MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its softball postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Tuesday morning. The awards are determined by the conference's eleven coaches following the conclusion of regular-season play.

Infielder Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) of Wheaton College was voted NEWMAC Player of the Year, while U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Dana Walker (Macon, Fla.) was named Pitcher of the Year. MIT's Ava Ladd (Austin, Texas) was named Defensive Player of the Year. WPI's Abby Merchant (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was named Rookie of the Year. The WPI coaching staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.

Molinari and Ladd headline the first team infield selections and are joined by MIT's Arianna Kumar (San Diego, Calif.) and Springfield College's Kate Katsetos (Brewster, N.Y.), as well as WPI's Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, Mass.) and Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.). MIT's Layla Thiessen (Carlsbad, Calif.) is an outfield selection, along with teammate Holland Poe (Tampa, Fla.). Smith College's Ally Knutson (Green Bay, Wis.) and WPI's Lucy Latour (North Dighton, Mass.) fill out the outfield selections. Springfield's Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Babson College's Charlotte Raymond (Wrentham, Mass.) were awarded a spot as utility players. Wellesley College's Anisa Rodriguez (La Quinta, Calif.) and WPI's Ali Chalovich (Pittsburgh, Pa.) were selected as catchers. Walker and Merchant are the first-team pitchers.
 
Four infielders made the second team in Babson's Lexi Sealy (Pleasant Hill, Calif.), Clark University's Avery Dillon (Bethany, Conn.), Coast Guard's Ella Stolarzyk (Danville, Calif.), and Wellesley's Andrea Delgado (Miami, Fla.). The outfield spots went to MIT's Delaney Benevides (Plainville, Mass.), Salve Regina University's Emily Cronin (Coventry, R.I.), Springfield's Haley Ball (Westbrook, Maine), and Coast Guard's Abriana Schmutz (Marysville, Ohio). Wheaton's Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.) and WPI's Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, N.Y.) were also outfield selections. Three student-athletes made the team as utility players: Jill Colgan (Las Vegas, Nev.) of Wellesley, Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) of Wheaton, and Lauren Sundquist (Gladstone, Mich.) of MIT. Catchers Belle Dicampello (Pottstown, Pa.) of Babson and MIT's Olivia Scarpaci (Staten Island, N.Y.) earned the nod. The second team pitcher spots were awarded to Wheaton's Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) and WPI's Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, Mass.).

Player of the Year- Ella Molinari (Jr., INF/OF), Wheaton College

Ella Molinari hit .440 for the Lyons, good for third in the league. In conference play, her average jumped up to .525, good for second in the league. She led the league with a 1.504 OPS in league play, and her .586 on-base percentage in NEWMAC competition was also tops in the league. She hit seven home runs, four of which came in league play. Overall, she hit 14 doubles, a triple, and drove in 28 runs.

Pitcher of the Year – Dana Walker (Sr., P), U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Dana Walker leads the NEWMAC with a 1.25 ERA, throwing 151.2 innings and compiling 122 strikeouts for the Bears. She threw more innings than any other pitcher in league play (78). She picked up 15 wins and had 19 complete games in 22 starts. She allowed batters to hit .213 off of her, good for second in the league. In league play, that lowered to .207, which led the NEWMAC. She is the only pitcher in the league who has not given up a home run or triple this season. This season, she became just the sixth player in program history to reach the 400-strikeout milestone.
 
Defensive Player of the Year – Ava Ladd (Sr., INF), MIT
 
Ladd led the NEWMAC in assists with 104 and had 51 putouts in 164 chances. Ladd locks down the third base position, playing a dynamic game defending both small ball and hot shots down the line. The senior is consistent with the ability to make the extraordinary plays, and has a .945 fielding percentage overall, which rises to .966 in league play.

Rookie of the Year- Abby Merchant (Fy., P), WPI
 
Merchant made an immediate impact in the circle for the Engineers, leading the league in overall wins with 24 and league wins with 11. The first year has not lost on the season, and has thrown 139.1 innings for the Engineers. She has compiled 85 strikeouts and allowed opponents to hit only .287 off of her. 
 
Laurels of Academic Excellence- Sandy Fairbairn (Jr., SS), WPI
 
Sandy Fairbairn maintains a 4.00 GPA in her Computer Science major.

Coaching Staff of the Year – WPI

WPI went 19-1 in conference play, claiming the regular season crown and earning the top seed in the NEWMAC Championship. The Engineers would go on to win the NEWMAC title. They are currently 42-3, which is the most wins in a season in program history. They are No. 4 in the NCAA NPI rankings and No. 12 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll. The Engineers are led by Heather Ross, along with assistants Dylan Foran, Amanda Chaiyabhat, and Gage Nagy.
 
2026 Softball All-Conference
 

Team	Name	Position	Institution
First Team All-Conference	Dana Walker	Pitcher	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
First Team All-Conference	Abby Merchant	Pitcher	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Arianna Kumar	Infield	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Ava Ladd	Infield	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Kate Katsetos	Infield	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Ella Molinari	Infield	Wheaton College
First Team All-Conference	Sandy Fairbairn	Infield	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Emma Nagy	Infield	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Holland Poe	Outfield	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Layla Thiessen	Outfield	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Ally Knutson	Outfield	Smith College
First Team All-Conference	Lucy Latour	Outfield	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Charlotte Raymond	Utility	Babson College
First Team All-Conference	Amelia DeRosa	Utility	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Anisa Rodriguez	Catcher	Wellesley College
First Team All-Conference	Ali Chalovich	Catcher	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Sofia DeLaRosa	Pitcher	Wheaton College
Second Team All-Conference	Naomi Boldebuck	Pitcher	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Lexi Sealy	Infield	Babson College
Second Team All-Conference	Avery Dillon	Infield	Clark University
Second Team All-Conference	Ella Stolarzyk	Infield	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Andrea Delgado	Infield	Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference	Delaney Benevides	Outfield	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Emily Cronin	Outfield	Salve Regina University
Second Team All-Conference	Haley Ball	Outfield	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Abriana Schmutz	Outfield	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Second Team All-Conference	Amber Arcand	Outfield	Wheaton College
Second Team All-Conference	Virginia McKinney	Outfield	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Lauren Sundquist	Utility	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Jill Colgan	Utility	Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference	Peyton Blankenheim-Brown	Utility	Wheaton College
Second Team All-Conference	Belle Dicampello	Catcher	Babson College
Second Team All-Conference	Olivia Scarpaci	Catcher	MIT

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.