FRISCO, Texas — McNeese's Nyjah Fontenot and Northwestern State's Mattison Buster have earned this week's Jersey Mike's Southland Softball Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday. Both players get their first Player of the Week nods of the season. 

Softball Hitter of the Week: Nyjah Fontenot, McNeese – R Jr. – OF – Lake Charles, La. (Barbe High School)
Nyjah hit .412 last week in leading McNeese to a 3-2 record with wins over Iowa and two wins at Baylor. She went 5 for 10 at the plate with one RBI, three walks, and scored three runs for the Cowgirls. Fontenot's efforts have elevated McNeese to No. 10 in D1 Softball's latest mid-major power rankings. 
Honorable mention: JT Smith, Northwestern State

Softball Pitcher of the Week: Mattison Buster, Northwestern State – Jr. – RHP – Sulphur Springs, Texas (Como-Pickton High School)
Picked up a pair of complete game wins and a save for the Demons in a 4-1 weekend, including throwing her first career no-hitter against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Buster went 2-0 with wins against UAPB and Missouri State, throwing 14.2 innings allowing just two earned runs for a 0.95 ERA, 0.61 WHIP and holding batters to a .122 average. She allowed just six total hits in three appearances.

2026 Southland Conference Softball Players of the Week

Date	Hitter	Pitcher
Feb. 9	Ellie Vance, SFA	Hallie Burns, Southeastern
Feb. 16	Rylee Cloud, McNeese	Molly Yoo, Nicholls
Feb. 23	Reagan Heflin, Nicholls	Brookelyn Taylor, McNeese
March 2	Nyjah Fontenot, McNeese	Mattison Buster, Northwestern State

Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school's sports information director. Voting for one's own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.