WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2026 Baseball All-Conference Teams and major award winners on Monday afternoon. Mitchell had nine named to the All-Conference Team, which led all schools this past season.

Voting was conducted by the league’s 11 baseball head coaches following the regular season and did not take postseason play into account.

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine’s Nic Frink and Mitchell’s Michael Ficocelli were voted Co-Players of the Year while the University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) Brandon Cahill earned Pitcher of the Year. Mitchell’s Andrew Manzo was voted Rookie of the Year and the Monks’ Co-Head Coaches Will and Lincoln Sanborn were named Coaches of the Year. Saint Joseph’s (Maine) also earned the Institutional Sportsmanship award.

The full list of All-Conference honorees and the representatives on the All-Sportsmanship Team can be viewed below.

Co-Player of the Year

Michael Ficocelli, Mitchell

Michael Ficocelli was reliable at the plate for the Mariners this season, finishing as one of the top hitters in the GNAC. The North Providence, RI. Junior displayed a league-leading .493% batting average in conference play (.385% overall) with an on-base percentage of .540% in conference action, college a league-leading 35 hits (52 overall on the season) as 13 of them were doubles, which led the league as well (22 overall). Ficocelli’s doubles ranked him fifth in the nation while he led the nation in sacrifice flies with nine on these season, providing pressure on the outfield to make plays but due to his skillful power hitting, the junior drew in those nine runners home out of his 35 RBI’s on the year. Ficocelli collected a base hit in 33 of his 41 appearances and his efforts came in timely as he appeared on the All-Tournament Team after helping the Mariners clinch their spot in the NCAA tournament this past weekend.

Co-Player of the Year

Nic Frink, Saint Joseph's (Maine)

Nic Frink was a force to be reckoned with at the plate for the Monks this season, finishing as one of the most feared power hitters in the GNAC. The Scarborough, Maine sophomore batted a .382% batting average overall on the season (.321% in conference play) and a .636% slugging percentage on the year, which was good for fifth overall in the league. This was in large part due to his league-leading 11 home runs on the season as well as collecting 66 hits on the year (second overall) while scoring 46 runs on the season and batting in a league-leading 49 rbi’s on the year. Frink had 37 hits in his 47 games played, in which he had 22 multi-hit games on the season for the Monks, putting pressure on opposing pitchers in every contest.

Pitcher of the Year

Brandon Cahill, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

Brandon Cahill was dominant on the mound throughout the season for USJ, earning his status as one of the most feared pitchers in the GNAC. The Meriden, Conn. senior pitched a nations best eight complete games in his 10 appearances, going 7-3 on the year as his seven wins lead the conference as well as his two shutout victories he earned in the process. Cahill struck out a league-best 72 batters total (43 in conference play), while posting a 1.80 ERA on the season (14th in DIII). His dominance on the mound prevented offenses from many scoring opportunities as the senior won pitcher of the week four times this past season.

Rookie of the Year

Andrew Manzo, Mitchell

Andrew Manzo had a solid first-year for the Mariners this past season as the North Haven, Conn. freshman went 5-0 on the mound in 10 appearances, which his five wins were sixth best overall. Of those six, four came in conference play, which led the GNAC. Manzo posted a 2.70 ERA in conference play, good for fifth in the league with his best performance coming against New England College in which the freshman struck out six batters in six innings of work, allowing only three hits and two runs in the victory.

Coach of the Year

Lincoln Sanborn & Will Sanborn, Saint Joseph's (Maine)

Will and Lincoln Sanborn were named Coaches of the Year as the pair are co-head coaches for the Monks and the father-son pair equally led SJC to a 34-13 record on a 14-6 conference record. Saint Joseph's College of Maine was amongst the top-four in offensive categories and led the league defensively in both putouts at 1099 and fielding percentage at .965%, committing the fourth-fewest errors in the league at 56. The Sanborns led the Monks to the GNAC Championship Series where they finished as the Runner-Up in the postseason tournament last week.

2026 Baseball All-GNAC Teams

MAJOR AWARDS

Co-Player of the Year - Michael Ficocelli, Mitchell
Co-Player of the Year - Nic Frink, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Pitcher of the Year - Brandon Cahill, USJ
Rookie of the Year - Andrew Manzo, Mitchell                                                                                                            
Coaches of the Year* - Will Sanborn and Lincoln Sanborn, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)
Institutional Sportsmanship - Saint Joseph's (Maine)

*Saint Joseph's Maine has Co-Head Coaches*

FIRST TEAM

SP - Brandon Cahill, USJ
SP - Thai-ler Sestokas, Mitchell                                                                                                                                        
RP - Marcus Tarfano, USJ
C - Nic Frink, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
1B - Michael Ficocelli, Mitchell
2B - Tyler Carlstrom, USJ
3B - Jack Kane, USJ
SS - Adriel Espada, Albertus Magnus
OF - Mike McLeer, Colby-Sawyer                                                                                                                                                     
OF - Declan Silva, Lasell
OF - Chas Terni Jr., Mitchell
DH - Brady Philibotte, NEC

SECOND TEAM

SP - Dylan Brander, SJC
SP - Brycen Diaz, Elms
RP - Jacob Quiles, Mitchell                                                                                                    
C - Nicholas Bracale, Mitchell
1B - Eric Galazra, Albertus Magnus
2B - Christopher Piscione, Mitchell
3B - Angel Rodriguez Cruz, Mitchell
SS - JJ Fox, USJ
OF - Jacob Paschetto, Dean                                                                                                                 
OF - Ryan Cote, NEC
OF - Ryan Dennis, Mitchell
DH - Joey O’Hara, Albertus Magnus

THIRD TEAM

SP - Carson Rath, Norwich
SP - Padraig Mac Seain, SJC
RP - Dom Yarson, Mitchell
C - Jack Kushman, USJ
1B - Evan Dennis, Colby-Sawyer
2B - Nick Brindle, SJC
3B - Tim Callahan, Lasell
SS - Jacob Putnam, Colby-Sawyer
OF - Tyler Giambra, Dean
OF - Joseph Fritz, USJ
OF - Dom Scalia, USJ
DH - Connor Freitas, Lasell
DH - Jesse Chaves, Colby-Sawyer

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM

Jack Angelo, Albertus Magnus
Janai Cruz, Colby-Sawyer
Dom Brazeau, Dean
Chase Prestia, Elms
Callahan Bullens, Lasell
Michael Ficocelli, Mitchell
Harold Martinez, New England College
Geffen Franus, Norwich
Owen Medlock, Rivier
Terry Morrissey, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Gabe Zamorano, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

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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