Michigan State University Athletics
Three Players to Watch Add to Preseason Softball Accolades
1/29/2026 2:05:00 PM | Softball
East Lansing, Mich. --Â Michigan State softball seniors Britain Beshears (Novi, Mich.), Kirsten Caravaca (Davie, Fla.) and Hannah Hawley (Coventry, RI) have been named Players to Watch by the Big Ten Conference, as announced on Thursday, Jan. 29.Â
Â
The three elder statesmen join freshmen Zoie Bernard (Cordova, Tenn.) Alyssa Galindo (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Alex Starr (Melissa, Texas) in receiving preseason accolades.Â
Â
Beshears and Hawley are established Spartan longball threats – each is among MSU's top 10 career home run producers.  Hawley led the Spartans in 2025 with 11 homers (eighth in the MSU single-season record book) and 39 base hits (second on the team). She has 23 career home runs in two seasons at MSU, which ranks ninth in the Spartan record book, with both of her seasons among the top 10 single-season home run performances.  She has started each of MSU's 95 games over her two seasons in Green & White and is MSU's active leader in base hits (90) with 50 RBI. Â
Â
Beshears has 24 career round-trippers, tied for sixth in the MSU annals. As a sophomore, she belted 15 homers, good for second all-time.  She is MSU's active career leader in RBI (67) and is second in base hits (78) and owns a career .534 slugging percentage. She has played in 117 career games, including 94 consecutive starts during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Â
Â
Caravaca is a Spartan newcomer, joining the squad after three standout seasons at North Florida.  She is coming off a 2025 season in which she started 59 of 61 games for the Ospreys, posting a .345 batting average, a .491 slugging percentage, and 57 hits, including 12 doubles, three triples, and a pair of homers, with 34 RBI. Behind the plate, Caravaca is a defensive stalwart, with just seven errors in three years.Â
Â
Bernard, Galindo, and Starr were all named to the Big Ten Freshman Watch List by Softball America, while Bernard also earned a spot on D1 Softball's D100 Freshman Watch List, which included all Division I softball freshmen across the country. Bernard was the No. 26 overall rated player in the recruiting class by Line Drive Media, and Starr was named an Extra Elite 100 No. 5 pitcher in the 2025 class by Extra Innings Softball. Starr and Galindo are two of MSU's four new pitchers to the staff this season.     Â
Â
The three elder statesmen join freshmen Zoie Bernard (Cordova, Tenn.) Alyssa Galindo (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Alex Starr (Melissa, Texas) in receiving preseason accolades.Â
Â
Beshears and Hawley are established Spartan longball threats – each is among MSU's top 10 career home run producers.  Hawley led the Spartans in 2025 with 11 homers (eighth in the MSU single-season record book) and 39 base hits (second on the team). She has 23 career home runs in two seasons at MSU, which ranks ninth in the Spartan record book, with both of her seasons among the top 10 single-season home run performances.  She has started each of MSU's 95 games over her two seasons in Green & White and is MSU's active leader in base hits (90) with 50 RBI. Â
Â
Beshears has 24 career round-trippers, tied for sixth in the MSU annals. As a sophomore, she belted 15 homers, good for second all-time.  She is MSU's active career leader in RBI (67) and is second in base hits (78) and owns a career .534 slugging percentage. She has played in 117 career games, including 94 consecutive starts during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Â
Â
Caravaca is a Spartan newcomer, joining the squad after three standout seasons at North Florida.  She is coming off a 2025 season in which she started 59 of 61 games for the Ospreys, posting a .345 batting average, a .491 slugging percentage, and 57 hits, including 12 doubles, three triples, and a pair of homers, with 34 RBI. Behind the plate, Caravaca is a defensive stalwart, with just seven errors in three years.Â
Â
Bernard, Galindo, and Starr were all named to the Big Ten Freshman Watch List by Softball America, while Bernard also earned a spot on D1 Softball's D100 Freshman Watch List, which included all Division I softball freshmen across the country. Bernard was the No. 26 overall rated player in the recruiting class by Line Drive Media, and Starr was named an Extra Elite 100 No. 5 pitcher in the 2025 class by Extra Innings Softball. Starr and Galindo are two of MSU's four new pitchers to the staff this season.     Â
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
C/UTL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
3B/C
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballA Road Less Traveled | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, April 17
A Higher Standard | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, February 11
Spartans All-Access: Jenae Wash
Thursday, April 11
Spartans All-Access: Coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley
Thursday, April 20