NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University junior centerfielder Candace Slaw was honored on Wednesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Slaw, from Warsaw, Va., was named second team All-American following her third fantastic season in the CNU program.

Slaw finished the 2026 season with a team-high batting average of .461, and was 17th in the country with 71 base hits. Through three seasons in a CNU uniform, she has contributed 217 base hits, just six shy of Sabrina Hill's all-time school record of 223. Slaw also scored a team-high 47 runs this season, and has scored 154 runs through her first three campaigns, just seven behind the all-time mark of 161 set by both Mary Kennedy and Kelley Foate.

The leadoff hitter of Head Coach Keith Parr's squad also recorded 13 doubles, and stole 35 bases in 38 attempts this season. Slaw started all 43 games for the Captains, and registered at least one base hit in 36 of those games, and was named All-Region for the third consecutive year this spring.

Slaw helped lead the Captains to a 30-13 record and a trip to the program's 19th consecutive NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. CNU fell in the Regional Championship to host Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, earlier this month. 

Slaw is just the sixth CNU softball standout to receive multiple All-American honors, joining Kaitlyn Hasty, who was honored three times, as well as two-time honorees Jessie Atkinson, Sabrina Hill, Patty Maye Ohanion, and Jamie Martin. 

Click HERE for the complete list of 2026 All-Americans from the NFCA.