Five From RSC Softball Make the CSC Academic All-District Team
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Softball had five players, the maximum allowed, make the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Softball Team.
The Gators honored were: senior pitcher Bailey Catlin (Petersburg, NY/Berlin/Saint Rose), junior infielder Annalise Tyler (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont), junior catcher/infielder Katie Call (Antwerp, NY/Indian River/Jefferson County CC), junior infielder/outfielder Emily O'Keefe (Albany, NY/Albany), and pitcher Annabella Putnam (Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh/Mansfield), a graduate student.
Catlin and Tyler were also recognized by the organization for their performances in the classroom and on the field last year.
The 2026 Academic All-District® Softball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 16, 2026.
The group helped RSC (21-21) qualify for the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament for the sixth consecutive year.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Russell Sage College Softball made its sixth-straight appearance in the E8 Tournament…The run of playoff appearances included a trip to the finals in 2023…14 returners combined with seven newcomers to make up this year's roster…Tyler, senior catcher/outfielder Emma Heartquist (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane), and senior infielder Hannah Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) headline the returnees…Putnam and Call highlight the newcomers...Tyler became just the fourth Gator to earn first-team All-E8 honors...Putnam and Heartqust were voted second-team All-E8...Tyler and Smith both earned all-Empire 8 Conference honors last season…Tyler was named to the second team while Smith earned a spot on the third team… Tyler made second-team All-E8 as a freshman too...She headed into the postseason among the Conference leaders in multiple offensive categories...The junior was tenth in hitting (.410), on-base percentage (.469), and runs scored (36), and ninth with 48 hits...She finished her spring third in the E8 with 25 stolen bases...The mark is second-most in a season by an RSC player...The lead-off hitter has 59 career stolen bases, third-most among Gators...RSC Pitchers closed their season second in the Conference with 234 strikeouts and third with a 3.62 Team ERA...Putnam (7-8, 1 save) and senior pitcher Catlin (8-6) led the staff...Opposing batters were hitting just .223 off of Putnam, the worst in the E8...The graduate student was fourth in the Conference with a 2.83 ERA...She whiffed 105 batters across 109.1 innings...Those marks ranked fifth and seventh in the E8...Tyler took home E8 Player of the Week honors for the period ending Sunday, March 15…The infielder slashed .462/.654/.533 during the team's season-opening trip to Florida…The junior scored eight runs, tallied four RBI, laced three doubles, and totaled 17 bases…She registered four multi-hit efforts and stole four bases across the eight games…Putnam was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Players and Pitchers to Watch List…The right-hander, just one of 118 players from across the country to make the prestigious list, was tabbed the E8 Pitcher of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 12…The graduate student, who no-hit visiting Houghton on April 10, went 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and 13 strikeouts in her two Conference starts that weekend…Overall, she went 2-1 across her three starts this week, all complete games…The right-hander registered 15 strikeouts across 18.0 innings, a 2.33 ERA, and a .232 opposing batting average...Tyler hit .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored and two RBI to help RSC secure a home E8 playoff game...The junior totaled 14 bases, laced three doubles, slugged .636, and had a .560 on-base percentage across the six contests... She went 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts.
