SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Augustana softball senior Andrea Cain has been voted by the league coaches as the 2026 NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year for softball. A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Cain holds a 3.74 grade-point average while pursuing her master's degree in athletic training.

The NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year Award is presented annually to a student-athlete who has competed at their institution for four years, is academically superior and has made a positive contribution to their team and university. The award honors a senior who exemplifies the attributes of the model NSIC student-athlete through excellence in athletics, academics and community engagement.

Cain capped an outstanding career as one of the most decorated players in Augustana softball history. She was named NSIC Freshman of the Year in 2023 and is a three-time First Team All-NSIC selection. She has earned multiple NSIC Player of the Week honors and was named to the NSIC All-Tournament Team. Cain also garnered D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team recognition during her career. A key contributor to one of the conference's top programs, she helped lead the Vikings to four NSIC regular season championships, three NSIC Tournament titles and appearances in three NCAA Regionals, two NCAA Super Regionals and the 2024 NCAA National Championship.

In the classroom, Cain has been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team and is an NFCA Academic All-American, South Dakota Opportunity Scholar and Augustana Dean's List honoree.

Cain has also been actively involved in the Sioux Falls community and on campus. Her service includes volunteering with a mobile food pantry, Rake the Town, the Sioux Falls Suicide Awareness 5K, fitness testing at Trail Ridge Senior Living and working with individuals with Parkinson's disease through Rock Steady Boxing. On campus, she has served as co-leader of the Exercise Science Club, team chaplain through Augustana Faith and Spiritual Life, a member of FCA and a student athletic trainer with the football and wrestling teams.

"Andrea is very deserving of the outstanding senior award," said Augustana head coach Gretta Melsted. "She is everything a coach wants in a player and leader. Andrea is super competitive and brings energy every day to practice. She is constantly uplifting her teammates and trying to bring the best out of each individual and our team collectively. She is loyal and cares more about the program than herself. She works extremely hard and the level of effort that she gives to everything she does is unmatched. She has incredible integrity and wants to make a positive impact on everyone she comes across. Andrea is truly an outstanding human being."

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 126 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA's three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.

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