POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist softball team won all five Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference major awards, had six First Team All-MAAC honorees, and two selections to the MAAC All-Rookie Team. All 11 Red Foxes who were eligible to the MAAC All-Academic Team qualified.
 

Major Awards

• Miah McDonald was honored as MAAC Player of the Year. McDonald broke Marist's single-season records for home runs (20) and runs batted in (69), and she is currently tied for first in program history for runs scored in a season (61). McDonald currently ranks in the NCAA's top five in triples, total bases, home runs, and runs batted in.
• Haley Ahr was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Ahr had a fielding percentage of .987, with just four errors in 316 chances. She primarily played first base this season, and she also saw significant action at shortstop and second base.
• Anna Sidlowski won MAAC Rookie of the Year. In the regular season, Sidlowski was tied for third in the MAAC in wins (14), fourth in ERA (2.18), and sixth in batting average against (.246). She also hit .245 with nine runs batted in 49 at-bats, as she saw action in left field.
• Kiley Myers was named MAAC Co-Pitcher of the Year. Myers ranks in the MAAC's top four in innings pitched (second), ERA (third), strikeouts (third), wins (tied for third), and batting average against (fourth). She shared the award with Niagara's Maddie Hickingbottom.
• Joe Ausanio earned MAAC Coach of the Year. Ausanio guided Marist to the outright regular-season championship, and the Red Foxes' 36 wins are the third-highest total in program history.

 

First Team

• Marist had three of the four infielders named to the All-MAAC First Team.
  • McDonald was named First Team All-MAAC for the second time in three years, after missing last season with an injury.
  • Ahr was named First Team All-MAAC for the second straight year. She ranks in the top 50 nationally in toughest to strike out (17^th), batting average (21^st), and runs batted in (49^th).
  • Alyssa Grupp, who was named Second Team All-MAAC in 2022, was named to the First Team for the first time in her career. Grupp hit .378 and stole 13 bases, and had a .409 batting average in MAAC play.
• Peyton Pusey was named First Team All-MAAC in the outfield. Pusey is tied for the program's single-season record for runs scored, leads the MAAC in doubles, is tied for first in walks, ranks third in stolen bases, and fourth in batting average.
• Myers was a First Team All-MAAC selection after being named to the Second Team last year.
• Maddie Pleasants, last year's MAAC Player of the Year, was named First Team All-MAAC at utility. Pleasants homered in five of her last 10 regular-season games, and she ranks 61st in the NCAA in toughest to strike out. Pleasants went 3-0 as a pitcher in MAAC play with 23 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

 

All-Rookie

• Sidlowski was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
• Shortstop Samantha Rogers earned the honor as well. Rogers started Marist's last 12 games at shortstop, and she hit three home runs while driving in 12 in that span.

 

All-Academic

All 11 Red Foxes who were eligible to be named to the MAAC All-Academic Team were honored. This award goes to a student-athlete with at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA who has spent at least two semesters at their current institution:

• Kiley Myers (Master's of Business Administration)
• Alyssa Grupp (Communication)
• Miah McDonald (Psychology)
• Haley Ahr (Psychology)
• Maddie Gore (Criminal Justice)
• Ronni Howard (Psychology)
• Kaitlyn Husic (Psychology/Special Education)
• Lauren Morrell (Communication)
• Maddie Pleasants (Psychology)
• Isabella Manory (Criminal Justice)
• Peyton Pusey (Media Studies & Production)

 

Facts

• Since MAAC Defensive Player of the Year was introduced in 2015, this is the first time a team has won all five major awards. It is the first time a team has won every major award since 2008 (Canisius).
• This is the second straight year Marist has had the MAAC Player of the Year, following Pleasants' selection last year.
• Marist has won Defensive Player of the Year five times in the nine years it has been awarded. Ahr joins Caroline Baratta (twice), Brittany Colombo, and Kyrsten Van Natta as previous honorees.
• Marist has won three straight MAAC Rookie of the Year awards. Sidlowski follows Ahr (2023) and Pleasants (2022).
• Myers is the third Red Fox to win MAAC Pitcher of the Year under Ausanio, following the selection of Melanie White (2015) and Jayne Oberdorf (2016) in back-to-back years.
• Ausanio has now won four MAAC Coach of the Year awards.

 
The Red Foxes (36-17) are scheduled to open the MAAC Softball Championship on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Marist will face either fourth-seeded Canisius or fifth-seeded Iona in its first game.