Four Saints Named All-FCSAA
Molly Bender (OF) and Belle Mancillas (P) were selected to First Team All-State while McKenzie Cox (INF) and Sydney English (C) were selected to Second Team All-State.
Tallahassee, FL
The 2026 season marks the first time Santa Fe has had four First or Second All-State players in over 10 years! The Saints had three players earn All-State honors in 2025, 2024, and 2021.
Molly Bender hit .410 with a .541 OBP (sixth in the state) and was second in runs (83), second in stolen bases (48), second in doubles (23), tied for fifth in home runs (13), and tied for sixth in walks (33). Bender added 68 hits and 45 RBIs. Bender is the Citrus Conference North Player of the Year as well as being named First Team All-Citrus North Conference. In previous seasons, Bender was also named Dll NJCAA All-American Second Team, NFCA All-American Second Team, NFCA South Region Second Team, FCSAA Female Athlete of the Year, Finalist 2023 FCSAA Player of the Year, All-FCSAA/All-NJCAA Region 8 outfield, and All-Sun-Lakes Conference First Team outfield.
Belle Mancillas earned a 16-5 record while starting 27 games. Mancillas' 16 complete games were tied for first in the state, and she was third with a 1.24 ERA, tied for third in strikeouts (141) over 153 innings pitched. She was also named FCSAA Pitcher of the Week during the final week of the regular season and is the All-Citrus North Pitcher of the Year as well as an First-Team All-Citrus North Conference player. Outside the field, she is an 2024-25 FCSAA Academic All-State, 2024 Fall All-Saints Academic Team, and 2025 Spring All-Saints Academic Team member.
McKenzie Cox hit .382 with a .417 OBP and was second in the state in home runs (18), third in RBIs (72), fourth in hits (79), fifth in doubles (19), seventh in runs (64), and eighth in stolen bases (36). She hit .200 with 9 runs scored last season at Florida Gulf Coast University and was named First Team All-Citrus North this season.
Sydney English hit .403 with a .517 OBP (10th in the state) and was tied for sixth with 33 walks. English added 64 hits, 45 RBIs, 33 runs, 15 doubles, five home runs, and a stolen base. English was named 2024-25 FCSAA Academic All-State, 2024 Fall All-Saints Academic Team, and 2025 Spring All-Saints Academic Team. She was also named the Most Valuable Person Award winner at the 2026 Players Choice Awards
#3 Santa Fe will play #6 Miami Dade in the first round of the FCSAA DI Softball Championship at 1:00pm on Wednesday, May 13th. The Saints won the season series against Miami Dade 3-1. The Saints swept the Sharks in Miami on March 12th, winning 6-2 and 10-3. On April 16th, the Sharks won Game 1 in Gainesville 6-5 in nine innings, while the Saints took Game 2 15-3 in five innings.
The tournament is in double elimination format, which means the Saints will play the corresponding winner/loser of #2 Northwest Florida and #7 Chipola on Thursday, May 14th at 4:00pm (winners' bracket) or 10:00am (losers' bracket).
The games will be streamed live on the FCSAA Digital Network. Updates will be posted to the end of each game's story and will also be reflected on the FCSAA DI Softball Championship Page here.