Bussenger, McElroy Gain NFCA All-Region Honors
MEDIA, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine received its first Division III All-Region honors in any sport as senior Lexi Bussenger (Bangor, Pa./Bangor) and Emma McElroy (Mountainside, N.J./Governor Livingston) earned awards from the National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association on Friday. McElroy was a second team honoree, while Bussenger claimed third team honors.
Brandywine is one of fewer than 90 schools across Division III to receive at least two all-region selections. McElroy and Bussenger were two of the eight United East Conference softball student-athletes named to the Region IV teams.
After earning United East Rookie of the Year and First Team All-United East honors in 2025, McElroy recorded another standout season as a sophomore, tallying 60 hits, 56 runs scored and 43 RBI. McElroy led the United East in runs scored, while finishing fourth in both hits and runs scored.
McElroy posted the conference's second-highest batting average, hitting at a .484 clip, while playing all 41 games in center field. She hit safely in 38 games with a pair of double-digit hitting streaks, including a 15-game streak from Apr. 9-21.
McElroy also homered five times and totaled 15 extra-base hits overall, while stealing 28 bases in 29 attempts. She ranked third in the United East in both home runs and stolen bases.
Bussenger capped her four-year career with her fourth-straight all-conference award. She hit .427 out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, collecting 56 hits and 52 runs scored in 41 games as the Lions' starting second baseman.
For the second-straight year, Bussenger led the United East in stolen bases with 40 steals, tied for 17th-most overall in Division III. She finished second in runs scored and eighth in total hits among United East hitters.
Bussenger was the spark at the top of the Lions' lineup all season as Brandywine finished 29-3 when she scored at least one run. Like McElroy she posted a pair of lengthy hitting streaks, reaching base safely in 15-straight games from Mar. 10-Apr. 10 and Apr. 12-May 1.
Bussenger, Brandywine's all-time leader in games played, finished her 173-game career with program-records for hits (243), runs scored (227), batting average (.466) and stolen bases (189).
NFCA All-Region honorees are automatically nominated for All-American awards, which will be announced prior to the start of the Division III World Series on May 27.
