POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist University softball team was picked to finish first in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, and graduate infielder Haley Ahr was named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
Three Red Foxes were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team: Ahr, Peyton Pusey, and Sienna Kunze.
 

Marist Honorees

Haley Ahr

• Unanimous selection for Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason All-MAAC.
• Ranked #96 in D1Softball's Top 100 players for this season, and #9 among Mid-Major players.
• 2025: NCAA leader in batting average in (.508). Also ranked in the NCAA's top 15 in hits (seventh, 90), on-base percentage (11th, .556), and toughest to strike out (14th, once every 35.4 at bats).
• MAAC All-Championship Team, First Team NFCA All-Region, and All-ECAC, 2025.
• Hit .508 with 11 home runs, 59 RBIs, 52 runs scored, 12 doubles, three stolen bases, and a 1.319 OPS (.763 slugging, .556 on-base) last season.
• CSC Second Team Academic All-American in 2025.
• First Team All-MAAC selection each of the last three years.
• MAAC Rookie of the Year, 2023; MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, 2024.

 
Peyton Pusey

• Unanimous Preseason All-MAAC selection.
• Ranked #62 among D1Softball's Mid-Major Players.
• Scored 82 runs last season, leading the NCAA and setting the MAAC single-season record. Also led the NCAA in runs per game (1.44) and finished 10th in hits (87).
• First Team All-MAAC, First Team NFCA All-Region, MAAC All-Championship Team, and All-ECAC, 2025.
• Hit .429 with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, and 14 doubles. Was a perfect 15-for-15 on stolen base attempts.
• Went 6-for-11 (.545) in Marist's three NCAA Regional games with five runs scored. Went 3-for-4 with a home run and double vs. Liberty.
• First Team All-MAAC & First Team NFCA All-Region, '24; Second Team All-MAAC & Second Team NFCA All-Region, '23.

 
Sienna Kunze

• Named Second Team All-MAAC at Utility last season.
• MAAC All-Rookie Team selection and four-time MAAC Rookie of the Week in 2025.
• Hit .316 with eight home runs, 37 RBIs, 30 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, and seven stolen bases last year.
• Played in all 58 games last year, with 55 starts.

 

Preseason All-MAAC

Catcher – Brooke Acker, Iona
Infielders – Haley Ahr, Marist (unanimous); Hailey Guerrero, Iona; Kendall Reda-Fehsal, Rider; Emma Petersen, Siena
Outfielders – Peyton Pusey, Marist (unanimous); Ella Johel, Canisius; Mary Fogg, Quinnipiac
Utility – Sienna Kunze, Marist
Designated Player – Gracie Goewey, Siena
Pitchers – Alyssa Weinberg, Fairfield; Sam Kowalski, Sacred Heart
 

Preseason Poll

(First-place votes are in parentheses, point total is listed)
1-Marist, 167 (11)
2-Fairfield, 144 (1)
3-Siena, 143 (1)
4-Iona, 117
5-Sacred Heart, 109
6-Rider, 103
7-Quinnipiac, 98
8-Canisius, 91
9-Merrimack, 55
10-Manhattan, 54
11-Mount St. Mary's, 50
12-Niagara, 29
13-Saint Peter's, 23

Coming off its best season in program history with 48 wins, a MAAC championship, and its first NCAA Regional win, the Red Foxes open the 2026 season in a tournament at Charleston Southern on Feb. 6.