ST LOUIS, Mo. –  Seven Redbirds were selected to MVC Scholar-Athlete teams as voted on by the conference's softball sports information directors and announced by the league office on Tuesday.
Juniors Delainey Bryant and Addison Masching earned First Team honors, while Bella Wilkerson, Kaili Chval, Abby Knight, Hannah Meshnick, and Abby Horton all earned Second Team honors.
Bryant, a junior from Mattoon, Ill., earned her second MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection after earning the honor in 2023 as well. Bryant was a 2024 First-Team All MVC selection, as well as a 2023 Second Team honoree, and earned First-Team honors in her freshman year in 2022. Bryant also is a two-time Easton NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, a CSC Academic All-District honoree in 2023, and a member of the Illinois State AFNI Honor Roll. She boasts a 3.95 in Elementary Education, as well as earning a record-setting season in which she owned a 31-game consecutive reaching base streak, and back-to-back years with 50 hit seasons. She earned MVC Player of the Week on Mar. 26, as well as finishing the 2024 season leading the Valley in overall hits at 60.
Masching, a junior from Pontiac, Ill., earned her first-ever MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honor. She is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, as well as a member of the Illinois State AFNI Honor Roll, while earning a perfect 4.0 GPA in Physical Education in both 2023 and 2024. Masching also earned her first-career All-MVC honors after being selected to the Second Team in 2024. Masching had three home runs in the 2024 season, which included her first-career home run. She set career-highs in batting average (.265), home runs (3), and RBI (19).
Wilkerson, a junior from Mokena, Ill., earned her first-ever MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honor. She is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, a member of the Illinois State AFNI honor roll, as well as a member of the Illinois State team that earned back-to-back honors for having the second-highest team GPA in the nation among Division I softball programs. Wilkerson also earned her first-career All-MVC honor, after being named to the All-MVC First Team for her role behind the plate. She set career-highs in hits (35), RBI (19), home runs (2), doubles (4), putouts (173), and assists (31). She boasts a 3.88 GPA in Public Relations.
Chval, a graduate student from Aurora, Ill., earned her first-ever Scholar-Athlete Team honor after being named to the Second Team. She is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, a recipient of the MVC Commissioner's award in 2021, and a member of the MVC Honor Roll in 2020 & 2021. Chval earned All-MVC Second Team honors in 2021 in the same season she was a part of the Illinois State Softball Regular Season Championship team. After her last game for the Redbirds, she etched her name in the record book, becoming fourth all-time in Illinois State history in career-games played at 218. Chval graduated with 3.71 GPA and a degree in Exercise Science and will be heading to Boston to pursue OT school at Mass General Hospital Institute.
Knight, a junior from Bloomington, Ill., earned her second nod to the MVC Scholar Athlete team, after being named an honorable mention in 2023. This is her first time being named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team. Knight is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, a member of the Illinois State AFNI Honor Roll, and a member of the Illinois State team that earned back-to-back honors for having the second-highest GPA in the nation among Division I softball programs, while holding a 3.85 GPA in Public Relations. She was named MVC Player of the Week for the first time in her career in the 2024 season, as well as being named to the MVC All-Tournament Team in 2024 and 2022. Knight earned both All-MVC Second Team honors in 2023, as well as to the CSC Academic All-District Team. She finished the 2024 season ranked no. 1 in putouts in the overall Valley statistics at 462, which put her at third all-time in single season putouts in the Illinois State record book.
Meshnick, a sophomore from Hortonville, Wis., earned her first-career nod to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team. She was named an Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2023, as well as to the Illinois State AFNI Honor Roll, while holding a perfect 4.00 GPA in exercise science. Meshnick was named MVC Newcomer of the Week Feb. 17 2022, and finished the 2024 Valley season seventh in batters struck out looking (17), and second in saves (3). She set career-highs in innings pitched (143.3), strikeouts (60), wins (7), and saves (3).
Finally, Horton, a sophomore from Crestwood, Ill., also earned her first-career nod to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team. Horton was named an Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2023, as well as to the Illinois State AFNI Honor Roll. She was also a member of the Illinois State team that earned back-to-back honors for having the second-highest team GPA in the nation among all Division I softball programs. Horton boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA in Public Relations and set career-highs in hits (3), games started (13), RBI (3), at-bats (18), putouts (12), and fielding percentage (1.000).
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