GNAC Announces Athlete of the Year Finalists For Women's Sports

July 2, 2025

WINTHROP, Mass. – 13 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women’s student-athletes were nominated finalists for the 2024-25 GNAC Athlete of the Year award for women’s sports. The nominees are also their respective school’s institutional nominees for the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The GNAC Athlete of the Year award is modeled after the NCAA Woman of the Year award. It recognizes graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

This year’s finalists, who are also their respective school’s institutional nominees for 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year are:

Skylar Arent, Albertus Magnus
Sharaya Keele, Albertus Magnus
Carly Drew, Anna Maria
Sam Bishop, Colby-Sawyer
Haley Gaunt, Dean
Katie Cosmos, Elms
McKenna McCool, Lasell
Gemma Landry, Mitchell
Maren McGinn, Norwich
Bianca Burke, Regis
Shauna Clark, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)
Sydney Gonyea, Simmons
Maya Slisz, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

The GNAC Athlete of the Year for women’s sports will be announced on Wednesday, July 16th and will be submitted as the conference nominee for both NCAA Woman of the Year and the Division III Commissioners Association (D3CA) Woman’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year.

ABOUT THE NOMINEES

Skylar Arent | Albertus Magnus | Softball

Major: Biology and Health Science

Arent graduated from Albertus Magnus with a 3.75 GPA in Biology and Health Science. Her academic efforts led her to being named to the GNAC All-Academic Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team. On the field, she earned three All-Conference honors, including a second-team All-GNAC appearance this past spring. For her career, she recorded 200 strikeouts on the mound and 100 career hits at the plate as Arent is third all-time in Albertus history in strikeouts.

Sharaya Keele | Albertus Magnus | Women's Basketball

Major: Sports Management

Keele graduated from Albertus, finishing with a 3.89 GPA. On the court, she was a member of the Women's Basketball program for four years, helping her team win 76 games across her career which included four consecutive GNAC semifinals appearances. In the process, she earned a spot on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team twice in 2022-23 and 2024-25. Outside her athletic career, she was a member of the school's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as well as the Falcons' representative on the GNAC Commissioner's Council and completed various acts of community service on both the campus and outside of it.

Carly Drew | Anna Maria | Field Hockey/Women's Lacrosse

Major: Psychology, Double Minor: Sports Management/Education

Drew was a four-year member of both the Field Hockey and Women's Lacrosse programs at Anna Maria College. She graduated with a 3.99 Grade Point Average, majoring in Psychology with a double minor in Sports Management and Education. Drew was an active member of the Amcats community as she interned at Abby's House (non-profit that provides affordable housing to women and children), GameDay Operations in Athletics, and was a school psychologist intern at Paxton Center School. She was also apart of Anna Maria's student-athlete advisory committee, was a tutor, admissions ambassador, and was the student lead for sport team sign ups for the Relay for Life.

Samantha Bishop | Colby-Sawyer | Women's Soccer

Major: Business Administration, Double Minor: Accounting and Finance/Contemporary Marketing

Bishop completed her Master's in Business Administration with a double minor in Accounting and Finance/ Contemporary Marketing, finishing with a 3.47 GPA at Colby-Sawyer while being a part of the Chargers' Women's Soccer program. She finished second in the program's history in career assists and ninth in total points for Colby-Sawyer. On campus, Bishop was an active member of her community as she was her campus' Student Athlete Advisory Committee President, Morgans Message Ambassador, Athletic Communications student intern/assistant, and was the recipient of the Champion of Character Award on her campus.

Haley Gaunt| Dean | Women's Lacrosse/Soccer

Major: Psychology

Gaunt graduated from Dean with her Bachelor's in Psychology as a member of both the Women's Lacrosse and Women's Soccer teams. Gaunt was a selection to the 2024 New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) Senior Bowl and is the program's record holder in saves and she also holds the Women's Lacrosse program record in goals. The Lacrosse captain was also a member of Dean's student-athlete advisory committee.

Katie Cosmos | Elms | Softball

Major: Nursing, Minor: Bioethics & Medical Humanities

Cosmos graduated from Elms with a 3.99 GPA, collecting a degree in Nursing in the process while being a member of the GNAC All-Academic Team three times in her career. A 2024 First-Team All-GNAC selection and a 2025 All-Sportsmanship member, Cosmos was also a finalist for this year's Honda Inspiration Award, which recognizes a collegiate female student-athlete who has overcome significant physical or emotional adversity to return to athletic success. Cosmos was very impactful in the Elms community, being the student-athlete ambassador for Morgan's Message, was SAAC President, a travel softball coach, and was a member of the conference's Fall Leadership Forum.

Emily DeRoehn | Johnson & Wales | Women's Soccer

Major: Media & Communications Studies

DeRoehn graduated from Johnson & Wales with a 4.0 GPA, majoring in Media & Communications Studies while earning a spot on the GNAC All-Academic Team three times and once on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. She was just as excellent on the pitch as she was the defensive anchor to a JWU team that went to the NCAA Tournament three times in her career, giving her three GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, placing herself on the First Team All-Conference in her whole entire career. DeRoehn was not only named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region Team three times but she was also named a two-time USC Division III All-American with her most recent coming this past season. On campus, she was a game operations student assistant and off campus, she was a volunteer assistant coach for a youth girls soccer club team.

McKenna McCool | Lasell | Women's Volleyball

Major: Exercise Science, Minor: Coaching

McCool graduated from Lasell with a a 3.727 GPA, majoring in Exercise Science and graduating with Magna Cum Laude honors. A member of the Women's Volleyball team, McCool was a three-time member of the GNAC All-Conference Team, won two GNAC Championships, was named Conference Tournament MVP and Player of the Year this past season. In addition, McCool became the Lasers' first-ever member on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region team. On campus, she was involved in Lasell's DEI club as well as Lasell's Community TV club. Outside of campus, she coached two girls volleyball teams.

Gemma Landry | Mitchell | Women's Soccer/Softball

Major: Health Sciences

Landry graduated from Mitchell with a 3.70 GPA, majoring in health sciences and making the GNAC All-Academic Team twice. She was a member of both the Women's Lacrosse and Soccer team where Landry was a two-team All-GNAC member in Women's Soccer while also earning GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2023 (Soccer) as she finished her Mitchell career as the program's all-time leader in saves and saves per game, while she was second all-time in shutouts and third in save percentage. In the community, Landry was a campus tour guide for potential recruits, interned at Whitecap Chiropractic, and volunteered as a youth soccer coach.

Maren McGinn | Norwich | Women's Basketball/Softball

Major: Nursing

McGinn graduated from Norwich with a 3.95 GPA and was a three-time CSC Academic All-District selection in basketball and earned the same recognition twice in softball. She was also a three-time selection to the GNAC All-Academic Team. A two-sport standout, McGinn left an indelible mark on both the Norwich women’s basketball and softball programs. She earned All-GNAC First Team honors in softball in 2025 (First Cadet named to First Team since 2017) and was also named to the All-GNAC Third
Team in women’s basketball this past season. On campus, McGinn was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and outside of it, she volunteered as an assistant youth travel softball coach.

Bianca Burke | Regis | Softball

Major: Elementary Education and Humanities, Minor: Spanish

Burke graduated Regis with a 3.8 GPA, majoring in Elementary Education and Humanities while earning a few academic accolades throughout her time with the Pride. She was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team twice, GNAC All-Academic team three times and was a Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 2024. Burke was also stellar on the field, making the All-GNAC team twice as she set school records in career hits, runs, triples, and set single-season records in hits, triples, and runs. Outside of Regis, she was active in the community with holding teaching positions at Horace Mann Elementary as well at Regis' Children's Center and was also a counselor for invidiuals with disabilities and was a Special Olympics Coach.

Shauna Clark | Saint Joseph's (Maine) | Women's Lacrosse/Soccer

Major: Biochemistry

Clark graduated from Saint Joseph's College of Maine with a 3.85 GPA, majoring in Biochemistry and earning Magna Cum Laude honors in the process. She was also a three-time GNAC All-Academic member for her academic efforts. Clark was a dual-sport athlete for the Monks, competing in both Lacrosse and Soccer as she finished her career as a three-time All-Tournament team member, a GNAC All-Rookie team member, and a two-time GNAC All-Conference member in which she earned these accolades in Lacrosse. On campus, Clark was a member of Saint Joseph's SAAC and was a peer tutor on the Monks campus.

Sydney Gonyea | Simmons | Field Hockey

Major: Social Work

Gonyea graduated from Simmons with a 3.87 GPA, earning her degree in Social Work while earning a spot each year on the GNAC All-Academic team, earning a spot in both the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Honors Squad and Scholar of Distinction while also being named to the 2024 CSC Academic All-District team. On the turf, Gonyea earned a spot on the GNAC All-Conference team all four years, including three first-team appearances, highlighted by two Offensive Player of the Year awards as she is the program's leader for both career and single-season marks in both goals and points. Her outstanding work listed her on the NFHCA All-Region team three times and named her an NFHCA All-American this past season as well. On her campus, she held the Vice President and President positions in Simmons' student athlete advisory committee while serving as the representative for the GNAC Commissioner's Council.

Maya Slisz | University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) | Women's Basketball

Major: Health Science

Slisz graduated from the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) with a 3.70 GPA, earning her degree in Health Science and finishing with Magna Cum Laude honors. Slisz was named three times to both the GNAC All-Academic and CSC Academic All-District teams. On the court, she became the program's career and single-season assists leader and is fifth all-time in scoring leaderboards. She also finished top-10 in the country in free-throw percentage (second) and assists (eighth). Slisz's efforts led her to being a two-time All-GNAC member and in postseason play, she was named to the All-Tournament team in which she helped the Blue Jays to their first GNAC title since 1998 this past season. On campus and in the community, Slisz was involved in numerous acts of service and leadership. She was a volunteer assistant coach for the youth in her hometown, a physical education teacher, a member of the student athlete advisory committee, and helped/orchestrated fundraisers for Domestic Violence Awareness, Conducted and Presented a Symposium on Mental Health Challenges in Athletes of Color, and helped organize her campus' National Girls & Women in Sports Day Event.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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