Macauley Bailey named SAC’s Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman senior first baseman Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman senior first baseman Macauley Bailey (Cross Plains, Tenn.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Softball Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
"All of her accomplishments on the field often overshadow how intelligent she really is and what a hard worker she is in the classroom," head coach Michael Graves said. "She spends a lot of time working with kids and if they ever want a role model to look up after, she is the definition of what one should look like. I am very proud of her."
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.
"To be named Scholar Athlete of the Year means so much to me. My academics have always been my number one priority, and I am proud of myself for sticking to that. Playing the game of softball is a privilege, but so is learning," Bailey said. "I take my learning seriously and I plan to use my abilities, talents and knowledge that Carson-Newman gave me to help make a small contribution in the world. Thank you to the SAC for the award and thank you to mom and dad for instilling a drive in me to always shoot for perfection and high performance in the classroom. I wouldn't be anywhere without them."
The Cross Plains, Tennessee native graduated with a 4.0 grade point average while studying psychology with minors in criminology and mental health. She is a four-time Carson-Newman Dean's List Member, a four-time Platinum Eagle Scholar, a four-time Hope Scholar, a four-time Presidential Scholar and a three-time CSC Academic All-District team member. Bailey was named the Elite 23 Winner this season at the SAC Championship Series.
Bailey began her Carson-Newman career with a trip to the NCAA Tournament and finished it the same way. The senior has put together another stellar season in her final chapter, batting .440, totaling seven home runs with 59 RBIs, with a career-best .507 on-base percentage and a .636 slugging percentage. Her 81 hits were the sixth-most and 20 doubles is tied for the second-most in a single season.
Bailey closed her career with the third-most hits at 272, her .424 batting average and .480 on-base percentage are the sixth highest in program history, third with a .769 slugging percentage and fourth for the most doubles, 54. She is Carson-Newman's all-time leader in home runs, 55, and RBIs, 249, earlier this year she set the SAC record for career RBIs against Milligan.
In 2026, Bailey recorded her fourth All-SAC honor at a fourth different position, making the First Team at first base. She also achieved her fourth and fifth All-Region honor being named the First Team honor for NFCA and D2CCA. Across her career, Bailey collected multiple outstanding athletic accolades, including NFCA National Freshman of the Year, SAC Player of the Year, SAC Freshman of the Year and two-time SAC All-Tournament team.
Looking back on the season, senior Macauley Bailey was thankful for her teammates and the school that has given her so much.
"To all the little girls, stick with it, you can do it. Softball is a mentally challenging and draining sport, but eventually it comes through. The ball will fall, the game always knows, your time will come, not everybody's going to be great all the time, it's part of the game, but your time is always there. I said that to Katey in the outfield when she made that catch against Anderson. Her time came, and she made the play, I'm super proud of her," Bailey said. "I'm so grateful to have been a Lady Eagle, to spend my four years here, and finish out the season with these people."
The 2026 season was historic for Carson-Newman on multiple levels, producing the most wins and the longest winning streak since 2017. Offensively, the Eagles racked up 576 hits and drove in 338 runs, both the most in a single season. The third-most runs scored, 363, their .364 batting average and .426 on-base percentage are the fourth-best marks in program history.
Bailey's senior class said goodbye to Carson-Newman, closing their tenure with 132 wins and their second trip to the NCAA Tournament. With a 5-3 win over Anderson on May 15th, the Eagles notched the program's first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
This is Carson-Newman's fourth Scholar Athlete of the Year recognition by the conference. Bailey joins the elite company of Jack Browder (Men's Basketball), Trinity Hafey (Beach Volleyball) and Hala Awad (Women's Tennis) to represent the Eagles' commitment to academic success.
