Accolades continue to roll in for members of the national champion Northeast Alabama Community College softball team. 

NACC pitching coach Courtnay Foster has been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball Assistant Coach of the Year.

“Courtnay is one of the most underrated pitching coaches in the country,” said NACC head coach Joe Guthrie. “It’s extremely rewarding to see her receive this earned recognition.”

Foster directed a Mustangs pitching staff that turned in a team earned run average of 1.93, recorded 20 shutouts and held opposing batters to a .223 batting average during NACC's national championship winning season in the program’s second year of existence. Foster also coached NFCA 2026 NJCAA DI Pitcher of the Year Addie Edwards, who went 34-0 with a nation-leading 1.12 ERA and 0.79 WHIP while recording 219 strikeouts in 211 2/3 innings pitched.

“I do my best to teach the foundations of what it takes to be successful in the circle and hold the standards that our program values,” said Foster, a former All-American and All-Big Ten pitcher at Northwestern. “That said, I feel really fortunate that we have so many ambitious, competitive and hard-working players. They are the ones that put in the time and are committed to development; it really makes it fun to get in the bullpen every day and I love spending that time with our team.”

Foster is also an academic advisor for the college.

NACC finished 56-4 en route to winning the 2026 NCJAA Division I World Series national championship.

“When you win, it can seem like every day is fun and easy, but that is not always the case. There were plenty of days that were challenging, plenty of practices and road trips that were not always smooth,” Foster said. “The superpower of our group to me was that we never lost a sense of gratitude and found a way to be positive, particularly when facing adversity. I believe that showed up in spades for us on the field.”