DAHLONEGA – The No. 10 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team headlined the 2025 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Awards with six all-conference honorees as announced by the league office Thursday afternoon.

Selected to the 2025 PBC All-Conference First Team were freshman catcher Carleigh Knowles, junior outfielder Natalie Ray, junior outfielder Sydnee Reaves and senior shortstop Rylie Moody.

Listed to the PBC All-Conference Second Team was junior pitcher Chloe Poss. 

Knowles headlined her first collegiate season in Dahlonega with an All-Conference First Team selection. She was also named the 2025 PBC Freshman of the Year on Thursday. 

The Hawkinsville, Ga. native currently ranks second in all of NCAA Division II in home runs (20) and slugging percentage (.923). She's also third in the country in total bases (143), fourth in hits (66) and ninth in RBIs (62). 

The rookie leads the PBC in total bases (143), RBIs (62), SLG, batting average (.429) and homers while ranking second in doubles (15), third in runs scored (54) and sixth in on-base percentage (OBP). 

The first-year Nighthawk has already earned multiple individual awards this year as she was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Player of the Week and named to the NFCA National Player of the Year Watchlist. 

She was also a two-time PBC Freshman of the Week winner and three-time PBC Player of the Week winner. Knowles is the first player in Peach Belt Conference history to win the Player of the Week award three times and the Freshman of the Week award twice in one season. She's the first player since 2019 to win three Player of the Week Awards in the same year. 

Joining Knowles on the First Team from the outfield were Reaves and Ray. Reaves currently leads the PBC and ranks No. 9 in the country in runs scored (59) this season. She also ranks 22nd in the nation in total bases with 124, which is third in the conference. She is second in the league in doubles (15) and hits (70), sixth in RBIs (48) and slugging (.689) and third in stolen bases (19). Reaves earned individual acclaim this season as a two-time PBC Player of the Week.

In her second year but first season of action in Dahlonega, Ray ranks second in the league in slugging percentage (.810) and on-base plus slugging (OPS) at 1.301. She is third in batting average (.408) and ranks fourth in home runs (13), runs scored (51) and RBIs (51). Her 13 stolen bases are eighth in the league while her 12 doubles and three triples are also top 10 marks in the conference.

On the infield, Moody made waves as she currently has the second-most RBIs (55) of any hitter in the PBC. The shortstop ranks fifth in slugging (.700), home runs (11) and triples (4). She also ranks sixth in the conference in runs scored (50), seventh in OPS (1.119) and eighth in hits (60). 

On the Second Team, Poss shined in the circle for the Nighthawks this season. The junior currently ranks fifth in the league in earned run average (3.07), fourth in strikeouts (120), eighth in opponent batting average (.241) and 10th in innings pitched (118.2). Her 16 wins are third-best in the conference. 

Poss has already recorded four shutout appearances this year and seven outings with 7 or more strikeouts. Her season-high 11 Ks on March 12 in 7-0 win over Union are the fourth-most in a game among PBC pitchers this season. She was twice awarded PBC Pitcher of the Week on March 17 and April 14.

In a wildly impressive first year under new head coach Brooke O'Hair, the head coach guided the five aforementioned Nighthawks to the first all-conference honors of their careers. This includes Knowles who is UNG's first Freshman of the Year winner since Courtney Poole in 2013. This season's honorees also continued the program's 19-year streak of having multiple players named to the PBC All-Conference Team, dating back to UNG's acceptance into the league back in 2006.

Knowles, Ray, Reaves, Moody, Poss and the rest of the Nighthawks are now set to embark on postseason play in 2025. 

As the top seed in the 2025 PBC Tournament, UNG begins postseason play in the quarterfinals of the league championship on Friday, May 2 against eighth-seeded USC Beaufort. First pitch from Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium is set for 4:30 p.m.