IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West announced its all-conference honors for Softball on Tuesday, with Malaya Johnson deservedly winning Pitcher of the Year. Six Gauchos were represented altogether, including Bella Fuentes and Giselle Mejia who also made the All-Big West First Team.
 
Despite not winning a single Big West Pitcher of the Week award during the regular season, Johnson's full body of work was impressive enough to be crowned the conference's best pitcher. With a 17-9 record, the junior from Roseville has the most wins of anyone in the Big West and her 2.70 ERA is third-best in the conference. She has been even better towards the end of the year, pitching in 13 of the last 18 games with an even 2.00 ERA. To top it all off, Johnson's effectiveness has been complemented by her availability; she ranks third in the conference in a slew of counting stats, such as games started (25), complete games (17), shutouts (five), and innings pitched (163.1). It seems as though she is the first pitcher in program history to win a conference pitcher of the year award.  
 
Fuentes joins Johnson on the All-Big West First Team after an all-time Gaucho season, herself. Ending the regular season with 56 RBIs, she now has the single-season program record in the category. An underrated stat, her 10 sacrifice flies are twice as many as anyone else in the conference. The junior third baseman also leads the team with 10 homers in a year where the Gauchos set a new single-season home run record, with 41. She has a team-leading 86 total bases—16 more than the next Gaucho—for a thumping .558 slugging percentage.
 
Mejia was one of three Big West freshmen to make the First Team, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched her play this year. The lefty has drilled a conference-leading 14 doubles and leads all Gauchos with a .357 batting average and .959 OPS. It does not end there, either, as her 17:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio has boosted her on-base percentage (.435) to another team-leading clip. Naturally, she also made the All-Big West Freshman Team. The La Puente native looks to be a cornerstone player at the top of the Gauchos lineup for the years to come.
 
Sophomore Tehya Banks was named to the All-Big West Second Team. The shortstop did not homer in her freshman season, and waited until her 26th game in 2025 to finally hit her first collegiate longball. She did not stop there, though, ending the year with four homers and inspiring head coach Jo Evans to move her up to the top half of the lineup down the stretch. Along with the power surge, Banks' .313 average and 10 doubles are second on the team only to Mejia, allowing her to slug .504.
 
Emily Carr earned the title of All-Big West Honorable Mention. The sophomore finished the regular season top-three on the team in doubles (nine), homers (six), and RBIs (30). With a .458 slugging percentage, she is one of six qualified Gaucho hitters slugging .450 or better.
 
Jazzy Santos is the only Gaucho to earn Big West honors not for the first time—the junior was named an All-Big West Honorable Mention last year. This season, she earned the same honor, hitting .283 at the top of the lineup. Playing in all 51 games, her 166 at bats are the most in the conference and her 30 runs scored lead the team. Defensively, she has been dependable with a .981 fielding percentage at second base.
 
The Gauchos earned the three seed in the inaugural Big West Softball Championship, a four-day double-elimination tournament beginning on Wednesday. Their opening matchup comes against six-seed UC San Diego at 4 p.m., where the result will start the course of how the Gauchos' rest of the week, and season, unfolds.