May 13, 2025

SUNYAC Releases 2025 Softball Yearly Accolades

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC announces its 2025 softball awards including the Julie Lenhart Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sandra Hollander Coaching Staff of the Year and the All-Conference teams. These awards are nominated and voted on by the conference coaches.

Julie Lenhart Player of the Year - Julia Serena, Oneonta
Serena led the league with a .542 batting average, a .597 on base percentage and a 1.051 slugging percentage in conference competition. She was No. 1 with 32 hits, 26 RBI, 25 runs, nine doubles and seven homeruns in 16 conference games. Serena was also top in the SUNYAC in those categories over 39 total games - 60 hits, 43 RBI, 39 runs, 16 doubles and 10 home runs. She had season highs of seven RBI, six runs scored, five hits, two doubles and two home runs in her senior year. Serena was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after the Red Dragons advanced to the championship round as the No. 5 seed and finished the tournament 3-2.

Julie Lenhart retired at the conclusion of the 2019 season after serving 25 years as Cortland's head softball coach. In 2018, Lenhart became just the sixth coach in Division III history to reach 900 career wins. In 2014 she was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Hall of Fame. The league coaches recommended that the Player of the Year be named after Lenhart at the conclusion of her decorated career.

Defensive Player of the Year - Abigail Silliman, Oneonta
Second baseman Silliman had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 19 putouts in 16 conference games. Overall she had a .947 fielding percentage with 62 putouts and just six errors in 38 games for the Red Dragons. She helped her team advance to the championship round in the SUNYAC tournament as the fifth seed. The squad finished the 2025 season with a 20-19 overall record.

Pitcher of the Year - Kendall Phillips, Fredonia
Phillips led the league with a 0.37 ERA in 56.2 innings pitched. Shed recorded six wins and one save in conference competition. She totaled 68 strikeouts, an average of 8.40 strikeouts per seven innings. Phillips also led the league overall with a 1.18 ERA in 19 appearances recording eight wins and 117 strikeouts on the mound. She had a season high of 14 strikeouts against Plattsburgh on April 11 in her sophomore year.

Rookie of the Year - Gianna Endieveri, Cortland
Endieveri had a 0.91 ERA and recorded seven wins and a save on the mound in conference competition. She had 47 strikeouts in 46 innings. Overall, she totaled 76 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched and collected nine wins and two saves for the Red Dragons. Endieveri had a season high of 11 strikeouts against Buffalo State in her first season pitching for Cortland.

Sandra Hollander Coaching Staff of the Year - Cortland
Head coach Molly O'Donnell and her assistants Megan LaMont, Deb Pallozzi and Paige Crittela led their 2025 squad to Cortland's first SUNYAC championship title since 2019. The team finished the regular season ranked No. 1 and then went undefeated in the championship tournament, 3-0, to win the programs 17th overall softball league crown. Seven Red Dragons were named to the 2025 All-SUNYAC first team including the Rookie of the Year Gianna Endieveri. Cortland earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament as the conference champions. The team will travel to Rowan University for a four-team, double-elimination regional Thursday through Saturday, May 15-17. Cortland holds a 23-14 overall record entering the NCAA's.

Sandra Hollander impacted the experiences of thousands of students over her 27 years as a coach, trainer and administrator at Buffalo State. She made her name at the college and nationally as Buffalo State's head softball coach from 1989 until her passing in 2012. Hollander ranks among the winningest coaches all-time in Division III with an overall record of 562-342-2, while claiming three SUNYAC titles and making eight trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Hollander, who passed away on April 2, 2012, 12 games into the season, was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time that year, an award that is now named in her honor.

2025 SUNYAC Softball All-Conference Teams (PDF)

First Team
Name	School	Pos	Yr	Hometown / High School
Ella Sharrock	New Paltz	1B	So.	Shelden / Newfield
Maggie Cummings	Cortland	2B	So.	Holland Patent / Holland Patent
Kaeli McAnally	Cortland	SS	Jr.	Islip / Islip
Laila Smith	Cortland	3B	Fr.	Guilderland / Guilderland
Lainie Ornstein	Cortland	OF	Sr.	Yorktown Heights / Yorktown
Halle Wright	Cortland	OF	Sr.	Ballston Spa / Ballston Spa
Madison Lowe	Fredonia	OF	So.	Auburn / Auburn
Julia Serena	Oneonta	C	Sr.	White Plains / Valhalla
Gianna Endieveri	Cortland	P	Fr.	Glens Falls / Glens Falls
Kendall Phillips	Fredonia	P	So.	Bergen / Byron-Bergen
McKenna Barry	Cortland	U	Sr.	Clifton Park / Shenendehowa
Madison Lucas	Buffalo State	DP	Jr.	Oakdale, PA / West Allegheny
Lexi Quagliana	Buffalo State	At-Large (3B)	So.	Williamsville / Williamsville South
Ella Stewart	Buffalo State	At-Large (2B)	So.	Orchard Park / Orchard Park
Second Team
Name	School	Pos	Yr	Hometown / High School
Mya Hurley	Buffalo State	OF	Jr.	Williamsville / Amherst
Deme Kellogg	Buffalo State	C	Sr.	Gansevoort / South Glens Falls
Izzy Pezdek	Buffalo State	P	So.	Lancaster / Grand Island
Avery Hill	Fredonia	C/3B	Jr.	Glens Falls / Glens Falls
Sophia D'Arcangelis	New Paltz	OF	Sr.	Liverpool / Liverpool
Leah Gunsett	New Paltz	P/IF	Fr.	Marlboro / Marlboro
Kelsey O'Brien	New Paltz	OF	Jr.	Monroe / Monroe Woodbury
Sydney Waldon	New Paltz	P	Sr.	Maplewood, NJ / Columbia
Emily Brown	Oneonta	P/1B	So.	Westbury / Clarke
Sophia Mangone	Oneonta	1B/UT	Sr.	Ardsley /Ardsley
Ava Thys	Oneonta	SS	So.	Fairfax, VA / James W. Robinson Secondary
Lilian Haggerty	Oswego	OF/IF	So.	Saratoga Springs / South Glens Falls