BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference announced its 2023 softball award winners and all-conference teams on Thursday afternoon. West Virginia State placed two of its players on the list. Freshman Emma Pauley was named to the All-MEC First Team while graduate student Emma Ruth garnered All-MEC Second Team honors.

Pauley put up impressive numbers in her debut season. She hit .378 with 16 doubles, two triples and two home runs. She drove in 29 runs and scored another 20 runs. In the field, she recorded 100 putouts and made 50 assists.

Ruth was solid in her fifth and final season with the Yellow Jackets. She hit .338 with 13 doubles, two triples and two home runs. She batted in 24 runs and scored a team-high 33 runs. She also led her team in assists with 85 and was responsible for 64 putouts.

Fifteen standouts were named to the All-MEC first team, while 17 were selected on the second team. The MEC awards winners and all-conference teams are selected following a vote of the league's 12 head coaches.