FRISCO, Texas — Southeastern's Cera Blanchard and SFA's Ellie Vance have earned this week's Jersey Mike's Southland Softball Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday. Vance is a second-time winner this season while Blanchard earns her first nod.
Softball Hitter of the Week: Ellie Vance – Sr. – 2B – Victoria, BC, Canada (Mount Douglas High School)
Vance led the SFA offense to a dominant sweep over HCU, going 10-11 (.909) from the plate with three runs scored, three RBIs, and a triple. She led the team with a 1.091 slugging percentage and a .909 on-base percentage. In the series finale against the Huskies, she went 4-4 with a triple, a run scored, and two RBIs. She recorded three straight games with at least three hits. Vance has seven three-hit games and recorded her first four-hit game this season to add to her total of 16 multi-hit games this season. She currently has a streak of 22 straight games where she has reached base safely.
Honorable mention: Gracee Hess, Lamar
Softball Pitcher of the Week: Cera Blanchard, Southeastern – Gr. – RHP – Metairie, La. (De La Salle High School)
Blanchard continued her dominant performance in the circle this week, posting a 2-0 record with an 0.00 ERA, holding opponents to a .150 batting average. She opened the week throwing four shutout innings in a 3-0 non-conference win at ULM. Blanchard closed out the week striking out nine in a complete-game two-hit shutout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday. On the season, the Metairie, Louisiana, native is 11-1 with a 1.07 ERA for a Lady Lion pitching staff that ranks among the national leaders with a 1.74 team ERA and 14 shutouts.
Honorable mention: Reagan Smith, Lamar
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 |
| March 9 |
Alexis Dibbley, McNeese |
Brookelyn Taylor, McNeese |
| March 16 |
Maria Detillier, Southeastern |
Mattison Buster, Northwestern State |
| March 23 |
Cala Wilson, Lamar |
Kendra Winfrey, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| March 30 |
Ellie Vance, SFA |
Cera Blanchard, Southeastern |
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.