By: Jacob Oyler: Athletic Communications Director
Saints softball players
Payton Lang (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS),
Lauren Laviano (Maplewood, Minn./Mahtomedi HS),
Jadyn Lind (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS), and
Samantha Paniagua (Corona, Calif./Centennial HS) have been named Academic All-District® from the College Sports Communicators (CSC) for their contributions throughout the Saints 2025 campaign.
Each school can nominate a select number of student-athletes that meet the following criteria:
• at least a sophomore academically and athletically.
• at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average.
• compete in at least 90 percent of the institution's games or start 67 percent of the institution's games.
Lang, the Saints junior infielder, was a versatile part of the Saints fielding, switching off between second and third base. She played in thirty-five of the Saints forty games and started in thirty-three of them. She put up seventeen hits and was walked a team high seventeen times throughout the season. This contributed to an impressive on base percentage of .369, which ranked second on the team. She also handled playing multiple positions well, accumulating a .899 fielding percentage over the course of the year. This was Lang's second consecutive CSC Academic All-District Team after making the team a year ago.
Laviano was the other Saint to pick up her second consecutive CSC Academic All-District Team berth. In addition to doing her normal excellent job directing the pitching staff from behind the plate, she collected twenty-eight total hits, along with three doubles and six RBIs to give the Saints offense some punch.
Lind was a lockdown defender in the outfield for the Saints. She had to run down thirty-seven fly balls throughout the season and only committed a single error, good for a .974 fielding percentage. She played in thirty one games for the Saints, mostly in the corner outfield positions and started twenty-nine. From the plate, Lind displayed great hitting with runners in scoring position, driving in eight RBIs on the season, which was a tie for second on the team.
Paniagua, the senior who split time between catcher and designated player, played in thirty-two games for the Saints and started twenty-six. She provided well rounded offense, picking up seventeen hits, driving in seven RBIs and scoring five runs of her own. She was a standout defender in her own right, earning a .954 fielding percentage for the year.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.
