SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Jillian Albayati of Cal State San Marcos has been chosen as the FloCollege/CCAA Softball Player of the Week to start the 2026 campaign.
Albayati was named the CUI Kickoff Tournament Co-Most Valuable Player after leading the Cougars to their second consecutive tournament championship. In five games, she batted .588, going 10-for-17 with two homers, a double, drove in 10 runs and scored nine times. She also walked twice, stole a base and struck out just once in 19 plate appearances.
The senior shortstop/third baseman from Anaheim had three multi-hit games, including starting the year on fire with a 4-for-5, three-RBI performance in the team's season-opening 11-2 win over Chaminade. On Saturday, Albayati had two hits in each game and belted a solo home run and a two-run homer to lead the CSUSM offense, which scored 32 runs in five games. Albayati also drove in multiple runs in four of five games. Albayati posted a 1.632 OPS, which leads the CCAA after the first weekend of play.
This is the first career CCAA Player of the Week for Albayati, but she's no stranger to conference honors as a three-time All-CCAA second team selection. Click here to see the complete list of CCAA Softball weekly award winners.
Albayati is a current member of USA Baseball Women's National Team (since 2022) and was a first-round selection by San Francisco in the inaugural WPBL (Women's Pro Baseball League) draft.
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