The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its annual All-SUNYAC Softball team Wednesday with the Hawks garnering six all conference selections, along with Pitcher of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year honors for a record setting second consecutive year.
 
Coach Krysti Maronski and her assistant Rick Spriggs picked up their second straight Coaching Staff of the Year award. They were joined by now two-time SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year Lindsay Roman along with All-SUNYAC picks Sydney Waldon, Jaycee Filancia, Jackie Rometo, Kelsey O'Brien and Jillian Shelbourne.

The accolades come on the heels of the best New Paltz softball season to date; the Hawks finished with an overall record of 35-6, a SUNYAC mark of 17-1, a 19-game winning streak, a second straight top seed and host site for the SUNYAC tournament, a third place ranking in NCAA Region III and a first ever 'receiving votes' in the NFCA national poll.

To view the complete 2024 All SUNYAC softball team, click here.

Continue reading about the Hawks 2024 All SUNYAC selections below:

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First Team/Pitcher of the Year

Lindsay Roman (senior, pitcher)
Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun HS

The most dominant pitcher in SUNYAC for the last three years, Roman earns her third All-SUNYAC First Team pick and her second SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year honor.
 
Roman became only the seventh SUNYAC pitcher to earn this honor multiple years and the first SUNY New Paltz pitcher to do so. In 2024 she earned two SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week honors as well. Overall, this season she again lowered her ERA to a conference leading 1.07 in 150.2 innings pitched with a WHIP of 0.90; she had an overall record of 17-5, starting 23.26 games played, with one save, with 17 complete games, eight shutouts, 82 strikeouts and only 10 bases on balls.

In regular season SUNYAC play, the two-time NFCA Region III Second Team selection was 9-1 with an ERA of 0.74 and a WHIP of 0.71; she pitched 66.1 innings, starting nine of 11 games, with 34 strikeouts, one base-on-balls and four shutouts.

Roman dialed in during the SUNYAC Tournament, going 2-1 in four appearances, including two shutout victories to be named SUNYAC MVP after helping her team to their first SUNYAC title.

Etching her name as one of the best players to play for the program, Roman also became the program's new wins record holder this season, totaling 49 through three-plus year career in 79 appearances.

First Team

Jaycee Filancia (sophomore, infield)
East Fishkill, NY/John Jay-East Fishkill HS

After a stellar first year in 2023, where Filancia earned second team all-conference selection, her outstanding play in 2024 moved her up to All SUNYAC First Team honors and Player of the Year consideration.

Filancia started all 40 games she played with her name showing up at or near the top of offensive categories for the Hawks. She batted .384 with an OPS of .973. In 135 at bats she had 32 runs scored, 52 hits with a team leading 19 doubles with a team leading slugging percentage of .541. She tallied 23 RBIs and 73 total bases with an on base percentage of .432. She was a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen bases to lead the team. She also added a team high 11 walks, while setting the program's single-season program record for doubles with 19 thus far.
 
With a .955 fielding percentage, Filancia had 89 chances with 43 putouts and 42 assists and proved to be one of the best infielders in the conference.

Filancia was featured prominently in SUNYAC offensive categories as well. Starting all 18 conference games, she hit for .469 with a 1.149 OPS in 64 at bats. She scored 19 runs, led the team with 30 hits and 10 doubles and had 10 RBIs. She topped the team with a .656 slugging percentage and her.493 on base percentage was second on the team. She also led the team with a perfect 11-for-11 stolen bases. In the field, she had a .976 fielding percentage with 41 chances, 18 putouts and 22 assists.


Jackie Rometo (junior, outfield)
Montgomery, NY/Valley Centrall HS

Nearly every postgame write-up the last three seasons has featured prominently the exploits of Jackie Rometo at the plate or in the field. Now selected as a two-time All SUNYAC First Team pick, the 2023 NFCA Region III second team honoree has again led the Hawks to the pinnacle of conference greatness, even though her SUNYAC Player of the Year status from 2023 made her a marked player by all opponents in 2024.

Rometo started 38 of 40 games played in 2024, hitting .333 with an OPS of .762 in 129 at bats. She scored 24 runs with 43 hits and 48 total bases, with 18 RBIs and a .373 slugging percentage. She was a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen bases with an on base percentage of .380. Posting a 1.000 field percentage, Rometo had 81 chances with 76 putouts and four assists.

Battling through injuries early and a slight hitting slump to start the year, Rometo has played her best softball in the back half of the season and was instrumental in helping SUNY New Paltz to a record 17-1 in SUNYAC competition and a second-straight first-seed berth into the conference tournament.

In regular season SUNYAC play, her team leading .489 batting average was third in SUNYAC, with a 1.027 OPS. In 47 at bats, she scored eight runs with 23 hits and had 11 RBIs with a .489 slugging percentage. Her .538 on base percentage reflected her 42 total bases and her perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases. In the field, Rometo had 28 chances with 25 putouts and three assists for a stellar 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
 
 
Sydney Waldon (junior, pitcher)
Maplewood, NJ/Columbia HS

As the other half of the Hawks dominating starting pitching rotation, Waldon earns her second All-SUNYAC selection, moving from second team in 2023 to All SUNYAC First Team in 2024.

Waldon had a career season in year three in orange and blue. In regular season play, she started 18 of 22 games played, with a 1.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. She had 10 complete games with four shutouts, and one save; in 106.1 innings pitches she nailed a team leading 112 strikeouts.

In SUNYAC competition, she was a perfect 8-0 starting nine of nine games with a 1.41 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 54.2 innings. She turned in six complete games while striking out a team high of 64 batters.

She set new marks for herself in wins (17), inning's pitched (106.1), ERA (1.84), strikeouts (112) and batting average against (.194). She totaled double-digit strikeout totals in four different games, including a single-game program record of 14 in a dominant performance against Oswego April 6 and nearly matched that mark with a 13-strikeout performance two weeks later against Fredonia.

Second Team

Kelsey O'Brien (sophomore/outfield)
Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury HS

Making her mark in 2024 starting all 41 games, Kelsey O'Brien gave notice that she is a player to be reckoned with in earning All-SUNYAC Second Team honors.

In a breakout season, O'Brien topped the Hawks in batting average at .409 with an OPS of .964. In 132 at bats, she scored 31 runs, had 54 hits with 11 doubles and a slugging percentage of .508. Her 23 RBI tied for second on the team and her 67 total bases was third on the team. She was 12 of 13 on stolen bases with an on base percentage of .456.

She embraced her role, being moved from third base to left field in 2024 and was a solid defensive presence all year. She had 48 chances defensively and totaled 45 putouts, one assist and a fielding percentage of .958, while in SUNYAC play, O'Brien in 16 chances had 16 putouts for a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Against SUNYAC competition, she started all 18 regular season conference games, batting .370 with an .861 OPS. She had 58 at bats with 10 runs scored, including three doubles for a slugging percentage of .426. She tallied 12 RBIs and 42 total bases and was eight for eight in stolen bases for a .435 on base percentage.

Her play on the final day of the SUNYAC Tournament helped push her team to their first SUNYAC title. She went 4-for-6 with three doubles and a run scored in the best of three series against Cortland helping solidify the conference crown en route to being named to her first SUNYAC All-Tournament team selection.
 
 
Jillian Shelbourne (senior, infield)
Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford HS

Jillian Shelbourne notched her third straight All-SUNYAC selection, and her second consecutive All SUNYAC Second Team pick. She joined just three others, including Roman, to be a three-time All-SUNYAC select in program history.

Shelbourne started all 41 games at first base, batting .336 with an OPS of .852. She scored 11 runs, was second with 45 hits with 10 doubles and three homeruns. Her slugging percentage was .478. Her 40 RBI were tops for SUNY New Paltz and she had 64 total bases for an on base percentage of .374 going 3/3 on stolen bases. Her .983 fielding percentage reflected 232 chances with 220 putouts, eight assists and six double plays.
Starting all 18 SUNYAC games, Shelbourne batted .397 with an OPS of 1.010 in 58 at bats.

She scored five runs, had 23 hits with five doubles and two home runs and led the team with 20 RBI. She had a slugging percentage of .586 with 34 total bases and 2-for-2 on stolen bases.
Defensively, she had 123 chances with 115 putouts in the field with five assists and for double plays for a fielding percentage of .976.

Coaching Staff of the Year

For the second consecutive season, the coaching combo of head coach Krysti Maronski and Rich Spriggs have been named SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

Over the last two seasons, they have guided the Hawks to a combined overall record of 66-19 and a SUNYAC mark of 33-3.    They have led SUNY New Paltz to the top seed of the SUNYAC tournament for two years running and to a second place tournament finish in 2023.

Now completing her sixth season at New Paltz, Maronski continues to strive to accomplish all of the goals she set out to attain upon accepting the head coach position for the Hawks. A proven winner wherever she has been as a player and a coach, she has brought the program to the forefront of not only SUNYAC softball but NFCA Region III softball as well. Her six-year record stands at 126-60-1 and her SUNYAC tally stands at 59-23. She has guided the Hawks to the SUNYAC tournament in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, bringing them to the semifinals in 2022 and the finals in 2023 and 2024. She had two 20-plus win seasons and two 30-plus win seasons to her credits.

Maronski has mentored 12 All-SUNYAC First Team players, nine All-SUNYAC Second Team players, one SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, two SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year and two SUNYAC Player of the Year honorees,
Joining her in the dugout the past three seasons has been Kingston, NY native Rich Spriggs. With a daughter who played for the Hawks, Spriggs brought a familiarity to collegiate softball that added to his knowledge of highly competitive regional girls' softball experience, having coached the Ulster County Fillies U18 to two National Open U18 championship runner-up finishes. His drive and knowledge are a perfect complement to Maronski and keys to the Hawks' recent success.

2024 proved to be another record setting year for the Hawks, one that has made both the University and regional community proud.


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