SOFT: DeCota Named Player Of The Year; All-Conference Teams Announced
Winthrop, Mass. - The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2026 Softball All-Conference Teams and major award winners on Monday afternoon. Rivier had six selections, which was the most selections this year.
Voting was conducted by the league’s 14 softball head coaches following the regular season and did not take postseason play into account.
Madison DeCota of Norwich brought home the honor as the 2026 GNAC Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Simmons’ Piper Kinney was voted this year’s Pitcher of the Year and USJ's Gracie Browne was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year. Albertus Magnus' Lou Bunosso was voted Coach of the Year while 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
Madison DeCota, Norwich
Madison DeCota had a dominant junior campaign at the plate for the Cadets this season, finishing as one of the most feared hitters in the GNAC. The Strafford, NH native had a league-leading .515% batting average on the year, which was outstanding for 12th in the nation as her league-leading .960% slugging percentage was seventh-best in DIII. Of her 52 base hits on the season, 27 of them came from extra bases with five homers, 14 doubles, and eight triples (seventh in the nation). DeCota also had nine victories on the mound for the Cadets and was named GNAC Player of the Week once this past season.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Piper Kinney, Simmons
Piper Kinney earned her third consecutive Pitcher of the Year honors after another dominant season on the mound for Simmons. The Marlborough, Mass. senior collected a league-leading 19 wins for the Sharks with a 1.87 earned run average in 26 appearances and pitched 19 complete games. Kinney had nine shutouts (league-leading) and fanned a league-leading 190 batters, which ranked her fourth in DIII. Her outstanding mound efforts led her to having 16 games of six or more strikeouts on the year. The senior was named Pitcher of the Week six times this season.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Gracie Browne, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Gracie Browne had a solid freshman campaign for USJ this past season as the Bristol, Conn. native played a critical role for the Blue Jays. Browne had 11 stolen bases on the season, which was good for seventh in the league and had a league-leading 10 sacrifice hits, putting pressure on opposing defenses to try and to make plays. The freshman also had 16 walks, displaying her patience at the plate in which it led to her .467 on base percentage, good for ninth in the conference. Browne had 25 hits on the season as well and was named Rookie of the Week once this past season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Lou Bunosso, Albertus Magnus
Lou Bunosso was named Coach of the Year after guiding Albertus Magnus to a 27-18 record (14-4 GNAC; 9-3 in South Division) and no. 1 seed in their Division. The Falcons led the league in multiple offensive categories including 400 hits and scoring 292 runs. Defensively, they were just as impressive with a league-leading fielding percentage of .962% with another league-leading 914 put outs and only 49 errors committed on the season (second-fewest in the league). Bunosso guided his team to their first GNAC Championship since 1997 in yesterday's championship series victory as the Falcons head to WPI for Regionals play.
2026 Softball All-GNAC Teams + Major Award Winners
MAJOR AWARDS
Coach of the Year: Lou Bunosso, Albertus Magnus
Player of the Year: Madison DeCota, Norwich
Pitcher of the Year: Piper Kinney, Simmons
Rookie of the Year: Gracie Browne, USJ
Institutional Sportsmanship: Elms College
FIRST TEAM
P - Piper Kinney, Simmons
P - Annabelle Jabs, Albertus Magnus
C - Emma Lopez, New England College
1B - Reilly Austin, Albertus Magnus
2B - Mikaela Schwippert, Albertus Magnus
3B - Kryslin Stearns, SJC (Me.)
SS - Madison DeCota, Norwich
OF - Karla Carangelo, Albertus Magnus
OF - Lorynes Suriel, USJ
OF - Olivia Couto, Rivier
DP - Mekayla Poisson, Emmanuel
UTIL - Abigail Fortin, Lasell
SECOND TEAM
P - Olivia DeCicco, Mitchell
P - Hailey Berube, Rivier
C - Emery Kreidel-Reimer, Simmons
1B - Abigail Grimes, New England College
2B - Jennifer Antonowicz, USJ
3B - Sydnee Ramos, Dean
SS - Kylee Caetano, Rivier
OF - Zoe Soule, Simmons
OF - Zoe Battersby, Mitchell
OF - Sadie Tirrell, SJC
DP - Chantelle Bouchard, SJC
UTIL - Piper Kinney, Simmons
THIRD TEAM
P - Kate Julian, Regis
P - Abigail Fortin, Lasell
C - Sadie Girgasky, USJ
1B - Kaylee Scott, Colby-Sawyer
2B - Emma Politz, Rivier
3B - Mel Rees, Regis
SS - Mia Fernandes, Emmanuel
OF - Teagan Buckley, Simmons
OF - Grace Giesler, New England College
OF - Rachel Brewer-Karimi, USJ
DP - Liv Harnish, Rivier
UTIL - Hayley Rapgalia, Rivier
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Megan Cross, Albertus Magnus
Molly Smith, Colby-Sawyer
Ashley Lester, Dean
Amanda Raymond, Elms
Olivia DeMacedo, Emmanuel
Brianna Francis, Lasell
Kaylee Drago, Mitchell
Wren Anhalt, New England College
Grace Richardson, Norwich
Francesca Licata, Regis
Kyleigh Guerette, Rivier
Sadie Tirrell, Saint Joseph’s (Maine)
Lauren Stenmon, Simmons
Sydney Robison, 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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