PORTLAND, Ore. – Three players from the Montana State University softball team earned all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference recognition, as the conference office announced its awards for the 2019 season on Wednesday.
 
Sophomore outfielder Allie Hughes was a second-team all-conference selection, while junior outfielder Jolene House, and senior catcher Madison Kelly were each honorable mention picks.
 
Hughes, started all 46 games this season and led the team with a .288 batting average. The Sparks, Nevada native was a steady presence in the outfield with 32 games played in left field and 14 games in center field. Hughes posted a team high nine doubles, one triple, and six home runs. Her 23 runs batted in and .520 slugging percentage were also team highs. Hughes put together 13 multi-hit games and reached base in eight straight contests. She hit two home runs against University of Mary on February 1. Monday, Hughes was also named GNAC all-academic in her first eligible season.
Hughes improved from a strong freshman campaign in which she hit .252 and had one home run, three doubles, and six multi-hit games. Last year, she set a school record for hits in one game after going 4-for-4 against Simon Fraser.
 
When in the lineup, House made a big impact for the Yellowjackets in 2019. From Mead, Washington, House hit .348 in 25 games, all starts in centerfield. She finished with 24 hits, two doubles, and three runs batted in. House also slugged .377 and had a team leading .416 on base percentage. House recorded a three-hit game against Central Washington on April 13 and posted two runs batted in against University of Mary. House joined the Yellowjackets after two seasons as softball team captain at Bellevue College.
 
Kelly (Phoenix, Arizona) became the Yellowjackets starting catcher as a sophomore and has held the position ever since. This season, Kelly finished third on the team with a .276 batting average and started 39 games behind the plate. She collected 27 hits, seven doubles, and three home runs in 98 total at bats. She also posted a .439 slugging percentage and .336 on base percentage. On April 7, Kelly smacked three doubles against Concordia and had three runs batted in. In the field, she made a season high eight putouts in the same game and had four multi-hit games including two against Simon Fraser in the final game of the regular season on April 27.
 
 
For all three Yellowjacket athletes, it is their first time winning all-conference awards, though Hughes was also named academic all-GNAC on Monday.
 
Emily Benson of Western Washington was selected GNAC player of the year. Mike Larabee (Central Washington) and Shelley Whitaker (Concordia) were named coach of the year and Jordan Adams (Northwest Nazarene) was tabbed pitcher of the year. Freshman of the year went to Maddie Mayer (Western Oregon) and Sally Bowles (Concordia) was named newcomer of the year. Northwest Nazarene had three selections named first team all-GNAC. Western Washington, Western Oregon, Saint Martin's, and Central Washington each had two.