University of North Carolina Athletics
LeGette & Thompson Earn NFCA All-America Honors
May 27, 2026 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Emily LeGette and Sanaa Thompson have both earned All-America honors, the NFCA announced Wednesday afternoon.
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LeGette earns first-team All-America honors after rewriting the Carolina record book, setting the single season program records for home runs (27), best slugging percentage (1.117) and most total bases (153). Her RBI (76), batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.573) and walks (46) were second in program history.
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The junior first baseman burst onto the national stage after entering the year with 44 hits, six home runs, 24 RBI, 18 runs and 10 walks in 58 games and 38 starts in two seasons at Virginia Tech. The junior made herself right at home in Chapel Hill, outpacing her two seasons combined in hits, home runs, total bases, runs, walks, RBI and sac-flies, all in just three more at bats and seven fewer games than she had in the previous two seasons combined.
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LeGette has taken home a host of accolades this season. She was a top 25 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She earned a NFCA First Team All-Region selection. Softball America named her the No. 3 first baseman in the country. She won NFCA Player of the Week and Softball on SI Player of the Week twice, Softball America Player of the Week, D1Softball Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week once.
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Thompson, much like LeGette, has her name all over the record book. This is her first ever All-America honor. This year, she set the program record for runs (74), she also had the second most hits (84), third best batting average (.462), fourth best on-base percentage (.524), sixth most total bases (138) and ninth best slugging percentage (.758). In career records she is also all over the record book. She currently has the best on-base percentage (.470), second best batting average (.404) and slugging percentage (.655), fourth most runs (158), sixth most sac-flies (8), and eighth most (135).
The Dallas, Ga., native earned NFCA First Team All-Region and Second Team All-ACC honors. She topped out at No. 11 in Softball America's outfielder rankings.
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The two juniors are now the 12th and 13th Tar Heels to earn NFCA All-America honors. UNC has now had All-America selections in consecutive season with LeGette's high school teammate Kat Rodriguez earning first-team honors from D1Softball and Softball America and third team honors from NFCA last year. This marks the first time since Tiffany Tolleson and Jacklyn Holden in 2002-03 that Carolina has had All-America selections in back-to-back seasons.
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Head coach Megan Smith Lyon has now coached three All-America honorees in her three years in Chapel Hill and five in the last five years if you include her years at Marshall. In three seasons Smith already has over 100 wins. Her 101 wins through three seasons are the second most for a head coach in program history only trailing Susan Clark's 106 wins from 1980-82, which came before fastpitch started in 1984.
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LeGette earns first-team All-America honors after rewriting the Carolina record book, setting the single season program records for home runs (27), best slugging percentage (1.117) and most total bases (153). Her RBI (76), batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.573) and walks (46) were second in program history.
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The junior first baseman burst onto the national stage after entering the year with 44 hits, six home runs, 24 RBI, 18 runs and 10 walks in 58 games and 38 starts in two seasons at Virginia Tech. The junior made herself right at home in Chapel Hill, outpacing her two seasons combined in hits, home runs, total bases, runs, walks, RBI and sac-flies, all in just three more at bats and seven fewer games than she had in the previous two seasons combined.
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LeGette has taken home a host of accolades this season. She was a top 25 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She earned a NFCA First Team All-Region selection. Softball America named her the No. 3 first baseman in the country. She won NFCA Player of the Week and Softball on SI Player of the Week twice, Softball America Player of the Week, D1Softball Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week once.
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Thompson, much like LeGette, has her name all over the record book. This is her first ever All-America honor. This year, she set the program record for runs (74), she also had the second most hits (84), third best batting average (.462), fourth best on-base percentage (.524), sixth most total bases (138) and ninth best slugging percentage (.758). In career records she is also all over the record book. She currently has the best on-base percentage (.470), second best batting average (.404) and slugging percentage (.655), fourth most runs (158), sixth most sac-flies (8), and eighth most (135).
The Dallas, Ga., native earned NFCA First Team All-Region and Second Team All-ACC honors. She topped out at No. 11 in Softball America's outfielder rankings.
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The two juniors are now the 12th and 13th Tar Heels to earn NFCA All-America honors. UNC has now had All-America selections in consecutive season with LeGette's high school teammate Kat Rodriguez earning first-team honors from D1Softball and Softball America and third team honors from NFCA last year. This marks the first time since Tiffany Tolleson and Jacklyn Holden in 2002-03 that Carolina has had All-America selections in back-to-back seasons.
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Head coach Megan Smith Lyon has now coached three All-America honorees in her three years in Chapel Hill and five in the last five years if you include her years at Marshall. In three seasons Smith already has over 100 wins. Her 101 wins through three seasons are the second most for a head coach in program history only trailing Susan Clark's 106 wins from 1980-82, which came before fastpitch started in 1984.
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