By Bobby Neal for App State Sports. NEW ORLEANS — App State softball junior Kayt Houston has been named second-team All-Sun Belt, the conference announced Tuesday.
The outfielder from Rock Hill, S.C. has garnered all-conference honors for the second consecutive season, receiving first-team honors in 2022, and becomes the second player in program history to be named to an all-Sun Belt squad in multiple years.
Houston finished the regular season with 64 hits, ranking fourth in the league and 37th in the nation. She also finished in the top-10 in the conference in batting average (.383), doubles (13) and on-base percentage (.464).
She found a new role in the leadoff spot during the 2023 season and led the Mountaineers with 38 runs, which was the 11th-most in the league. She scored at least two runs in 10 contests.
Houston also had seven games with at least three hits, including the series finale against James Madison on April 29, when she hit a game-tying grand slam in the sixth inning. She also had four hits, two of which were doubles, in a win over Belmont.
In App State’s first ranked win in program history against No. 23 Louisiana, Houston scored two of the Mountaineers’ five runs after tallying two walks and a hit.
This is the eighth time that a Mountaineer has earned all-conference honors since the softball program joined the Sun Belt in 2014.
2023 Sun Belt Softball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Karly Heath, Louisiana (SR, OF – Alvin, Texas)
Pitcher of the Year: Olivia Lackie, South Alabama (JR, P – Walker, La.)
Newcomer of the Year – Sydney Bickel, Marshall (JR, SS – Peoria, Ariz.)
Freshman of the Year: Mihyia Davis, Louisiana (FR, OF – Lovelady, Texas)
Coach of the Year: Becky Clark, South Alabama
First Team
Olivia Lackie, South Alabama (JR, P – Walker, La.)
Sydney Nester, Marshall (R-SR, P – Hillsville, Va.)
Hannah Shifflett, James Madison (GR, 1B – North Garden, Va.)
KK Mathis, James Madison (FR, 2B – West Chester, Ohio)
Sydney Bickel, Marshall (JR, SS – Peoria, Ariz.)
Meredith Keel, South Alabama (GS, 3B – Ashville, Ohio)
Autumn Owen, Marshall (JR, C – Mill Spring, N.C.)
Iyanla De Jesus, Coastal Carolina (SR, DP – Mill Creek, Wash.)
Karly Heath, Louisiana (SR, OF – Alvin, Texas)
Mihyia Davis, Louisiana (FR, OF – Lovelady, Texas)
Victoria Ortiz, South Alabama (R-SR, OF – Mobile, Ala.)
Jessica Mullins, Texas State (JR, P – Tarkington, Texas)
Lauren Allred, Louisiana (FR, 1B – Texarkana, Texas)
Alex Coleman, Marshall (SO, OF – Asheboro, N.C.)
Grace Chelemen, Marshall (5th, OF – Woodhaven, Mich.)
Second Team
Meghan Schorman, Louisiana (SR, P – Hazelwood, Mo.)
Jenna Hardy, South Alabama (SR, P – Whitehouse, Ohio)
Libby Baker, Troy (JR, 1B – Skipperville, Ala.)
Taylor McKinney, Troy (SO, 2B – Montgomery, Ala.)
Alexa Langeliers, Louisiana (SO, SS – Keller, Texas)
Sara Vanderford, Texas State (SR, 3B – Pasadena, Texas)
Sophie Piskos, Louisiana (JR, C – Paris, Tenn.)
Kelly Horne, Troy (SR, DP – Tallahassee, Fla.)
Emily Brown, Georgia State (SR, OF – Suwanee, Ga.)
Mackenzie Brasher, South Alabama (SR, OF – Orange Beach, Ala.)
Kayt Houston, App State (JR, OF – Rock Hill, S.C.)
Hannah Borden, Southern Miss (SR, C – Trussville, Ala.)
Sam Landry, Louisiana (SO, P – Mont Belvieu, Texas)
Emma Davis, Georgia Southern (FR, OF – Grayson, Ga.)
Leanna Johnson, Troy (SR, P – Brantley, Ala.)
Diamond Williams, Coastal Carolina (SR, OF – Evans, Ga.)
* Ties were not broken.
