The Ivy League office announced on May 6 that Jade Montgomery of the University of Pennsylvania was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Year, as five members of the Penn Quakers women’s softball team received All-Ivy recognition for their performances in the 2026 season.
The announcement highlights individual achievements and marks a successful year for Penn’s softball program. The selections reflect strong contributions across multiple positions and class years.
Montgomery, a senior, concluded her final season with career-best statistics, including a .415 batting average, 56 hits, 17 doubles, seven home runs, and 33 runs batted in. She ranked among Ivy League leaders in several categories and set a new single-season record at Penn for doubles. Montgomery finished her season on a 14-game hitting streak.
Sophomore Gigi Ganje joined Montgomery on the First Team All-Ivy list after leading the team with 60 hits, setting a new single-season home run record at Penn with 16 homers, and topping other offensive categories such as total bases (129), walks (33), and OPS (1.453). Senior Delaney Smith earned Second Team All-Ivy honors by leading Penn in batting average (.432), hits (60), RBI (45), and also breaking the school’s single-season batting average record. Smith was additionally recognized as Penn’s Academic All-Ivy selection this year.
Honorable mentions went to Kelly Zybura—who led Quaker pitchers in innings pitched (110.2) and strikeouts (72) while throwing only the third perfect game in program history—and Alexis Youngren, who contributed both offensively (.286 average with three home runs) and defensively across multiple positions throughout the season.
With these recognitions from league officials following strong individual seasons by its players, observers will be watching how returning athletes like Ganje continue to build on these accomplishments next year.
