2024 NFCA Division II All-Region Teams
The Hillsdale College softball program has been on a tear under head coach Kyle Gross – for evidence, look no further than the program's four straight seasons of 33 or more wins after just two such campaigns in the 40 years preceding the 2021 season.
That team success has come in part thanks to standout individual performances as well for the Chargers, and, after a 34-win season in 2024, two players earned All-Region recognition for Hillsdale from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday.
Sophomore Maggie Olaveson was one of just three outfielders to earn first-team recognition after a breakout season that is among the greatest for a hitter in Chargers history. Olaveson, in her first season as a full-time starter in left field, played every game for Hillsdale and hit .378 with 14 doubles, 13 home runs, 35 RBIs and 34 runs scored, leading or tying for the team lead in every single one of those categories.
With those 13 home runs, the Chelsea, Michigan native ranked third all-time at Hillsdale in single-season home runs, with both players ahead of her – Jessica Guertin in 2010 with 15 and Sam Catron in 2021 with 14 – earning All-American honors for their performances that season. Along with her home run total, which was second among all G-MAC players this season, Olaveson's .736 slugging percentage also is the fifth-highest for a single season in program history.
Olaveson now has 17 home runs through two seasons, the sixth most for a Hillsdale player in program history and has a shot at challenging Guertin's career home run record of 44 if she can have two more seasons like she had in 2024.
Joining her in receiving All-Region recognition is junior pitcher Joni Russell, who received second-team honors for her play in 2024. It's the second-straight season Russell has been recognized with All-Region honors after also receiving the award on her way to All-American recognition in 2023.
Russell had another excellent season for the Chargers in 2024, posting a 17-6 record overall, with a 1.49 ERA and 231 strikeouts to 38 walks in 145.1 innings pitched, with five shutouts. The junior was 9-2 in G-MAC play and led the conference in strikeouts, both overall and in conference play. Russell's strikeout prowess led to a record-breaking campaign in 2024 for the junior, who broke both Hillsdale's career strikeout record of 474 held by Sarah DeAngelo and the G-MAC record set by Trevecca Nazarene's Haley Fagan of 616 as well, finishing the season with 659 career punchouts.
Both Olaveson and Russell will be eligible to potentially receive NFCA All-American honors, which will be announced on Wednesday, May 22. The two players, along with their teammates, also could be selected to the D2CCA All-Region teams which will be announced separately on Monday, May 13.