BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU Softball's Erica Houge, Annie White, and Jenna Blanton were named NFCA All-Region team members on Thursday. All three players earned NFCA honors for the first time in their careers.
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Houge was named NFCA All-Region Second Team while White and Blanton earned Third Team honors.Â
The Collins, Iowa native finished the 2026 season with 23 wins in 35 appearances and a 2.02 ERA, ranking her first in all of Conference USA in both wins and ERA.Â
She was also responsible for WKU Softball's first no-hitter in seven years, throwing a five-inning shutout against IU Indy on March 1. Houge needed just 90 pitches and faced 23 batters in the victory. Â
The sophomore also finished the season ranked second in the conference in opponent batting average at .198, ranked ninth in total strikeouts with 94, and is eighth in batters struck out looking with 22. She threw a total of 14 complete games and three complete-game shutouts. In her 176.2 innings of work, she allowed only 51 earned runs, given up 129 hits, and issued only 56 walks.Â
White's All-Region Third Team honor comes after a season that saw the junior set the single season program record on-base percentage at .510. She spent a majority of the season ranked in the top five in CUSA in batting average and since conference play began back in early March, White has been ranked top five in both batting average and on-base percentage.
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White hit .403 through 53 games, grabbing 58 hits in 144 at-bats. In addition, the junior finished second all-time in single-season slugging percentage at .736. She finished the season with 12 home runs and put together a 22-game reached base streak from February 21 to April 2. Â
The junior also finished the season with 14 multi-hit games and led the team in multi-RBI games with 12. White was also the only player with five or more RBI in a single game and finished the season leading the conference in RBI with 53.Â
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Her efforts at the plate have also helped WKU be ranked consistently in the top 30 nationally in batting average since March 10. On defense, White has also been an anchor for WKU at first base, posting only two errors all season for a .994 fielding percentage.Â
After returning from a season-ending injury in 2025, Blanton earns her first NFCA All-Region Third Team honor. Much like White, Blanton has also been ranked top three in the conference in batting average for a majority of the season. Her batting average has also been the best for WKU all season. Â
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She finished the season ranked second with a .423 batting average and was second in hits with 74. Blanton is also tied for second in triples with four. She's totaled 74 hits on the year and has managed 93 total bases. As an outfielder, she's only had one error in 63 total chances. Â
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On the base paths, Blanton led the team in stolen bases with 21 and was ranked third in the conference in that category.Â
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