POUGHKEEPSIE, New York –
Miah McDonald and
Haley Ahr of the Marist University softball team were named Academic All-Americans by College Sports Communicators (CSC) on Tuesday.
McDonald was a First Team honoree, and Ahr was named Second Team.
McDonald and Ahr are the first set of teammates to be named Academic All-Americans in the same season in school history. They are the 19
th and 20
th Academic All-Americans in school history, and the first at Marist since 2019. McDonald is the third First Team All-American in school history, and she is the Red Foxes' first since 2010.
The Marist softball program now has five Academic All-Americans all-time, and four in the 17-year tenure of head coach
Joe Ausanio. McDonald and Ahr were preceded by Amanda Koldjeski (2001), Melissa Giordano (2009), and Gabrielle Kelliher (2017).
McDonald and Ahr have both been named CSC Academic All-District each of the last two years. Both were also named Top 100 players in the nation by both Softball America and D1 Softball. McDonald, who has been named MAAC Player of the Year each of the last two years, led the nation in total bases this season. Ahr, who has been named First Team All-MAAC each of the last three years, led the nation in batting average this year.
In 2025, Marist set a program record with 48 wins. The Red Foxes captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships. They earned the MAAC's first #3 seed at NCAA Regionals in the conference's history, and recorded their first win at Regionals in program history.
2000-01: Amanda Koldjeski, Softball (Second Team)
2002-03: Jenny Shanks, Women's Soccer (Third Team); David Bennett, Men's Basketball (Second Team); Viktor Sapezhnikov, Men's Tennis (First Team)
2007-08: Mike Rolek, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field (Third Team)
2008-09: Ryan Schneider, Men's Basketball (Second Team); Melissa Giordano, Softball (Third Team)
2009-10: Joe Touloumis, Men's Soccer (Third Team); Rachele Fitz, Women's Basketball (Third Team)
2010-11: Joe Touloumis, Men's Soccer (First Team); Ricky Pacione, Baseball (Second Team); Erin Betsch, Women's Lacrosse (Second Team); Brittany Burns, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field (Second Team)
2011-12: Michelle Fountain, women's swimming & diving (Third Team)
2012-13: Chelsea Botta, women's soccer (Third Team); Kate Conard, women's swimming & diving (Third Team)
2016-17: Gabrielle Kelliher, softball (Second Team)
2018-19: Hailey Wagner, women's lacrosse (Third Team)
2024-25:
Miah McDonald, softball (First Team);
Haley Ahr, softball (Second Team)
