2026 WCSA Season Preview: Players to Watch

The 2025 season set a high bar across the WCSA, and a deep group of returning talent is ready to push it even higher in 2026. From reigning award winners to breakout two-way threats, these are the players who did the most damage last year — and are positioned to do it again. Below are ten of the league’s top returners to watch this season, followed by a look around the league at one more riser from every remaining program.

Emmersen Bonville, UBC Okanagan

*Featured: Emmersen Bonville (26), UBCO. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

The defending Top Hitter enters 2026 fresh off one of the best offensive seasons in program history — a .527/.568/.932 slash line, 1.500 OPS, eight home runs and 32 RBI, numbers she then somehow topped in the postseason with a .700 average and 2.278 OPS. No returning hitter in the league pairs that level of contact and power, and even accounting for natural regression and opposing pitchers working around her more, she will likely remain firmly in contention for Top Hitter as she is projected to lead the league in numerous statistical categories with another OBP year above .500.

Makenna Pilbeam, University of Saskatchewan

*Featured: Makenna Pilbeam (33), U of S. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

The most complete returning player in the league, Pilbeam did damage on both sides of the ball in 2025 — hitting .392 with a 1.086 OPS, five home runs and 23 RBI while also posting a 1.99 ERA over 24 innings in the circle. She’s also a regular presence in the field at third base when she isn’t pitching, making her almost a three-way player rather than a simple two-way threat. Her career WCSA totals — 115 hits, 112 RBI, 18 HR, 103 innings pitched and 80 strikeouts — point to real staying power, and she enters the year as one of the strongest candidates for Most Outstanding Player, projecting as an everyday middle-top order bat who can still be trusted with important innings.

Kate Hourihane, UBC Okanagan

*Featured: Kate Hourihane (19), UBCO. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

The defending Top Pitcher led the league a year ago with a 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and .270 opponent average, striking out 55 in 80 innings before adding 29 more postseason innings and 16 strikeouts. As UBCO’s staff ace, she’s the favourite to repeat as Top Pitcher, with another 70–80-inning season, roughly 50 strikeouts and an ERA around or below 3.00 well within reach.

Madison Belden, University of Calgary

*Featured: Madison Belden (42), U of C. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

A First-Team pitcher after going 8–0 with a 3.32 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a 1.46 WHIP in 50 innings, Belden brings an even deeper résumé into 2026 — 168 career innings, 19 wins and 166 strikeouts, with occasional pop at the plate to boot. She’s Calgary’s 5th year workhorse and Hourihane’s clearest challenger for the pitching crown, with 45–60 innings and high strikeout totals as the expectation for the 2026 season.

Jenna Funk, University of Lethbridge

*Featured: Jenna Funk (1), U of L. Photo Credit: Rick Elvin*

Funk hit .457/.516/.765 with a 1.281 OPS, 37 hits, six home runs and 26 RBI in 2025, and her 61 quality at-bats led the entire league — a rare blend of volume and efficiency she carried into the postseason with a .500 average and 1.404 OPS. Expect another First-Team outfield season from Lethbridge’s dependable top-of-the-order threat, with 30-plus hits and 20-plus RBI season being a realistic floor.

Molly Conrad, University of Lethbridge

*Featured: Molly Conrad (27), U of L. Photo Credit: Rick Elvin*

The league’s 2025 RBI leader with 36 runs driven in, Conrad hit .402 with a 1.194 OPS and seven home runs — then got even more dangerous in the postseason, batting .500 with two homers and a 1.821 OPS. And she did all of that as a rookie. She’s the leading candidate to repeat as RBI champion and remains one of the most dangerous hitters in the league with runners on base, with a six-to-eight-homer, 30-RBI season well within range.

Brooklyn Bianchini, University of Calgary

*Featured: Brooklyn Bianchini (66), U of C. Photo Credit: Rick Elvin*

A First-Team outfielder who had a slash line of .477/.521/.769 with a 1.290 OPS, 31 hits and 23 RBI in just 21 games, Bianchini followed that up with a .500 postseason average — and her career WCSA average sits at roughly .435. A full, healthy schedule could put her in the batting-title race, with a .400-plus average and top-five OPS as she continues to contribute to the dinos defense in the outfield and behind the plate.

Grace Cleland, Mount Royal University

*Featured: Grace Cleland (2), MRU. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

In addition to putting in valuable innings on the mound for MRU, Cleland hit .424/.493/.485 with 15 RBI over 35 quality at-bats in 23 regular-season games, then turned it up in the postseason with a .571 average and .700 OBP en route to Second-Team All-Star honors at utility. She projects as a high-contact, high-OBP hitter near the top of MRU’s order — think .375–.420 average, .450–.500 OBP and 12–18 RBI — with modest added power potentially pushing her onto the First Team.

Rhyan Amundson, University of Saskatchewan

*Featured: Rhyan Amundson (2), U of S. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

Amundson batted .471 with a .507 OBP and 32 hits in 2025, then somehow raised her game even further in the postseason, hitting .625. With a career average sitting around .505, she’s built one of the most consistently elite hit tools in the league over a multi-year sample — and while she isn’t the same power threat as some of the names above her, her knack for reaching base as a speedy lefty makes her a legitimate factor in the batting-title race and a genuinely tough out for any defense.

Emma Maurice, University of Saskatchewan

*Featured: Emma Maurice (8), U of S. Photo Credit: Arthur Ward*

A Second-Team pitcher who posted a 3.47 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, .275 opponent average and 32 strikeouts in 40 innings while also hitting .384 with 28 hits, 4th year Maurice brings 137 career innings and 113 strikeouts into 2026. Like Pilbeam, she also plays the field at first base when she isn’t in the circle, giving Saskatchewan a true three-way option rather than a pitcher who simply gets some at-bats. Saskatchewan will likely continue to lean on her as a major arm in the rotation and a regular bat, and she projects as one of the league’s most valuable two-way players.

Bonus Features From Around the League

Plenty more talent is gearing up around the WCSA. Here’s a closer look at a few more returners worth watching in 2026.

Madison Hillman, University of Victoria

UVIC’s Madison Hillman produced a .412/.437/.574 slash line with a 1.011 OPS, five doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI over 24 games in 2025, then went 5-for-9 with two doubles in the postseason en route to Second-Team All-Star honors at third base. Expect an everyday infield role and a prominent spot in Victoria’s lineup, with first-team potential if the power and postseason form carry over.

Merceydes Therrien, University of Regina

Regina’s Merceydes Therrien posted a .465 OBP, .936 OPS, 16 RBI, two home runs and 77 putouts in 2025 after hitting .405 the year before. She’s the leading offensive candidate from U of R, and offseason work adding slapping and bunting to her power game could make her even tougher to defend — with the ability to catch or play outfield giving Regina valuable flexibility.

Makayla Douglas, SAIT

One of SAIT’s top returners, Makayla Douglas brings power to the pitching circle and the hitting lineup. She hit three home runs in 2025, tying her for ninth-most in the entire league. She’s also shown she can get hot in a hurry, going 7-for-12 with four doubles across two small postseason samples, and posted a .391 OBP back in 2024. With that kind of pop and a track record of catching fire when it counts, she projects as one of the more dangerous bats in SAIT’s lineup heading into 2026 and is projected to be another consistent arm in the circle.

This is just a sample of what’s coming back to the WCSA in 2026. For every name on this list, there are dozens more across the league capable of taking over a game. These are simply a few worth circling early. Buckle up…it’s going to be a good season.