LEWISTON, Maine -- Five Bobcats have been selected to the College Sports Communicators Softball Academic All-District® Team, announced Tuesday. Juniors Ella Maher, Delaney Rankin, and Emma Yen, along with sophomores Isabel Bettencourt and Sienna Pietrasiewicz, have earned recognition on this elite list.

The junior trio of Maher, Rankin, and Yen return to the All-District® Team for the second-straight year while Bettencourt and Pietrasiewicz land on the squad in their first season of eligibility.

Maher (Newton, Mass.) compiled a 3.93 GPA as a biochemistry major. Also a two-time member of the NESCAC All-Academic Team, the team captain became the first Bates shortstop to earn All-NESCAC honors since 2013. Maher led the Bobcats with a .403 on-base percentage while hitting .308 with a home run and 14 RBI. Her 17 walks were tied for fourth-most in the NESCAC. Maher was dramatically improved both offensively and defensively this season from her sophomore year, raising her batting average by 147 points while only committing eight errors for a career-best fielding percentage of .933 at the most demanding position on the field. Her home run against Macalester (March 18) was the first of Maher's collegiate career.

Rankin, a biochemistry major from Harrison, Maine, owns a grade-point average of 3.85. A two-time NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team member, Delaney posted her first-career All-Region and All-NESCAC honors after authoring a sparkling 1.82 ERA in 18 starts. Spinning 16 complete games and tossing three shutouts, Rankin struck out an even 100 batters on the season and won 11 games for the Bobcats. She is the first Bates pitcher to earn first team All-NESCAC since the 2019 campaign.

Yen (Alberston, N.Y.) repeats as an All-District® selection with a 3.64 GPA as a physics major. Yen, also a returnee on the All-NESCAC team and the NESCAC All-Academic squad, was able to draw 15 walks this year while batting at the top of the order, seven more than her first two seasons combined. She also scored 22 runs. Yen is the first Bobcat to earn All-NESCAC honors in back-to-back seasons since 2019 and is the first Bates position player to pull it off since 2009.

Bettencourt (Peabody, Mass.), a biochemistry major, lands on this list with her 3.92 GPA. The sophomore led the Bobcats in pretty much every offensive category, hitting .378 with three home runs and 28 RBI, en route to her first-career All-Region and All-NESCAC selections. Also, a NESCAC All-Academic pick, Isabel posted an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .942 on her way to becoming the first Bates catcher to earn first team All-NESCAC honors since 2008. It's the first time a Bates starting battery (pitcher and catcher) have both been named All-NESCAC in the same season. 

Pietrasiewicz (Norton, Mass.) makes her All-District® debut with a 3.94 grade-point as a sophomore psychology major. Also earning spots on the NESCAC All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship rosters, the outfielder started all 35 games for the Bobcats this season, going 24-for-109 (.220) with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI.

The 2025 Academic All-District® Softball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond 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.

The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.