COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) announced their all-conference teams, individual major awards, and gold gloves for the 2026 softball season on Thursday morning with seven student-athletes from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team earning recognition, including senior Autumn Kunze and Tayler McCombs on the First Team, junior Laynee Case, senior Alyssa Gutierrez, and junior Jennavieve Goldsworth on the Second Team, and senior Katie Steinmetz and sophomore Halley Redd as Honorable Mentions. In addition, Gutierrez was selected as one of three gold glove outfielders.
 
Colorado Christian University's Kat Hanson was named RMAC Player of the Year, while Colorado State University Pueblo's McKenna James was tabbed as the RMAC Pitcher of the Year and Colorado Mesa University's Molli Magana was selected as the RMAC Freshman of the Year. Colorado Christian's Larry Hays was voted by his peers as the RMAC Coach of the Year.
 
RMAC individual awards, gold gloves, and all-conference rosters are voted on by the league's 12 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their players. Student-athletes who received one First Team vote, or two Second Team votes, were named Honorable Mention.
 
A 2024 All-RMAC Honorable Mention, Kunze makes her first career appearance on the All-RMAC First Team after a senior season in which she developed into the ace of the Mountain Lions' pitching staff. The fourth-year hurler led the team in innings pitched (126.2), ERA (2.60), WHIP (1.25), wins (13), saves (4), and strikeouts (92) while delivering nine complete games, including an RMAC-leading four complete game shutouts. Named the Week 12 RMAC Pitcher of the Week on April 28, Kunze finished the regular season ranked fourth among qualified pitchers in ERA and tied for fourth in WHIP. In addition, Kunze currently ranks fourth all-time in UCCS program history with 340 strikeouts in her collegiate career.
 
A designated player from Gilbert, Ariz., McCombs collects All-RMAC First Team accolades for the first time in her collegiate career after being named as an Honorable Mention last season. McCombs composed another stellar showing during her sophomore campaign as she closed the regular season ranked third on the team with a .382 batting average across 43 games played while recording nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 32 RBIs. The second-year player had a slow start to the season but caught fire as the calendar switched to March as she put together a 30-game reached base streak lasting from March 7 through May 1 in which she reached base in 48 of her 106 plate appearances for a .453 on-base percentage.
 
A 2025 All-RMAC Honorable Mention, Goldsworth had a breakout season for the Mountain Lions in 2026, earning a pair of RMAC Player of the Week honors and a spot on the 2026 NFCA Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List in addition to the first All-RMAC Second Team honor of her career. The standout utility player started all 53 regular season games for the Mountain Lions while splitting time between third base and the outfield and led the team in batting average (.460), on-base percentage (.521), runs (63), hits (86), doubles (18), total bases (136), and stolen bases (39), in addition to tying for the team lead in home runs (8) and triples (4). Goldsworth ranked among the RMAC leaders in nearly every major offensive category, leading the conference in stolen bases and finishing among the top three in hits, runs, doubles, batting average, and total bases. On the national stage, she ranks inside the top 25 in NCAA Division II for multiple categories as she currently sits third in hits, sixth in runs, 14th in stolen bases, and 18th in batting average. With three hits in the Mountain Lions' final regular season doubleheader of the year against MSU Denver, Goldsworth established a new program record for hits in a single season with 86 and now has 170 hits across the first three seasons of her collegiate career, putting her just 23 hits away from cracking into the top 10 in program history for the category.
 
Another member of the 2026 NFCA Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List, Gutierrez secures All-RMAC Second Team accolades and a gold glove as an outfielder after putting together an incredible final season for the Mountain Lions in which she appeared in 52 games with 45 starts in the outfield. The breakout senior led the team in triples (6) while ranking second on the squad in batting average (.440), hits (66), runs (49), on-base percentage (.476), and stolen bases (31). Gutierrez was also flawless on the defensive side of the ball, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with no errors in 69 total chances while recording 68 putouts and one assist. She ended the regular season ranked among the RMAC leaders in stolen bases (4th) and batting average (5th).
 
Another Mountain Lion who made the leap from last year's honorable mention list, Case collects All-RMAC Second Team honors at second base after a junior season in which she started all 53 games at the keystone for the Mountain Lions and provided steady production in the middle of the lineup. The third-year player posted a .354 batting average across 175 plate appearances while ranking third on the team in doubles (12) and RBIs (38) and finishing fourth on the squad in triples (3), home runs (7), and stolen bases (11).
 
Steinmetz was named an All-RMAC Honorable Mention after a senior season in which she split time as the Mountain Lions' primary catcher. In 47 games and 20 starts behind the dish, Steinmetz posted an exceptional .390 batting average and tied for the team lead with eight home runs while also accruing seven doubles, a triple, and 28 RBIs. Steinmetz finished the regular season as one of the toughest players to strike out in all of NCAA Division II as she struck out just one time in 93 plate appearances.
 
Redd notches All-RMAC Honorable Mention recognition for the second consecutive season coming off a sophomore season that saw her continue to be a mainstay at shortstop for the Mountain Lions. The second-year player started all 53 regular season contests for UCCS and posted a .370 batting average with 13 doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 31 RBIs.
 
After posting a 32-21 overall record and 26-18 conference record, the Mountain Lions secured the No. 5 seed in the RMAC Softball Tournament and will take on No. 4 seed Colorado Mesa in the quarterfinal round at 12 p.m. this afternoon at All Star Park in Lakewood, Colo.
 
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