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

Infielder Juno Shantz (Seattle, Wash.) of Smith College was voted NEWMAC Player of the Year, while Babson College's Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) was named Pitcher of the Year. WPI'S Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, Mass.) was named Rookie of the Year. The Springfield coaching staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.

Shantz and Fairbairn headline the first team infielder selections and are joined by Springfield's Breannah McCann (Poway, Calif.), U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Isabelle Shroyer (Marysville, Ohio) and WPI's Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.). Wheaton's Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.), WPI's Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, N.Y.)  and MIT's Mikayla Cable (Valrico, Fla.) fill out the outfield selections. Springfield's Carissa Pecchia (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.)  were awarded a spot as utility players. Smith's Lucy Allen (West Boylston, Mass.) and Springfield's Callie Gendron (Berlin, Conn.) were selected as catchers. O'Reilly is featured in the first team pitcher slot, while MIT's Caroline Langmeyer (Upper Arlington, Ohio) wraps up the first team pitcher selections.

Emerson College's Claire Overton (Wayne, Pa.) represents the Lions as a second team infield selection.  MIT's Nicole Johnston (St. Charles, Ill.), Springfield's Alli Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J..), Wellesley College's Jillian Colgan (Las Vegas, Nev.) and WPI's Destiny Lum (Kahalu?u, Hawaii) wrap up the second team infield selections. Babson's Sara Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.), Springfield's Emily Whelan (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Sydney Russell (Arlington, Va.) of WPI were selected as outfielders. Emerson's Sam Zannotti (Dudley, Mass.) along with MIT's Katia Pendowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), Smith's Bailey Gray (Missouri City, Texas) and Wheaton's Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) were honored as utility players. Catchers Rebecca Mauro (Easton, Conn.) of Clark University and MIT's Olivia Scarpaci (Staten Island, N.Y.) earned the nod. The second team pitcher spots were awarded to Springfield's Ashley Pugliese (Long Island, N.Y) and Wheaton's Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.).

Player of the Year- Juno Shantz (Sr., INF), Smith College

Juno Shantz hit a league-leading .517 in conference play. Her 9 home runs also led the league, and her 22 RBI were good for second. She slugged at a league-leading 1.100 clip, to go with a .608 on-base percentage- giving her a 1.708 OPS. She also scored a league leading 22 runs. Defensively, Shantz made only one error in 131 chances in conference play. Overall, Shantz was second in the league with a .474 batting average and led NEWMAC with 11 home runs. She led Smith to its first postseason appearance since 2014.

Pitcher of the Year – Moira O'Reilly (Sr., P), Babson College

Moira O'Reilly posted a 1.45 ERA in league play, good for second in the league. Her 10 wins was good for first in the league. She threw 10 complete games, including two no-hitters. O'Reilly struck out a league-leading 100 batters in 77.1 innings pitched. Overall, O'Reilly went 17-9 with a 1.46 ERA and 232 strikeouts- second in all of Division III. She allowed batters to hit only .193 against her, which lowered to a league best .167 in league play.
 
Rookie of the Year- Sandy Fairbairn (Fr., INF), WPI
 
Fairbairn led the Engineers with a .417 average in league play, good for fourth in the league. Her .682 slugging percentage was also good for fourth in the league, and she finished with a 1.097 OPS. She hit two home runs in league play and drove in 13 runs. Overall, the rookie was third in the conference, hitting .434 with three home runs and 26 RBI.
 
Coaching Staff of the Year – Springfield College

Springfield went 16-4 in NEWMAC play, claiming the regular season crown, and earning the top seed in the NEWMAC Championship. This was the first time since 2013 that the Pride won the regular season title. They led the NEWMAC in batting average in league play, hitting .330, while also leading the NEWMAC with a 2.04 ERA in league play. Springfield is under the direction of head coach Kate Bowen, and assistants Sam Garcia, Vani Patel and Lindsay Gauthier.

2024 NEWMAC Softball All-Conference 
 

First Team All-Conference	Moira O'Reilly	P	Babson College
First Team All-Conference	Caroline Langmeyer	P	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Juno Shantz	INF	Smith College
First Team All-Conference	Breannah Mccann	INF	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Isabelle Shroyer	INF	U.S. Coast Guard Academy
First Team All-Conference	Sandy Fairbairn	INF	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Emma Nagy	INF	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Mikayla Cable	OF	MIT
First Team All-Conference	Juliette Zito	OF	Wheaton
First Team All-Conference	Virginia McKinney	OF	WPI
First Team All-Conference	Carissa Pecchia	UTL	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Amelia DeRosa	UTL	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Callie Gendron	C	Springfield College
First Team All-Conference	Lucy Allen	C	Smith College
Second Team All-Conference	Ashley Pugliese	P	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Sofia Knopf	P	Wheaton College
Second Team All-Conference	Claire Overton	INF	Emerson College
Second Team All-Conference	Nicole Johnston	INF	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Alli Olsen	INF	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Jillian Colgan	INF	Wellesley College
Second Team All-Conference	Destiny Lum	INF	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Sara Moore	OF	Babson College
Second Team All-Conference	Emily Whelan	OF	Springfield College
Second Team All-Conference	Sydney Russell	OF	WPI
Second Team All-Conference	Sam Zannotti	UTL	Emerson College
Second Team All-Conference	Katia Pendowski	UTL	MIT
Second Team All-Conference	Bailey Gray	UTL	Smith College
Second Team All-Conference	Peyton Blankenheim-Brown	UTL	Wheaton College
Second Team All-Conference	Rebecca Mauro	C	Clark University
Second Team All-Conference	Olivia Scarpaci	C	MIT

 
About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, 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 four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.