BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – After a season filled with historic accomplishments, the College of Saint Benedict softball team was rewarded Monday (May 18) with a host of postseason honors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

The Bennies set a school record with 36 wins, captured both the MIAC regular-season and playoff championships and advanced to the NCAA Division III Regional Championship round during a memorable 2026 campaign. CSB, which advanced to the regional championship game, had success that was reflected in the conference awards as senior Olivia Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) earned MIAC Player of the Year honors for the second time, senior Ellie Peterson (St. Anthony Village, Minn.) was named MIAC Pitcher of the Year for the second time in three seasons and head coach Rachael Click was selected MIAC Coach of the Year for the first time in program history.

It marked the fourth time in the last five seasons the Bennies have claimed the MIAC Player of the Year award. It was also the second time in program history CSB swept both the Player and Pitcher of the Year honors in the same season.

Saint Benedict had five All-MIAC selections, three named Honorable Mention All--MIAC and four selected to the MIAC All-Playoff Team. Tautges and Peterson were joined on the All-MIAC first team by sophomore outfielder Lily Treml (Shakopee, Minn.), senior first baseman Cat Smetana (Lake Elmo, Minn.) and senior Olivia Wallace (Maple Grove, Minn.). Senior Tuscany Ballot (St. Anthony Village, Minn.), sophomore Lauren Freeberg (Rogers, Minn.) and senior Olivia Van Hout (Mahtomedi, Minn.) received honorable mention recognition.

In addition, Peterson, Smetana, Bryn Ruhberg (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Sammy Muetzel (Woodbury, Minn.) were named to the MIAC All-Playoff Team.

Click earns Coach of the Year Honors
 

Click guided the Bennies to the first dual championship season in program history by winning both the MIAC regular-season and playoff titles. CSB finished 36-11, tying the school record for victories, earned a No. 19 national ranking and advanced to the NCAA Division III Regionals as the No. 2 seed before falling 3-2 to No. 10 Simpson in the regional championship game. Under Click's guidance, CSB has gone 359-181 (.659). In MIAC play, she has led CSB to a 197-85 mark or a winning mark of .698.

In each of her 14 full seasons, CSB has won 20 or more games and reach 30 wins or more three times with two MIAC titles (2024 - shared; and 2026 - outright). Click has coached 47 All-MIAC athletes, 21 All-MIAC Honorable Mention selections, 27 All-Region athletes (10 first team, 10 second team and seventhird-team selections), four All-Americans, four MIAC Players of the Year, four MIAC Rookies of the Year and two MIAC Pitcher of the Year honorees. 

 A former MIAC Player of the Year at Gustavus in 2009, Click became the first head coach in Saint Benedict softball history to earn MIAC Coach of the Year honors.

For the second time, Tautges named MIAC Player of the Year
 

Tautges (Brainerd, Minn.) added another milestone season to her decorated career by earning MIAC Player of the Year honors for the second time. Recently named NFCA First-Team All-Region for the second time and All-Region for a third time, Tautges was also selected as the NFCA Division III Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on April 14.

A three-time All-MIAC honoree, Tautges became just the fifth player in conference history to win the MIAC Player of the Year award twice. She batted .440, ranking fifth in the MIAC and 10th in program single-season history, while her 13 home runs (2nd all-time at CSB for season) ranked second in the conference and 10th nationally in Division III. She also ranked fifth nationally with a .600 on-base percentage and 22nd nationally with an .851 slugging percentage.

Tautges scored 62 runs, which ranked first in the MIAC and 11th nationally, while her 47 RBI (T-1st all-time at CSB) tied for first in the conference and her 114 total bases ranked 18th nationally and first in the MIAC. She totaled 59 hits, ranking fifth in program single-season history and first in the league. Her 52 walks established a new CSB single-season record, while her 1.11 walks per game ranked first nationally and in the MIAC.

Already the program's career home run leader with 32, Tautges concluded her career with a .402 batting average, tied for fourth all-time at CSB, along with 133 runs scored (second), 168 hits (seventh), 28 doubles, eight triples and 123 RBI (third). She also finished with program records in walks (76) and tied for the top slugging percentage (.737) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.496).

In MIAC play, Tautges hit .459 with a .630 on-base percentage and .869 slugging percentage. She totaled 28 hits, 13 extra-base hits, 28 walks, 25 RBI and 33 runs scored in conference action.

Peterson earns MIAC Pitcher of the Year for Second Time

Peterson added the first all-region honor of her career after another dominant season in the circle. A four-time All-MIAC selection and two-time MIAC Pitcher of the Year (2024, 2026), Peterson became Saint Benedict's all-time wins leader during the Bennies' 3-2 NCAA regional victory over Central, surpassing Angie Erickson's previous record of 56 career victories. Peterson finished her career with a 58-22 record.

Earlier in the regional tournament, Peterson also broke Elly Novak's 2021 single-season school record for wins by earning her 18th victory in a 4-0 win over Central. She finished the year 18-6 with a 1.79 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 19 complete games across 156 innings pitched. Peterson added five shutouts and 79 strikeouts. In MIAC play, Peterson posted a perfect 12-0 record with a 1.25 ERA.

The recipient of the 2025-26 CSB Presidential Award, Peterson closed her career ranked first in school history in complete games (55), starts (83), appearances (98) and innings pitched (516). She also finished fifth in strikeouts (335), third in shutouts (14) and earned MIAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2023. Peterson became the eighth different pitcher in conference history to win the MIAC Pitcher of the Year award more than once. She is also a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree.


Other All-MIAC/Playoff Honorees
 

Treml continued her breakout career by All-MIAC honors for a second straight year after being named All-Region on Friday. The sophomore, who was named MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2025, also earned Regional All-Tournament Team honors this spring.

Treml batted .393 with a .980 OPS and ranked second in the MIAC with 34 walks, which ranks second on the CSB single-season list. She totaled 59 hits, 10 doubles, one home run and 36 RBI while posting a .480 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage.

In just two seasons, Treml owns a .378 career batting average with 99 hits, two home runs and 61 RBI. She has also drawn 61 walks while posting a .496 slugging percentage and .491 on-base percentage with six stolen bases.

 

Smetana earned All-MIAC honors for the third time in her career after receiving honorable mention recognition in 2023. A two-time all-region selection and two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, Smetana was also named Academic All-MIAC twice and earned a spot on the 2026 MIAC All-Playoff Team.

She hit .342 with a .398 slugging percentage and .373 on-base percentage this season while totaling nine doubles, 55 hits, 19 runs and 38 RBI, ranking fifth in the MIAC.

For her career, Smetana batted .359 with 150 starts, tied for fifth all-time at CSB, and 152 games played, tied for sixth. She totaled 178 hits, ranking fifth all-time, along with 106 RBI, also fifth all-time at CSB. Smetana added six home runs, 37 doubles (4th all-time at CSB), a .494 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage during her career.

 

Wallace earned All-MIAC recognition for the second consecutive season. A two-time Academic All-MIAC and a 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection, Wallace finished 2026 with a 13-3 record and a 3.48 ERA.

She made 23 appearances, including 22 starts, and recorded seven complete games across 108.2 innings while striking out 57 batters. Wallace concluded her career with a 29-18 record and 3.14 ERA. She ranks sixth all-time at CSB with 56 starts, fifth with 79 appearances and 10th with 321 innings pitched. Wallace also totaled 175 career strikeouts, ranking ninth all-time.

Freeberg earned honorable mention All-MIAC honors for the first time after being named to the Regional All-Tournament Team. She hit .341 with a 1.035 OPS, second best on the team, while totaling 42 hits, eight doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Her four triples ranked second in the MIAC, while her seven home runs tied for fourth.

Freeberg also drove in 39 runs, ranking fourth in the conference and sixth on the CSB single-season list. She added a .393 on-base percentage and .642 slugging percentage, which ranked 10th in the MIAC.

Van Hout earned her first career honorable mention All-MIAC award after batting .345 with 38 hits, 38 runs and four doubles. She also posted a .410 on-base percentage and stole 21 bases in 22 attempts, ranking fifth in the MIAC.

A 2025 Academic All-MIAC honoree, Van Hout finished her career with a .327 batting average, 94 runs, 85 hits, one home run and 22 RBI in 137 games, including 97 starts. She also finished second in school history with 73 stolen bases.

Ballot earned honorable mention All-MIAC honors for the first time in her career. She hit .267 with an .838 OPS while totaling three home runs, 28 RBI and a .467 slugging percentage. Ballot added eight doubles, four stolen bases, 28 hits and 21 runs scored.

She finished her career with five home runs, 38 RBI, 44 hits and 38 runs scored while batting .263 across 92 career games.

Muetzel and Ruhberg rounded out CSB's postseason honors by earning MIAC All-Playoff Team recognition.

Ruhberg, a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selection and two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree, batted .455 during the regional tournament and hit .283 overall this season with 11 doubles, 32 hits, 30 runs and 28 RBI.

She also posted a .441 on-base percentage and led the MIAC with 12 hit-by-pitches, ranking 18th nationally in Division III. Ruhberg concluded her career with a .311 batting average, 113 hits, 30 doubles, six home runs and 82 RBI while compiling a .435 on-base percentage. She also set school records with 15 hit-by-pitches in 2025 and 38 for her career.

Muetzel, who earned Academic All-MIAC honors in 2025, batted .297 this season with 35 hits, 14 runs and five doubles in 47 games while posting a .342 on-base percentage. She finished her career with a .263 batting average, 85 hits, 47 runs, 46 RBI and one home run across 125 games.