2025 GNAC Softball All-Conference Teams Announced

May 13, 2025

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2025 Softball All-Conference Teams and major award winners on Tuesday afternoon. Johnson & Wales had eight selections, which was the most selections this year.

Voting was conducted by the league’s 15 softball head coaches following the regular season and did not take postseason play into account.

Mackenzie Clee brought home the honor as the 2025 GNAC Player of the Year and her head coach Laura Leonetti was voted as Coach of the Year by her peers. Meanwhile, Simmons’ Piper Kinney was voted this year’s Pitcher of the Year and Albertus Magnus first-year Karla Carangelo was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year. Elms won this year's Institutional Sportsmanship award.

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

	PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mackenzie Clee, Johnson & Wales Mackenzie Clee set the tone for the JWU offense this past season, displaying versatility at the plate for the Wildcats. The Warminster, Penn. Senior was third in the conference in batting average at .446%, which resulted in 54 hits (fourth in the GNAC), including 11 doubles, and led to an on-base percentage of .507%, which made her second in the conference in that category. Clee's plate production led to sending her home a league-leading 50 times, which also placed her 19th in the nation in runs scored and another key part in that was due to her 12 stolen bases on the season, which was good for ninth in the GNAC as well. She had 14 multi-hit games and scored runs in 29 of the 39 games she batted in. Last weekend, she earned Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Wildcats to another conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
	PITCHER OF THE YEAR Piper Kinney, Simmons Piper Kinney earned her second consecutive Pitcher of the Year honors after yet another great season on the mound for Simmons. The Marlborough, Mass. Junior collected 14 wins for the Sharks (tied atop of the conference) with a 2.90 earned run average in 31 appearances and pitched complete games in nearly half of them (15). and in Kinney's 14 wins, five of them were shutouts (league-leading). Kinney fanned a league-leading 171 batters, which ranked her 10th in DIII, boasting a 7.76 strikeouts per game average. Kinney had seven or more strikeouts in 11 games this past season and her efforts on the mound led her to three Pitcher of the Week honors.
	ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Karla Carangelo, Albertus Magnus Karla Carangelo had a solid first-year campaign for the Falcons this past season. The Cheshire, Conn. first-year put up a .405% batting average with a .480% on-base percentage, in which Carangelo collected 53 hits, 14 doubles, and 31 runs batted in, all of which comfortbaly placed her in the top-10 in the conference. She collected 16 multi-hit games on the season and was named GNAC Rookie of the Week twice this past season.
	COACH OF THE YEAR Laura Leonetti, Johnson & Wales Laura Leonetti put a stamp on her first season coaching the Wildcats with Coach of the Year honors after leading JWU to a 29-15 (15-3 GNAC; 12-2 South Division) record along with an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after the Wildcats won the conference title this past weekend. Under her leadership, JWU's offense led in several categories such as hits (419), home runs (27), runs batted in (252), and batting average (.333%). Her pitching/defensive unit was just as dominant, allowing only a league-leading .245% batting average against, 12 shutout victories, and a 2.86 earned run average as a team.

2025 Softball All-GNAC Teams

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM

P - Piper Kinney, Simmons
P - Katie Scheid, Johnson & Wales
C - Chantelle Bouchard, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
1B - Maren McGinn, Norwich
2B - Kylee Caetano, Rivier
3B - Sylvia Foley, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)
SS - Madison DeCota, Norwich
OF - Mackenzie Clee, Johnson & Wales
OF - Raya Anderson, Simmons
OF - Taylor Chelak, Emmanuel
DP - Morgan Pelletier, Johnson & Wales
UTIL - Zoe Soule, Simmons

ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM

P - Skylar Arent, Albertus Magnus
P - Annabelle Jabs, Albertus Magnus
C - Mady Lyons, Johnson & Wales
1B - Abigail Grimes, New England College
2B - Amanda Madigan, Johnson & Wales

3B - Jessica Forneiro, Johnson & Wales
SS - Jenna Zup, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
OF - Karla Carangelo, Albertus Magnus
OF - Sadie Tirrell, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)
OF - Bianca Burke, Regis
DP - Meghan Theall, Lasell
UTIL - Francesca Pizzarella, Emmanuel

ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM

P - Madison Marks, Emmanuel
P - Jill Reed, Johnson & Wales
C - Brooke Whitmarsh, Mitchell
1B - Shyanne Raccio, Lasell
2B - Amanda Penney, Emmanuel
3B - Hannah Muchemore, Rivier
SS - Emily Deleault, Simmons
OF - Caroline Amorelli, Johnson & Wales
OF - Teagan Buckley, Simmons
OF - Chloe Beland, Regis
DP - Ally Hyde, Simmons
UTIL - Alyssa Roberts, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM

Ema Signore, Albertus Magnus

Paige Stewart, Anna Maria

Ashley Lester, Dean

Sarah Fortini, Elms

Amanda Penney, Emmanuel

Rachel Gosselin, Johnson & Wales

Kelsey Gallagher, Lasell

Emma LaBreck, Mitchell

Arianna Bayze, New England College

Rachel Kempf, Norwich

Lexi Nichols, Regis

Sarah Frazier, Rivier

Sadie Tirrell, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)

Lucy Randa, Simmons

Jordyn Fitch, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

MAJOR AWARDS

Coach of the Year: Laura Leonetti, Johnson & Wales

Player of the Year: Mackenzie Clee, Johnson & Wales

Pitcher of the Year: Piper Kinney, Simmons

Rookie of the Year: Karla Carangelo, Albertus Magnus

Institutional Sportsmanship: Elms College

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 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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