JOPLIN, Mo. — Missouri Southern softball student-athletes Emily Perry, Carsen Tinkler, Katie Gray, Maddie Rolfs and Bailey Dillon were all named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
The 2026 Academic All-District Softball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Tinkler, Gray, Rolfs and Dillon were selected as CSC Academic All-America finalists and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced June 16.
 
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Divisions II and III Academic All-America programs.

 
Emily Perry
Sr. | Bentonville, Ark. | Right Fielder | Business Administration – Marketing | Master of Business Administration| 3.84 Undergraduate GPA, 4.00 Graduate GPA
 
Emily Perry is sixth on Missouri Southern offensively, batting .322 with 47 hits, 35 runs, 13 doubles, seven homers and 37 RBI. She has totaled 81 bases in 2026 and is slugging .555 with an on-base percentage of .468 (1.023 OPS).
 
Perry, a senior right fielder from Bentonville, Arkansas, has tallied 29 walks, 12 HBP and eight steals.
 
She has appeared in 60 games for the Lions with 58 starts. Perry ranks fourth on Southern with nine multi-RBI games and has nine multi-hit games (fifth on MSSU in 2026).
           
Carsen Tinkler
Sr. | Overland Park, Kan. | Third Base | Marketing/Finance | 4.0 GPA
 
Carsen Tinkler, a 2026 All-MIAA Third Team selection and 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team member, ranks third on Missouri Southern at the plate in 2026, batting .368 with a .552 slugging percentage and .430 on-base percentage to go with 28 runs, 64 hits, 11 doubles, seven homers, 36 RBI, 96 total bases and 19 walks.
 
The Overland Park, Kansas, native, has played in all 61 games with 60 starts at the hot corner. She is second on the team with 10 multi-RBI games and is third on MSSU with 18 multi-hit games. Tinkler went on a nine-game hitting streak this season.
 
She was named the 2026 MIAA "A Game" Scholar-Athlete for Softball, boasting the top GPA in the league for the sport.

For Tinkler, the CSC Academic All-District honor is the second of her career, also picking up the laurel in 2024. 
 
Katie Gray
Sr. | Lansing, Kan. | First Base | Sports & Recreation Management – Kinesiology | MS Sports & Recreation Management | 3.62 Undergraduate GPA, 4.00 Graduate GPA
 
Katie Gray, a 2026 All-MIAA First Team selection, ranks fourth on the Lions with a .357 batting average (.777 SLG%, .514 OB%, 1.291 OPS, all team-highs) to go with 34 runs, 56 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, team-high 16 homers, team-best 55 RBI, 122 total bases (team-high), 39 walks (team-high), 15 hit by pitches and 13 stolen bases. Gray's 16 home runs surpassed her program-record of 15 set in 2025.

Her home run total ranks first in the MIAA while her on-base plus slugging ranks second, her slugging percentage is third and she is fourth for on-base percentage in 2026.

Gray's seven MIAA conference home runs ranked tied for third in 2026.

In 2026, she has started in 60 games at first base for the Lions. Gray has a team-best 16 multi-RBI games along with nine multi-hit games.
 
The 2026 Central All-Region pick by both NFCA and D2CCA, went on a 22-game reached base streak (team-high 17-game hitting streak) in 2026.

The Lansing, Kansas, native, was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week once in 2026.


Maddie Rolfs
Jr. | Garden Plain, Kan. | Center Fielder | Biomedical Sciences | 4.0 GPA
 
Maddie Rolfs, a 2026 All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection and 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team member, is fifth on MSSU this season offensively, batting .331 with 32 runs, 59 hits, 14 doubles, three triples, four homers, 38 RBI, 91 total bases, five walks and 16 stolen bases. She is slugging .511 with a .349 on-base percentage.
 
She ranks in the top-10 in the MIAA for triples and sacrifice flies (4, t-8th) this season.
 
Rolfs has 15 multi-hit games in 2026 and nine multi-RBI games. She went on a seven-game hitting streak this season.
 
The Garden Plain, Kansas, native, has started in all 61 games for MSSU in center field in 2026.
 
Bailey Dillon
So. | Lenexa, Kan. | Left Fielder | Exercise Science | 3.96 GPA
 
Bailey Dillon, a 2026 All-MIAA First Team selection, leads MSSU at the dish, batting .422 (sixth in the MIAA) with 63 runs (third in MIAA), 87 hits (second in MIAA), 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 28 RBI, 115 total bases, and MSSU program-record 48 stolen bases (second in MIAA).
 
She has an OPS of 1.041 (.558 SLG, .483 OB%). The sophomore from Lenexa, Kansas, has started all 61 games in left field.

The Lions leadoff hitter batted .438 in MIAA play (.494 OB%, .538 SLG%), was third for triples (3) and was fourth with 24 runs and 35 hits.
 
Dillon leads the Lions with 27 multi-hit games. She went on a team-high 28-game reached base streak (13-game hitting streak) in 2026 and has six multi-RBI games this season.

The 2026 Central First Team All-Region player by both the NFCA and D2CCA was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week once in 2026.


NEXT: The Lions are the second national seed at the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series and will face No. 7 Seed (RV) Glenville State Thursday at 3 p.m., CT at Frost Stadium at Warner Park.

Gusano's is the Official Watch Party Destination for the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series. Gusano's located at 3929 East 7th Street E will be streaming Missouri Southern's games at the World Series beginning with Thursday's matchup against No. 7 Seed (RV) Glenville State.