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Bridgewater, NJ — Running it back as NEC regular season titleholders in 2026, the most storied team in conference annals added yet another feather to its cap this season. 
 
For the first time since 2016, and the seventh time in program history, 15-time NEC Tournament champion LIU is home to the league’s top player as Lily Hinkle (La Crescenta, CA/Crescenta Valley) was voted NEC Player of the Year. 
 
The Sharks’ junior outfielder did not stand alone on the awards’ podium. Junior catcher Kaylee Clarkson (Newbury Park, CA/Westlake) walked away with the NEC Golden Glove Award while classmate Jen Rodriguez (Sylmar, CA/John F. Kennedy (Utica)), a utility player, earned the conference’s Most Improved Player honor. 
 
Wagner, which is NEC Tournament bound for the first time in seven years, landed its first-ever NEC Pitcher of the Year when junior southpaw Karson Zavala (Chino Hills, CA/Ruben S. Ayala) hurled her way to the honor. 
 
Stonehill, which nearly doubled last season’s win total against conference foes, also got in in the postseason recognition for the second-straight year. First-year shortstop Juli Murillo (Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony’s) took home NEC Rookie of the Year distinction to extend the Skyhawks’ award rally.
 
Rounding out the major year-end awards was Central Connecticut. Guiding the program to its fourth-straight NEC Tournament appearance, Blue Devils’ head coach Breanne Gleason and assistant Pat Holden shared NEC Coaching Staff of the Year plaudits.
 
In addition to the major award winners, the conference also unveiled the All-NEC First Team, All-NEC Second Team and the NEC All-Rookie Team on the eve of the NEC Tournament, which begins on Thursday at 12 p.m. 
  
Hinkle showed nothing but prowess at the plate in her third season donning the blue and gold. A mainstay in the outfield with starts in each of the Sharks’ 53 games, her .386 batting average and 1.007 OPS rank fourth and seventh in the league, respectively. In addition, Hinkle, who tops the NEC charts with 64 hits, ranks fifth in the circuit in doubles (12). Most impressive was her knack for deciphering balls and strikes. Drawing the third-most walks in the league (30), Hinkle, who was punched out a league-low seven times, has struck out once in every 23.1 at-bats, making her the hardest batter to fan in the NEC and the 57th toughest hitter to strike out in the entire nation. Nabbing NEC Player of the Week plaudits on March 17, she made it back-to-back honors to close out the regular season in a stretch that saw her hit at a .583 clip after going 14-for-24. She enters the postseason as one of the hottest batters in the circuit, riding the wave of a 10-game hit streak. The damage wasn’t done when Hinkle got on base, though. She was a nightmare on the basepaths, swiping a league-leading 30 bags to rank 17th in NCAA Division I, while her .853 stolen base percentage was good for 32nd nationally. That speed yielded an NEC-best 45 runs for the La Crescenta, CA native. 
 
Wagner’s return to the postseason was made possible thanks in part to the left arm of Zavala. The junior hurler and three-time NEC Pitcher of the Week served as the ace of a Seahawks’ pitching staff that calculated a conference-best 4.13 ERA during the squad’s 45-game slate after she tallied 10 wins and a 3.38 ERA. Zavala was the queen of the NEC in strikeouts in 2026, fanning 114 batters for a league-leading 8.0 punchouts per seven innings. Speaking of league play, Zavala’s 88 strikeouts were 18 more than the next closest competitor in the circuit while her 2.23 ERA was the second-best mark among NEC pitchers. Tossing five shutouts, including four in league play, to lead all NEC moundswomen, the Chino Hills, CA product earned eight wins against conference opponents for the Seahawks, whose 14-win NEC campaign marked the program’s most fruitful since going 15-5 in 2006. Zavala, who also landed a spot on the All-NEC First Team, is Wagner’s first major award winner since Kelsey Parker was pegged the NEC Most Improved Player in 2014.
 
Clarkson lived up to the hype as LIU’s field general in 2026. Making starts in all 53 games, including 49 at catcher, the Golden State native calculated a .988 fielding percentage — the third best clip in the circuit — after she committed just three miscues in a whopping 262 chances. Most impressively, the junior was flawless in league play and was one of eight softballers to finish with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the 24-game slate. The backstop of an LIU pitching staff that combined for an NEC-best 2.94 ERA against conference competitors, Clarkson also sported a cannon for an arm behind the dish. She gunned down 13 potential base stealers, the second-most in the league and the 18th-most in NCAA Division I. Joining former teammate Mari Narvaiz, who garnered the major award in 2024, Clarkson became the Sharks’ fifth Golden Glover since the inception of the award in 2012. 
 
For the first time ever, Stonehill landed an NEC Rookie of the Year award recipient. With Murillo’s naming as the league’s top rookie, the Skyhawks have produced a major award winner in each of the past two seasons as Isabella Therrien garnered Most Improved Player distinction in 2025. The Bay Shore, NY native’s bat has been just as solid as her play in the middle of Stonehill’s infield. Combining to go 6-for-9 at the dish in her team’s final three-game NEC set of the year against FDU, Murillo, who laced a team-high 11 doubles, finished off the season as Stonehill’s batting leader after hitting at a .374 clip in 49 starts. That average, which was raised to a .450 hit rate against conference foes, rankS sixth among NEC leaders. In addition, the two-time NEC Rookie of the Week played stunning defense after turning 11 double plays, the second-most in the circuit, from short. Murillo cashed in on the postseason honors as she was also named to the All-NEC Second Team and the NEC All-Rookie Team.
 
Rodriguez’s numbers grew exponentially in just a year’s time in Brooklyn. After making starts in two-thirds of LIU’s games in 2025, the versatile utility player became a regular in the lineup in 2026 as she was one of four Sharks to start in all 53 games. The Sylmar, CA native boosted her batting average by more than 80 percentage points, going from a .245 clip last season to a .329 rate this year. In addition, Rodriguez’s productivity at the plate was more than double that from 2025 in nearly every offensive statistic, including runs (22), hits (47), doubles (14), walks (29) and home runs (2). Among fellow Sharks, she leads the team in doubles and walks and is ranked second in batting average and hits, while among NEC leaders, she is eighth in on-base percentage (.469), eighth in RBI (34) and fourth in walks. The All-NEC second teamer is the second player in LIU annals to garner NEC Most Improved Player distinction, joining Alina Castillo, who walked away with the award seven years ago in 2019.
 
In a heated pennant race that came down to the final weekend of the regular season, Gleason guided the Blue Devils to a runner-up finish in the NEC standings for the second time since the 2024 campaign. Central Connecticut has become a regular in the NEC Tournament field under its longtime skipper as this year’s upcoming postseason appearance marks the program’s fourth in the past five seasons. A lineup littered with potent bats powered the Nutmeg State squad to its seventh 20-win season since Gleason took over at the helm in 2014. Topping the NEC’s charts with a .310 batting average, a.498 slugging percentage and the most two-baggers per game in the nation (2.12), Central Connecticut slashed .360/.427/.575 in league play with three power hitters — Grace Lawton (.863), Joslyn Teal (.667) and Ava Cino (.622)  — slugging their way to the top-10 of the league standings during the 24-game stretch. That trio, along with four other all-stars, occupied seven of the 14 spots of the 2026 All-NEC First Team. With Central Connecticut previously winning this award in 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2023, the Blue Devils’ skipper has now been a part of four-of-five NEC Coaching Staffs of the Year, as she served as an assistant in 2013 before assuming head coach duties the following season.
  
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

• Central Connecticut landed a league-leading seven All-NEC First Team selections, a mark that tied with the 2024 Saint Francis squad for most in conference annals.
• Tacking on a pair of second teamers, the Blue Devils also matched the aforementioned Red Flash team for the NEC record for all-conference honorees.
• LIU saw five student-athletes earn All-NEC recognition, including a pair of first teamers. 
• This year’s All-NEC First Team featured a pair of repeat honorees in Hinkle, the NEC Player of the Year, and FDU sophomore outfielder Madison Rishel (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville).
• Ashlyn Desaulniers (Southington, CT/Southington), a senior outfielder from Central Connecticut, upgraded her status from second team in 2025 to first team in 2026. 
• Wagner sophomore designated player Alayna Giampolo (East Windsor, NJ/Notre Dame) and Saint Francis sophomore utility player Sofia Zielinski (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier College Prep) took home All-NEC First Team distinction one year after they were recognized on the league’s All-Rookie Team. 
• Slugging a league-leading 12 long balls, Zielinski closed out the regular season as the NEC’s batting leader with a .448 average. She also posted the conference’s top slugging percentage (.824) and on-base percentage (.517).
• A trio of 2024 All-Rookie Team selections reunited on this year’s All-NEC list. Joining Hinkle on the first team was Central Connecticut hurler Liz Hamilton (Powell, OH/Buckeye Valley), while Le Moyne’s Arianna Exarchakis (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury), a junior designated player, was placed on the second team. 
• Hamilton racked up a league-best 15 wins for the Blue Devils, including a league-best 11 during NEC competitors.
• Two All-Rookie Team selections - NEC Rookie of the Year Murillo and Central Connecticut third baseman Stella Gasper (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) - also added second team status to their résumés.
• The future looks bright for Le Moyne as the Dolphins landed a trio of All-Rookie Team picks to lead the pack.

 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.


2026 NEC Softball Award Winners

Player of the Year
Lily Hinkle                   LIU               OF     Jr    L/L    La Crescenta, CA/Crescenta Valley   

Pitcher of the Year
Karson Zavala                 Wagner            P      Jr    L/L    Chino Hills, CA/Ruben S. Ayala

Golden Glove Award
Kaylee Clarkson               LIU               C      Jr    R/R    Newbury Park, CA/Westlake

Rookie of the Year
Juli Murillo                  Stonehill         SS     Fr    L/R    Bay Shore, NY/St. Anthony's      

Most Improved Player 
Coaching Staff of the Year
Breanne Gleason & Pat Holden  CCSU              13th Season as Head Coach   

2026 NEC Softball First Team All-Conference
 
Pos   Name                   School             Yr    B/T    Hometown/High School

P     Ava Fairbanks          LIU                So    L/L    East Greenwich, RI/East Greenwich (Roger Williams)  
P     Liz Hamilton           CCSU               Jr    R/R    Powell, OH/Buckeye Valley    
P     Karson Zavala          Wagner             Jr    L/L    Chino Hills, CA/Ruben S. Ayala
C     Reagan Vunak           CCSU               Jr    L/R    Lebanon, OH/Lebanon
1B    Grace Lawton           CCSU               Sr    R/R    Merrimack, NH/Merrimack (HS)    
2B    Skylar Warn            CCSU               Sr    R/R    Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg Area Senior    
3B    Sydnie Trujillo        Wagner             Jr    R/R    Moreno Valley, CA/Valley View
SS    Ava Cino               CCSU               Sr    R/R    Bayville, NJ/Central Regional (Liberty)   
OF    Ashlyn Desaulniers     CCSU               Sr    R/R    Southington, CT/Southington   
OF    Lily Hinkle            LIU                Jr    L/L    La Crescenta, CA/Crescenta Valley   
OF    Madison Rishel         FDU                So    L/R    Strongville, OH/Strongville
DP    Alayna Giampolo        Wagner             So    R/R    East Windsor, NJ/Notre Dame (HS)
DP    Joslyn Teal            CCSU               So    R/R    Rensselear, NY/Rensselear
UT    Sofia Zielinski        Saint Francis      So    L/R    Phoenix, AZ/Xavier College Prep  
 

2026 NEC Softball Second Team All-Conference
 
2026 NEC Softball All-Rookie Team