Masters Earns All-Conference Honors, Houge Earns All-Freshman

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Conference USA announced their All-Conference awards on Tuesday, with two Hilltoppers earning recognition for their performances during the 2025 season.

Maci Masters earned CUSA All-Conference Second Team and Erica Houge earned CUSA All-Freshman Team recognition. Both accolades are the first for both players.

Masters has started all 49 games the Hilltoppers have played this season and has served as the designated hitter in every single one of them. She leads WKU in home runs with 14--just three home runs shy of the program record of 17--and RBI with 45. Masters is also second on the team in hits with 46 but leads in slugging percentage (.674) and is the only Hilltopper with an OPS over 1.000 (1.109). Her slugging and OPS are both ranked seventh in the conference while her RBI total is tied for fifth.

In addition, Masters set the single-game program record in home runs and RBI in the 12-10 win over UTEP on March 22. In that game, all three of her at-bats were home runs, one of which was the first grand slam of the season, for a total of eight RBI.

Houge has been an outstanding freshman for the Hilltoppers, earning both Freshman of the Week and Pitcher of the week, and also finished the regular season with a 10-9 record across 36 appearances and 14 total starts. Boasting a team-best 3.10 ERA, her season was highlighted by a two-hit shutout against Louisville on April 22. In that game, Houge only needed 79 pitches, the second-fewest needed in a game this season. Her first complete game, those 79 pitches led to a rate of 11.3 pitches per inning. Not only was her performance against Louisville the second-fewest number of pitches thrown this season, but it was also the most efficient complete game thrown in 2025.

Houge has also proven to be one of the best in tight situations as the freshman has accumulated a conference-leading five saves. In addition to her saves, her .240 opponent batting average ranks her seventh in the conference in that category.

Last but certainly not least, Houge has proven to be the best ground ball-producing pitcher in WKU's lineup. In her 110.2 innings of work, she's produced a total of 160 ground outs, the most of any Hilltopper pitcher.

Houge and Masters helped lead WKU to a 29-19-1 overall record and a 14-10-1 record in CUSA play to secure the #2 seed in the CUSA Championship Tournament. With the #2 seed, the Hilltoppers secured a first-round bye and will play on Thursday, May 8 at 12 p.m. CT. The opponent will be decided by the #3 Jax State/#6 Sam Houston game on Wednesday, May 7, at 12 p.m. CT.

Masters Earns All-Conference Honors, Houge Earns All-Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erica Houge

Maci Masters

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