Four Hogs Garner All-SEC Honors

LEXINGTON, Ky.– Arkansas senior LHP Robyn Herron, senior OF Dakota Kennedy, sophomore RHP Payton Burnham, and sophomore INF Ella McDowell collected All-SEC honors, the league announced Friday morning.

Herron and Kennedy took home first-team All-SEC nods while Burnham and McDowell landed on the second team. In addition to the first and second team selections, Kennedy, McDowell, and senior OF Reagan Johnson were all named to the league’s All-Defensive Team.

The All-SEC Teams consist of 25 student-athletes on the First Team, 26 student-athletes on the Second Team, and a nine-member All-Defensive Team. All awards were chosen by the league’s head coaches, and no ties were broken.

Herron earned first-team All-SEC honors for the first time in her career. She was previously a second-team selection in 2025. During SEC play, Herron posted a 2.40 ERA and a 6-5 record with three saves, while striking out 74 batters and limiting opposing hitters to a .205 batting average. Herron’s three saves were tied for third-most among all SEC pitchers in conference play. She also ranked in the top 10 in strikeouts (T-6th), wins (10th), and ERA (9th) despite ranking 15th overall in innings pitched. Additionally, her .205 batting average against was the sixth-best mark in league play while her 29.4 strikeout percentage ranked third.

With Kennedy’s first-team All-SEC selection, she has now earned first-team all-conference recognition in each of her four seasons of collegiate softball after earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2025 and first-team All-Pac 12 honors in 2024 and 2023 at Arizona. Kennedy batted a team-leading .339 during SEC contests with 19 hits, four doubles, five home runs, 18 RBI, and 38 total bases while scoring 13 runs and drawing 10 walks. She registered a .679 slugging percentage and .448 on-base percentage while recording five multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games. Defensively, she posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 27 putouts and one assist in left field.

Burnham posted an impressive 5-2 record with a pair of saves in league play. She limited opposing hitters to a .220 batting average while registering a 2.40 earned run average with 25 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 49.2 innings of work. Her .278 opponent on-base percentage was the fourth-lowest in the SEC. Burnham tossed three seven-inning complete-game shutouts during her nine SEC starts. Defensively, she posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with eight assists.

McDowell earned second-team All-SEC honors for the second consecutive season. She started all 24 league games at third base and batted .324 with a team-leading 24 hits, including three doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI, 10 walks, and 21 runs scored while registering a .419 on-base percentage and a .527 slugging percentage. She recorded a team-leading seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games during league play. Defensively, the Richmond, Texas product posted a .980 fielding percentage with 32 assists, 17 putouts, and just one error in 50 chances.

Johnson posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage for the second straight year during SEC play with 43 putouts in center field. The Karnes City, Texas, product owns a program-record 127-game errorless streak dating back to April 6, 2024, entering NCAA Regional play.

Katie Stewart of Texas took home SEC Player of the Year honors. Alabama’s Jocelyn Briski was named pitcher of the year, Mississippi State pitcher Alyssa Faircloth took home newcomer of the year honors and Kendall Wells of Oklahoma was the league’s freshman of the year. Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy was recognized as the SEC Coach of the Year after leading the Crimson Tide to a second-place finish.

Arkansas finished the 2026 regular season with a 42-11 record and 15-9 mark in SEC play, with 21 wins coming by run-rule. The Razorbacks are coming off a 1-1 showing at the SEC Tournament this week with a 3-1 win over No. 19 Mississippi State on Wednesday and a 7-1 loss against No. 3/4 Alabama on Thursday. The Razorbacks’ regional opponents and dates will be revealed on Sunday at 6 p.m. during the 2026 NCAA Division I Softball Selection Show on ESPN2.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.