Northern Illinois announcing some breaking news regarding the future of their sports programs and some familiar names in the Players of the Week after this week’s slot.

Both the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player and Pitcher of the Week might sound familiar as they were mentioned just this past Sunday for their stellar performances.

Player of the week: Hayley Urban (Ball State)

Ball State is still secure in the top spot of the MAC standings after a successful weekend in the Charlotte Invitational. Hayley Urban helped secure this with the best game of her collegiate career, according to Ball State athletics.

After this weekend, the red-shirt Junior is leading the MAC in slugging (1.059) and on-base plus slugging (1.609) and second in batting average (.471) and home runs (3). 

Pitcher of the week: Anna Wise (Ohio University)

As predicted, Freshman pitcher Anna Wise is on rookie watch, leading her team to the first two wins of her collegiate career.

Wise recorded a 0.00 earned run average (ERA) after pitching 12 innings. Only allowing two runs over the weekend, her opponents hit a low of .116. Keeping her on your radar seems to be a must this season.

Huskies moving to Horizon League

Northern Illinois University (NIU) confirms that 14 of its sports programs will be joining the Horizon League, including softball.

This move comes after NIU announced their football program is moving to the Mountain West. According to MAC by-laws, the rest of NIU’s sports programs had to find a new home as well. All NIU teams will remain in MAC competitions until July 1, 2026. This means NIU is becoming the 12th full-time Horizon League member just in time for the 2026-27 season.