Payton List Earns First Team All-Sun Belt Nod

NEW ORLEANS - James Madison softball two-way player Payton List has earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors for the 2025 campaign, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon.

This is the second First Team All-SBC selection for List, as she notched the honor for the 2024 campaign in conjunction with her Freshman of the Year accolade. Before the season, she was also named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team, along with teammates Reed Butler and Bella Henzler.

Since joining the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 2023 season, JMU has had at least one First Team All-Sun Belt selection each season.

Starting in all 50 regular-season games, the redshirt sophomore has been a catalyst for the James Madison offense. She posted career-highs and leads the Dukes in multiple categories at the plate, including batting average (.380), slugging percentage (.693), runs scored (36), home runs (13), and hits (57).

List's slugging and OPS percentages rank ninth amongst Sun Belt hitters, as her 13 home runs put her at eighth in the conference, and 57 hits place her 10th overall.

In super-utility fashion, the Beaver, Pa., product has excelled in the circle, also leading the Dukes and ranking in the Sun Belt top 10 in a multitude of statistical feats. Her career-best 3.05 earned run average leads the team and ranks eighth amongst Sun Belt pitchers, as she is holding opposing batters to a .202 average at the plate, which is second in the conference.

She also notched career-highs with a team-leading 18 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games, while recording a 12-game hitting streak during the 2025 campaign.

List has also allowed the fifth-fewest hits and 10th-fewest earned runs in her 27 appearances in 2025.

On April 11, she threw the first shutout of her career in a 1-0 pitchers' duel victory at Louisiana. She allowed just four hits against the Ragin' Cajuns, eventually leading the Dukes to the first-series victory in program history against Louisiana.

JMU also earned its first Sun Belt Player of the Week award of 2025 on March 11 on the heels of List's effort in the Lakeside Book Company Tournament, where she went 10-for-16 (.625), with four home runs and nine RBI.

The other weekly nod for JMU came off the bat of Cali Legzdin on April 29.

The full list of recipients of 2025 SBC Postseason Awards are as followed:

Player of the Year: Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
Pitcher of the Year: Nicolette Picone, Coastal Carolina (Sr., LHP – Bethpage, N.Y.)
Freshman of the Year: Emily Smith, Louisiana (Fr., 1B – Kountze, Texas)
Newcomer of the Year: Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
Coach of the Year: Molly Fichtner, ULM

All-Sun Belt First Team
P Madison Azua, Texas State (So., LHP – Round Rock, Texas)
P Maddie Johnson, Georgia Southern (Fr., RHP – Athens, Ga.)
P Nicolette Picone, Coastal Carolina (Sr., LHP – Bethpage, N.Y.)
C Megan Kelnar, Texas State (Jr., C – Kyle, Texas)
1B Aiyana Coleman, Texas State (Jr., 1B – College Station, Texas)
2B Morgan Brown, ULM (R-Fr., 2B – Katy, Texas)
2B Makayla McClain, App State (Jr., 2B – Liberty, N.C.)
3B Olivia Branstetter, South Alabama (So., 3B – Liberty, Mo.)
SS Grace Barrett, App State (So., SS – Milton, Ga.)
OF Meagan Brown, ULM (So., OF – Katy, Texas)
OF Hannah Christian, Southern Miss (Fr., OF – Hoover, Ala.)
OF Diamond Leslie, Marshall (Fr., OF – Alpharetta, Ga.)
OF Brooklin Lippert, ULM (So., OF – Loganville, Ga.)
OF Taylor McKinney, Troy (Sr., OF – Montgomery, Ala.)
DP Payton List, James Madison (R-So., DP – Beaver, Pa.)

All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Alana Barnard, Georgia Southern (Jr., RHP – Statesboro, Ga.)
P Alyssa Faircloth, Troy (So., LHP – Northport, Ala.)
P Sophie Moshos, App State (Jr., LHP – Brazil, Ind.)
C Maddie Jennings, Coastal Carolina (Sr., C – Belton, S.C.)
1B Georgia Hood, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 1B – Mount Gambier, Australia)
1B Emily Smith, Louisiana (Fr., 1B – Kountze, Texas)
1B Gabby Stagner, South Alabama (Sr., 1B – Mobile, Ala.)
2B Keirstin Roose, Coastal Carolina (Sr., 2B – Wolcottville, Ind.)
3B Sam Roe, Louisiana (Sr., 3B – Destin, Fla.)
SS Haleigh Adkins, Marshall (So., SS – Hamlin, W.Va.)
SS Delanie Thames, Georgia Southern (So., SS – Statesboro, Ga.)
OF Kayla Falterman, Louisiana (Sr., OF – The Woodlands, Texas)
OF Maddie Hayden, Louisiana (Sr., OF – West Monroe, La.)
OF McKinnon Howard, Troy (So., OF – Smiths Station, Ala.)
DP Layla Thompson, ULM (Sr., DP – Gonzales, La.)

The Dukes head to Troy, Ala., for the 2025 Sun Belt Softball Championship set for May 7-10 at the Troy Softball Complex. James Madison holds the No. 9 seed as it will face No. 8 Troy in the first round on Wednesday, May 7 at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Reed Butler

Bella Henzler

Cali Legzdin

Payton List

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