting average
- Had 35 hits, 16 RBI and 6 doubles
- CSC Academic All-District (2025)
Emalee Romero - Senior, Infielder (Eastvale, Calif.)
- Criminal Justice major, 3.52 GPA
- Played in 43 games with 39 starts
- Finished with a .255 batting average
- Tied for a team-high 3 sacrifice flies
Makayla Valle - Junior, Pitcher (Aurora, Colo.)
- Kinesiology major, 4.00 GPA
- Made 24 pitching appearances with 1 start
- Allowed a team-low in runs and earned runs in 44 innings pitched
Elizabeth Schaefer - Graduate Student, Designated Player (Rockwall, Texas)
- Master of Accounting, 4.00 GPA
- Already graduated from ACU with a bachelor's degree in accounting (3.97 GPA)
- Appeared in 46 of ACU's 48 games with 42 starts
- Ranked 2nd on team with .339 batting average, .958 OPS, 42 hits and 22 RBI
- Led ACU with a .410 on-base percentage
- Her 13 doubles in 2026 are tied for 2nd most in a season in ACU's Division I era
- Three-time Academic All-WAC (2023, 2024, 2025)
- CSC Academic All-District (2025)
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
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