LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Three standouts from the No. 19 College of Saint Benedict softball team —
Olivia Tautges,
Lily Treml and
Ellie Peterson — have been named to the 2026 NFCA Division III All-Region IX Team, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Friday, May 15.
The trio represents CSB among a select group of 386 student-athletes from 161 schools honored across the country. Tautges, a senior from Brainerd, Minn., earned first-team honors for the second straight season and collected her third career all-region award, becoming the 17th player in program history to receive first-team recognition. Peterson, a senior from St. Anthony Village, Minn., earned second-team honors and her first career all-region recognition, while Treml, a sophomore from Shakopee, Minn., was named to the third team for her first career honor.
CSB was one of 25 schools nationally with three all-region selections. All honorees now move forward for consideration for the NFCA Division III All-America teams, which will be announced May 27 on NFCA.org and the organization's social media channels.
With the selections, the Saint Benedict softball program now boasts 33 all-time all-region honorees with 52 total selections. The Bennies have now had three players earn all-region recognition in each of the past three seasons. The awards recognize student-athletes across the NFCA's 10 regions with selections to one of three teams. NFCA member head coaches nominate and vote for the winners in their respective regions, with coaches allowed to nominate up to eight players from their squad.
The performances of Tautges, Treml and Peterson helped guide the Bennies to a 34-10 overall record, including a 21-1 MIAC mark to claim the regular-season championship before capturing the conference playoff title with a 9-7 victory over No. 8 Saint Mary's. CSB also earned its seventh NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and is currently 1-1 in regional play.
Olivia Tautges
After earning NFCA First-Team All-Region and Third-Team All-America honors in 2024, Tautges followed with another dominant season for the Bennies. The two-time All-MIAC selection and 2024 MIAC Player of the Year was named the NFCA Division III Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on April 14.
Tautges is batting .460 with 13 home runs, which ranks seventh nationally in Division III. She also ranks third nationally with a .615 on-base percentage and 13th with an .897 slugging percentage. Her 58 runs scored rank 11th nationally, while her 113 total bases rank 16th.
She has already established the Saint Benedict career record with 32 home runs and ranks among the program's all-time leaders in batting average (.408, third), total bases (311, second), slugging percentage (.751, first), on-base percentage (.497, second), hits (167), RBI (123, third) and games played (138, seventh).
Her 49 walks this season are a program record, while her 1.02 walks per game rank second nationally and first in the MIAC. Tautges also leads the MIAC in RBI (47), hits (58), walks (49) and OPS (1.512) while recording 19 multi-hit games.
Ellie Peterson
Peterson earned the first all-region honor of her career after another standout season in the circle. A three-time All-MIAC selection and the 2024 MIAC Pitcher of the Year, Peterson became the set CSB's career wins in the circle with 57 (57-22) during the Bennies' 3-2 NCAA regional victory over Central, surpassing Angie Erickson's previous program record of 56 career wins.
Peterson also tied Elly Novak's 2021 school record for wins in a season with 17. She is currently 17-6 with a 1.87 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 18 complete games across 146 innings pitched. She has added four shutouts and 77 strikeouts this season.
For her career, Peterson, who earlier this week was named recipient of the CSB Presidential Award, has compiled 54 complete games (first all-time at CSB), 333 strikeouts (fifth all-time), 13 shutouts (tied for third), 82 starts (first all-time at CSB), 96 appearances (first all-time at CSB) and a school-record 507 innings pitched. She is a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Academic All-MIAC honoree.
Lily Treml
Treml added all-region honors to an outstanding sophomore season after earning All-MIAC honors and MIAC Rookie of the Year recognition in 2025.
She is batting .394 with a .973 OPS and ranks second in the MIAC with 30 walks (2nd all-time for a season all-time at CSB). Treml has totaled 56 hits, nine doubles, one home run and 33 RBI while compiling 68 total bases, a .479 slugging percentage and a .494 on-base percentage.
In just two seasons, Treml owns a .379 career batting average with 96 hits, two home runs and 58 RBI. She has also drawn 57 walks while posting a .500 slugging percentage and .490 on-base percentage with six stolen bases.
