St. Mary’s Colgan junior pitcher Bella Ascanio became one of the top softball players in the state of Kansas this season and she has been named the Morning Sun softball player of the year for her outstanding 2026 season that included shutouts in both the Class 2-1A state championship and state semifinal games at Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence.
In the circle, she finished 27-3 with an 1.018 ERA and 299 strikeouts during 185 innings pitched. She batted .471 with 44 RBI.
At state, she finished with 34 strikeouts and four runs allowed over 21 innings.
“She put a lot of work in to give herself a chance to be successful this season,” Colgan softball coach Cassie Rhuems said. “She was very coachable. We talked a lot about the mental part of the game and understanding hitters and understanding how to approach batters. It was really something that she bought into and I think that probably the biggest change for her this season was just that she understands the role of the pitcher and understands the why behind the how in the circle.
“She really allowed me to break down her swing and work on some mechanics that needed some work. She was just completely bought in and wanted to be the best person and the best player for her team that she could be. She was that. She had her best season by far. I don’t know how many more strikeouts she had this season than she had the last two but I almost bet that it’s close to being as many this season as she had the last two combined.”
The Panthers also completed an unbeaten run through CNC League play at 12-0 and their only losses came against Arkansas large school powerhouse Bentonville, 4A state champion Fort Scott and Missouri Class 2 school East Newton.
“Any time you have a great pitcher just like we do, you know you’re giving yourself a chance to be successful,” Rhuems said. “We worked really, really hard to get our defense to a point where we would defend Bella when the ball was put into play. We were pretty good the latter half of the season at doing that for her and I think that was a big part of her success also just being able to relax a little bit and take care of herself instead of feeling like she had to take care of more things than that.
“She believed in her defense and trusted them and she knew that she had good bats around her and I think just having that trust and confidence in the people around her helped make her a better player also.”
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund
