Vandewater Earns NFCA All-Midwest Region Second Team Honors
5/14/2026 12:03:00 PM | Softball
OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton Softball sophomore Tara Vandewater was named to the 2026 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region Second Team, the association announced on Thursday, May 14.
Vandewater earned All-Midwest Region honors for the first time in her career, becoming the sixth Bluejay to secure NFCA All-Region accolades under head coach Krista Wood since 2023.
Last week, Vandewater garnered her first all-conference honor, claiming Unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team recognition, becoming one of 17 Bluejays to have earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors since Creighton joined the league prior to the 2024 Season. The Winterset, Iowa product started each of Creighton's 24 conference games at second base, finishing league play ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in batting average (.423) and ninth in hits (30), while driving in the second-most runs with 30 RBI in league play.
Overall, Vandewater led Creighton with a .366 batting average, while racking up 63 hits, including 12 doubles, four triples and 11 home runs. In addition, she also paced the Bluejays with 58 RBI, 46 runs scored and 116 total bases. Her 58 runs batted in were tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, while her 46 runs scored were tied for the fourth-most by a Bluejays in a single season ever.
The NFCA All-Region teams honor softball student-athletes from the association's 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and in all 380 student-athletes honored now become eligible for the 2026 NFCA All-America teams.
The Midwest region consists of 29 schools from 10 different conferences – BIG EAST Conference (Creighton, DePaul), Missouri Valley Conference (Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Missouri State, Murray State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, UIC, Northern Iowa), Big 12 (Iowa State, Oklahoma State), Ohio Valley (Lindenwood, Northern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, SIU-Edwardsville, Western Illinois), A10 (Loyola-Chicago, Saint Louis), Big 10 (Iowa, Minnesota), SEC (Missouri, Oklahoma), Summit League (Kansas City, Omaha, St. Thomas), American (Tulsa) and Conference USA (Western Kentucky).
Conference Players and Pitchers of the Year from member institutions are added to the third team if they were not already votes to an all-region squad. In some instances, limited regional nominations prevent a position from being filled. Complete Midwest All-Region teams are listed below.
In the 50-years, a total of 29 Bluejays have earned NFCA All-Region recognition with five having also been honored as NFCA All-Americans (Angie Rajtora, 1984, Jody Schwartz, 1988, Kelly Brookhart, 1991, Tara Oltman Higgins, 2009, and Renae Sinkler, 2010).
2026 NFCA Midwest Region Teams
First Team
P - Ruby Meylan, Oklahoma State
P - Audrey Lowry, Oklahoma
P - Maddia Groff, Omaha
C - Kendall Wells, Oklahoma
1B - Isabela Emerling, Oklahoma
2B - Skylar Benesh, Northern Iowa
3B - Bella Atkinson, Illinois State
SS - Gabbie Garcia, Oklahoma
OF - Ella Parker, Oklahoma
OF - Kai Minor, Oklahoma
OF - Abby Dayton, Oklahoma
U/P - Ella Cook, St. Thomas (Minn.)
DP or U/P - Kasidi Pickering, Oklahoma
Second Team
P - Erica Houge, Western Kentucky
P - Paige McLeod, Illinois State
C - Karlee Ford, Iowa State
1B - Kate Lappe, Northern Iowa
2B - Tara Vandewater, Creighton
3B - Rosie Davis, Oklahoma State
SS - Teagan Bartholomew, Iowa State
OF - Tatum Johnson, Iowa State
OF - Marra Cramer, Omaha
OF - Jessie Clemons, Iowa State
U/P - Abby Carr, Missouri
DP or U/P - Danielle Stewart, Northern Illinois
Third Team
P - Cierra Harrison, Missouri
P - Emily Koranda, Missouri State
C - Stefania Abruscato, Missouri
1B - Annie White, Western Kentucky
2B - Katherine Johnson, Omaha
2B - Kadence Shepherd, Iowa State
3B - Bailey Sample, Omaha
SS - Taylor Sedlacek, Omaha
OF - Jolie Adams, DePaul
OF - Jenna Blanton, Western Kentucky
OF - Avery Wukawitz, St. Thomas (Minn)
U/P - Anna Christ, Saint Louis
DP or U/P - Emily Williams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Vandewater earned All-Midwest Region honors for the first time in her career, becoming the sixth Bluejay to secure NFCA All-Region accolades under head coach Krista Wood since 2023.
Last week, Vandewater garnered her first all-conference honor, claiming Unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team recognition, becoming one of 17 Bluejays to have earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors since Creighton joined the league prior to the 2024 Season. The Winterset, Iowa product started each of Creighton's 24 conference games at second base, finishing league play ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in batting average (.423) and ninth in hits (30), while driving in the second-most runs with 30 RBI in league play.
Overall, Vandewater led Creighton with a .366 batting average, while racking up 63 hits, including 12 doubles, four triples and 11 home runs. In addition, she also paced the Bluejays with 58 RBI, 46 runs scored and 116 total bases. Her 58 runs batted in were tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, while her 46 runs scored were tied for the fourth-most by a Bluejays in a single season ever.
The NFCA All-Region teams honor softball student-athletes from the association's 10 regions with first, second and third-team selections. NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and in all 380 student-athletes honored now become eligible for the 2026 NFCA All-America teams.
The Midwest region consists of 29 schools from 10 different conferences – BIG EAST Conference (Creighton, DePaul), Missouri Valley Conference (Bradley, Drake, Illinois State, Missouri State, Murray State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, UIC, Northern Iowa), Big 12 (Iowa State, Oklahoma State), Ohio Valley (Lindenwood, Northern Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, SIU-Edwardsville, Western Illinois), A10 (Loyola-Chicago, Saint Louis), Big 10 (Iowa, Minnesota), SEC (Missouri, Oklahoma), Summit League (Kansas City, Omaha, St. Thomas), American (Tulsa) and Conference USA (Western Kentucky).
Conference Players and Pitchers of the Year from member institutions are added to the third team if they were not already votes to an all-region squad. In some instances, limited regional nominations prevent a position from being filled. Complete Midwest All-Region teams are listed below.
In the 50-years, a total of 29 Bluejays have earned NFCA All-Region recognition with five having also been honored as NFCA All-Americans (Angie Rajtora, 1984, Jody Schwartz, 1988, Kelly Brookhart, 1991, Tara Oltman Higgins, 2009, and Renae Sinkler, 2010).
2026 NFCA Midwest Region Teams
First Team
P - Ruby Meylan, Oklahoma State
P - Audrey Lowry, Oklahoma
P - Maddia Groff, Omaha
C - Kendall Wells, Oklahoma
1B - Isabela Emerling, Oklahoma
2B - Skylar Benesh, Northern Iowa
3B - Bella Atkinson, Illinois State
SS - Gabbie Garcia, Oklahoma
OF - Ella Parker, Oklahoma
OF - Kai Minor, Oklahoma
OF - Abby Dayton, Oklahoma
U/P - Ella Cook, St. Thomas (Minn.)
DP or U/P - Kasidi Pickering, Oklahoma
Second Team
P - Erica Houge, Western Kentucky
P - Paige McLeod, Illinois State
C - Karlee Ford, Iowa State
1B - Kate Lappe, Northern Iowa
2B - Tara Vandewater, Creighton
3B - Rosie Davis, Oklahoma State
SS - Teagan Bartholomew, Iowa State
OF - Tatum Johnson, Iowa State
OF - Marra Cramer, Omaha
OF - Jessie Clemons, Iowa State
U/P - Abby Carr, Missouri
DP or U/P - Danielle Stewart, Northern Illinois
Third Team
P - Cierra Harrison, Missouri
P - Emily Koranda, Missouri State
C - Stefania Abruscato, Missouri
1B - Annie White, Western Kentucky
2B - Katherine Johnson, Omaha
2B - Kadence Shepherd, Iowa State
3B - Bailey Sample, Omaha
SS - Taylor Sedlacek, Omaha
OF - Jolie Adams, DePaul
OF - Jenna Blanton, Western Kentucky
OF - Avery Wukawitz, St. Thomas (Minn)
U/P - Anna Christ, Saint Louis
DP or U/P - Emily Williams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Players Mentioned
C/UTL
/ SoftballCreighton Softball vs. Connecticut Highlights - 5/9/26
Sunday, May 10
Creighton Softball Highlights vs. UConn BIG EAST Tournament Finals Game 1, 5/9/26 mp4
Saturday, May 09
Creighton Softball BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals Highlights vs. Butler, 5/8/26
Friday, May 08
Creighton Softball BIG EAST Tournament Highlights vs. UConn, 5/7/26
Friday, May 08
