2016 CCIW All-Conference Softball Team

PICTURED: Wheaton's Katie Thornton became the first player since 2005 to win both CCIW Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year awards in the same season.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) announced today the 30-player All-Conference Softball Team. 

Wheaton senior Katie Thornton (Carol Stream, Ill./Wheaton North) earned both the CCIW Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors after helping lead the Thunder to a second place finish this season. Thornton led the conference with a 0.68 ERA and was 9-2 with 53 strikeouts in conference games this season. She was second in the conference with a .432 batting average in 13 conference appearances including five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI. 

Thornton became the first player since North Central's Jessica Siegel in 2005 to win both player and pitcher of the year awards in the same season.

Carthage freshman first baseman Hailey Rothstein (Schaumburg, Ill./Conant) was named the CCIW Newcomer of the Year as she hit .400 in conference play with two doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI. Illinois Wesleyan senior infielder Sam Gudat (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield) led the CCIW with a .463 average to win batting champion honors. 

Carthage, led by head coach Amy Gillmore, claimed CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year recognition as the Lady Reds qualified for the CCIW Tournament with a fourth place finish, their first conference postseason appearance since 2014. 

The all-conference team was selected by the CCIW's head softball coaches during their end-of-the-year spring meeting. 

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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2014-15 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,500 academic all-conference recipients, 19 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 46 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and 102 all-Americans.