3 Boilers Earn First-Team All-Big Ten Softball Honors for 2026

Three Purdue softball players were named first-team All-Big Ten selections for the 2026 season. The Boilers finished with a 34-20 record this year.

Anna Moore taking an at-bat during the Big Ten Softball Tournament. | Purdue Softball on X.

Three members of Purdue's softball team have been honored with first-team All-Big Ten accolades following the conclusion of the 2026 season. Freshman infielder Anna Moore, junior outfielder Moriah Polar and senior designated player Hailey Painter all received recognition.

Moore, Polar and Painter were all first-team Big Ten selections, announced by the conference on Friday. Purdue was one of just three schools to have at least three players selected to the first team. UCLA led the way with five and Oregon also had three first-team players.

Polar ended her year with an NCAA-best 101 hits and a .555 batting average. She also had a Big Ten-high 32 stolen bases and posted a .989 fielding percentage for the Boilers. The junior is one of 25 players nominated as a finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year.

Your national hits leader is a member of the All-Big Ten First Team ⭐️

📄 https://t.co/7VjsrkPGM6#BoilerUp🚂 pic.twitter.com/QsNxQWzOX1

— Purdue Softball (@PurdueSoftball) May 8, 2026

Moore had a sensational freshman campaign with the Boilermakers, ending her rookie year with a team-high 14 home runs. She was also responsible for 61 RBI and accounted for 30 extra-base hits. The middle infielder had a .927 fielding percentage.

Moore also received Big Ten All-Freshman honors.

Finally, Painter had a .340 hitting percentage and belted 12 home runs for the Boilermakers during the 2026 season. She totaled 49 hits and 58 RBI in her lone season at Purdue.

Purdue finished the season with a 34-20 record. The Boilermakers earned the No. 10 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but lost to No. 7 seed Wisconsin 4-3 in the first round.

Three Boilers named to All-Defensive team

Purdue also had three players named to the Big Ten's All-Defensive Team on Friday. Polar was one of the three selected, along with junior middle infield Kylie Franks and senior outfielder Khloe Banks.

Franks ended the 2026 campaign with a .991 fielding percentage. She was responsible for 28 putouts and 81 assists on 110 total chances. She had just one error for the year.

Locked it down on defense all year long 🔒

📄 https://t.co/7VjsrkPGM6#BoilerUp🚂 pic.twitter.com/nqNYb3jOvm

— Purdue Softball (@PurdueSoftball) May 8, 2026

Banks also ended the season with just one error in the outfield. She accounted for 71 putouts and two assists on 74 total chances, finishing with a .986 fielding percentage.

Polar totaled 91 putouts and two assists on 94 chances from the outfield. Like the other Boilermakers, she was also responsible for only one error during the season.

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