OSHKOSH, Wis. -- Senior Hadley Berendsen (Kimberly, Wis., Kimberly HS) has been named the Midwest Conference Elite 20 Award recipient for softball, recognizing the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average competing at the conference's championship event.

A chemistry and biology major, Berendsen becomes the fifth student-athlete from Ripon to earn an Elite 20 Award during the 2025-26 academic year, marking the most Elite 20 honorees in a single year in Ripon College history. She joins Connor Handrick (men's soccer), Kennedy Moore (swimming & diving), Madylyn Woyak (women's track & field), and Halle Van Horn (women's basketball).

Berendsen helped lead the Red Hawks to one of the program's most successful seasons in recent history, as Ripon finished the regular season with a 25-11 overall record and secured a berth in the Midwest Conference Tournament for the first time in 15 years.

The Elite 20 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA participating at each of the Midwest Conference's championship events, highlighting excellence both in competition and in the classroom.