ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced on Wednesday that four Illinois State softball student-athletes have been selected to All-MVC teams for their performances in conference play during the 2025 season.
Senior first baseman Abby Knight and senior second baseman Delainey Bryant were both selected to the All-MVC First Team, while junior pitcher Hannah Meshnick was tabbed as an All-MVC Second Team selection. Sophomore outfielder Julia Larson rounded out the Redbird honorees and earned a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team.
Knight, a Bloomington, Illinois native, dominated in the heart of the order for the Redbirds while playing a stellar first base during Valley play. She holds a .365 conference batting average with a .834 OPS and was fifth among Valley players with 35 hits during league play. Her 15 runs scored, four doubles, one home run and 13 RBI solidified her spot on the all-conference list, and her perfect fielding percentage at first base with 211 putouts and three assists made her one of the top players in the league defensively.
Bryant, a Mattoon, Illinois native, was selected to the All-MVC First Team for the third time in her career (second straight season) and is an All-MVC selection for the fourth time overall (All-MVC Second Team in 2023). During the conference season, she hit .347 at the top of the Redbird lineup and was sixth in league play with 34 hits. She finished Valley play with a .348 BA, with a .871 OPS, 19 runs scored, two home runs and six RBI while posting a .469 SLG%. In the field, she had 58 putouts and 51 assists to post a .956 fielding percentage, while starting every game at second base for the Birds.
Meshnick, a Hortonville, Wisconsin native, earns her first All-Valley accolade during her junior campaign. Meshnick was the Redbirds' most consistent pitcher in the circle during Valley play, going 9-3 with a 3.04 ERA in 19 appearances. She started 13 games in MVC play, going the distance five times with 94.1 total innings pitched (third in the MVC). Conference opponents hit just .258 against her, while her 55 strikeouts in league play ranked fifth overall and her nine wins were fourth best in the MVC. She earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors in February, after she did not allow an earned run in 14.1 innings pitched at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge as she went 1-1 in two starts for ISU including a complete-game win over North Dakota State.
Larson, a St. Charles, Illinois native, was selected to the MVC All-Defensive Team for her stellar play in right field for the Redbirds. She recorded 43 putouts in 49 chances while recording four assists and just two errors in the outfield during league play. Her .959 FLD% in Valley play, combined with her .329 average, 27 hits, 12 RBI and league-leading four triples in MVC play helped her earn her first All-MVC honors as a sophomore.
ON DECK
Illinois State (23-29, 16-11 MVC) earned a bye in the opening round of the 2025 MVC Softball Championship, being hosted in Des Moines, Iowa, from May 7-10 by Drake. The Redbirds will play the winner of No. 5 Missouri State and No. 12 UIC on Thursday, May 8 at 1:05 p.m. CT.
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