South Caldwell's Mcartney Harrington Voted 2026 North Carolina High School Softball Player of the Year

South Caldwell's McCartney Harrington has been voted High School On SI's North Carolina Softball Player of the Year after receiving 43.66 percent of the fan vote.

Harrington Claims Top Honors

Harrington led the Spartans to back-to-back NCHSAA 6A state championships and launched a grand slam in the 2026 series. She was also named MaxPreps Softball Player of the Year.

The senior and Clemson commit batted .546 with 15 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 19 doubles.

Rollins Finishes Second

West Davidson's Hannah Rollins finished second in the poll with 19.99 percent of the vote. Rollins was named Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year for the Dragons.

The senior and Guilford College commit commit went 16-6 in the circle with a 1.46 ERA and 261 strikeouts in 151.1 innings pitched. Additionally, she shit .448 with 39 hits, 35 RBIs, five home runs, 13 doubles, and 15 runs.

Nelms Rounds Out the Top Three

Rounding out the top three is Robbinsville's Ella Nelms with 19.4 percent of the vote. Nelms led the Black Knights to the NCHSAA 1A state title.

The freshman went a perfect 29-0 in the circle with a 0.29 ERA, 228 strikeouts, six no-hitters, and three perfect games. She also batted .509 with 29 hits, 19 RBIs, and three home runs.

Complete Voting Results

Eastern Wayne's Mallory Reed finished fourth in the poll with 14.01 percent of votes. Reed had an impressive two-way showing for the Warriors. In the circle, the senior and North Carolina commit posted a 0.65 ERA and struck out 289 batters in 97.1 innings. At the plate, she hit .585 with 19 RBIs and three home runs, while stealing 21 bases.

Rounding out the top five is West Forsyth's Morgan Maxwell with 1.18 percent of votes. Maxwell earned the honor of Gatorade North Carolina Softball Player of the Year. The junior and Georgia commit batted .505 with 47 hits, 48 RBIs, 13 home runs, 10 doubles, and 37 runs. She also went 17-6 in the circle with a 0.48 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 147.1 innings pitched.

South View's Jordynn Parnell finished sixth with 0.52 percent of votes. Parnell was named Eastern Sandhills Player of the Year for the Tigers. The senior and Duke commit went 18-3 in the circle with a 0.61 ERA and 288 strikeouts in 114.2 innings pitched. Additionally, she hit .549 with 37 RBIs, nine home runs, and 42 runs.

D.H. Conley's Kendall Howard placed seventh in the poll with 0.44 percent of votes. The junior and UNC Wilmington commit went 20-1 with a 1.18 ERA and a state-leading 331 strikeouts in 172.1 innings pitched.

Four other players who received votes were Covenant Day's Avery Houseton (0.37), High Point Christian Academy's Paisley Dixon (0.22), Southwest Guilford's Aniya Harris (0.15) and St. Pauls' Angel Purcell (0.06). Meanwhile, three nominees left without a vote were Union Pines' Kileigh Cameron, East Surry's Audrey HIatt, and New Bern's Anna Champey.

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