LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Penn State softball freshman third baseman Allison Oneacre added to her long list of individual national accolades on Thursday, with the first-year sensation picking up a spot on the NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list following an announcement from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
A native of Alpharetta, Georgia, Oneacre has already established herself as one of the most dominant freshmen in Penn State program history. The first-year Penn Stater already owns the Nittany Lion single-season RBI record, driving in 56 scores through this point in the campaign. Oneacre also boasts the Penn State freshman home run record with 16, ranking second in a single-season all-time in Happy Valley in that statistic behind the program’s only First Team NFCA All-American in Cassidy Bell, who mashed 30 homers during her senior year in 2013. Oneacre is Penn State’s statistical leader in batting average (.385), OPS (1.361), doubles (12), home runs (16), RBI (56), slugging (.846), on-base percentage (.514) and assists (68).
The rookie infielder has established herself as a breakout star in college softball throughout the early going in 2026, with Oneacre ranking fifth in the Big Ten Conference and 27th nationally in total RBI (56) and 34th nationally in RBI per game (1.22), while ranking eighth in the Big Ten and 42nd across Division I softball with 16 home runs. Her offensive prowess is also highlighted by the eighth-best slugging percentage in the Big Ten with a .846 mark. Oneacre boasts additional top-10 marks in the Big Ten Conference in doubles, home runs per game and walks per game.
Oneacre has racked up a wide array of individual accolades over the course of the 2026 campaign, earning National Freshman of the Week honors from both D1Softball and Softball America on February 17, as well as Softball America’s No. 1 third baseman ranking on March 3 and No. 5 shortstop ranking at the midseason mark. The rookie infielder has also picked up Big Ten Freshman of the Week distinction twice this year, earning PSU’s first honor of that nature since the 2024 campaign. Oneacre became the first Nittany Lion in program history to secure back-to-back Big Ten Conference weekly honors since PSU joined the league in 1992. She becomes just the second Nittany Lion in program history to secure a spot on the NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 leaderboard, joining current junior teammate and right-handed pitcher Bridget Nemeth, who reached as high as the Top 10 list during her breakout campaign in 2024.
This year’s NFCA Top 25 finalists hail from 22 different universities and represent 11 NCAA Division I conferences from across the nation. Oneacre was one of six representatives from the Big Ten Conference, joining UCLA’s Bri Alejandre and Aleena Garcia, Nebraska’s Alexis Jensen, Northwestern’s Marina Mason and Purdue’s Anna Moore. On May 7, the list will be trimmed to the top 10 and the three finalists will be released on May 20. The winner will be revealed on May 26. The list of 25 was selected by the NFCA. The top 10, top three and winner are voted by the NFCA Division I All-America Committee. To be eligible, student-athletes must be nominated by their member head coach and in their first year of NCAA Division I collegiate competition as a true freshman or redshirt freshman. Nominated student-athletes remain in consideration for Top-10 selection.
ABOUT THE NFCA DIVISION I NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
The NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. The NFCA awards Freshman of the Year plaudits to a student-athlete from NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII and NAIA. For more information about all NFCA Awards, visit nfca.org.
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Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateSB.
The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.