The Illinois Coaches Association released the 2026 ICA Softball All-State teams Monday, with 29 Kankakee area players among four classes of three teams each.

Six of those standouts earned first-team recognition. On the Class 4A team, Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Lydia Hammond earned the first spot on the first team in her career and third overall selection. The Loyola commit was 15-6 with a 2.29 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 119 innings in the circle. At the plate, Hammond hit .378 with three home runs, five doubles, 11 walks, 20 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 82 at-bats for a Boilermakers team that went 24-9 and won their fifth straight regional.

In Class 2A, Wilmington senior outfielder Molly Southall earned her third straight spot on the first team and fourth All-State spot overall. The North Carolina State recruit hit .529 with nine home runs, eight doubles, three triples, 35 walks, 42 RBIs, 53 runs and 16 stolen bases in 68 at-bats for the Wildcats, whose 24-5 record included a perfect 14-0 run through the Illinois Central Eight Conference.

Beecher also went undefeated in conference play, finishing the year 32-1, 14-0 in the River Valley Conference and as a regional champion in Class 2A, where seniors Taylor Norkus and Makenzie Johnson earned first-team honors.

Norkus, a Colgate commit, posted a 23-1 record with 227 strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA in 148⅓ innings. It’s her second straight time making the first team and third All-State selection. Johnson, an outfielder and Northern Illinois signee, is a three-time All-Stater and rookie to the first team after batting .584 with two home runs, eight doubles, 10 triples, 17 walks, 38 RBIs, 55 runs and 13 stolen bases in 101 at-bats.

In Class 1A, a pair of seniors capped off perhaps the most stellar careers in the histories of their respective programs with first-team seasons.

Milford/Cissna Park shortstop Addison Lucht, a Northwestern signee, made her four-sport, four-year All-State career complete with her fourth first-team selection. Lucht had almost as many walks (32) as at-bats (42) and finished with a .690 batting average, 10 home runs, nine doubles, three triples, 43 runs, 45 RBIs and 30 stolen bases for the 14-6 Bearcats.

Gardner-South Wilmington senior pitcher Maddie Simms was named to her second first team and third All-State team after leading the Panthers to the third-place trophy in Class 1A in their first-ever trip to state. In the circle, she went 14-8 with a 2.85 ERA and 233 strikeouts in 145 innings. At the plate, she hit .478 with two home runs, 10 doubles, nine triples, 10 walks, 36 RBIs and 20 runs for the 28-12 Panthers.

Another 13 local standouts made their respective second teams: Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Avery Moutrey in Class 4A, Bishop McNamara’s Rhaya DePaolo and Joslynn Dole, Beecher’s Grace Wuest, Manteno’s Alyssa Singleton and Aubrey Goudreau, Wilmington’s Keeley Walsh and Taylor Stefancic, Peotone’s Sophie Klawitter, Coal City’s Khloe Picard and Herscher’s Chloe Kinkade in Class 2A and G-SW’s Brynn Christensen and Grant Park’s Cheyenne Hayes in Class 1A.

The Boilers’ Shannon Lee was a third-team pick in Class 4A, while Kankakee’s KaLeah Jackson earned the same recognition in Class 3A. Bishop McNamara’s Maddy Weiland, Beecher’s Elena Kvasnicka, Wilmington’s Nina Egizio and Manteno’s Mady Dye and Savanna Watkins were Class 2A third-teamers. In Class 1A, G-SW’s Ella Mack and Kayla Scheuber and Watseka’s Christa Holohan made the third team.