Serena Becomes Oneonta's First Softball All-American and Four-Time All-Region
Oneonta Sports Information Department
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Oneonta softball senior Julia Serena (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) concluded her historic career by being named All-American and All-Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). With the accolades, Julia "Jewels" Serena became the first NFCA All-American in program history and the first ever to earn All-Region honors four times. She received All-American Third Team recognition after she collected All-Region First Team status for the second time in her career.
"I could not be happier for Jewels and her accomplishments," said head coach Sara Curran-Headley. "She set a goal of becoming our first All-American before she graduated and she worked very hard to make that happen."
Serena led the team and the conference in almost every major offensive category. She started all 39 games for the Red Dragons and was first in hits (60), home runs (10), RBI (43), doubles (16), total bases (108), batting average (.480), on-base percentage (.556), and slugging percentage (.864). With the incredible season, she became the third ever Red Dragon to earn the SUNYAC Player of the Year award and the first to win the conference triple crown (leading the league in batting avg., HR, and RBI).
In 16 conference games, Serena led the SUNYAC in the same categories, posting 32 hits for a .542 batting average, blasting seven home runs, nine doubles and 26 RBI with a .597 on-base percentage and 1.051 slugging. In the conference tournament (five games), she went 10-for-14 (a .714 batting average) with two home runs, two doubles, eight RBI, and went on to be named to the All-Tournament team.
Her .556 on-base percentage led all catchers in Division III and was 17th best overall. The White Plains, N.Y. native was third out of all the catchers in batting average (.480) and slugging percentage (.864), which ranked 17th and 32nd best in Division III, respectively. Serena was one of five catchers to record at least 60 hits (74 players total), one of seven to hit at least 10 home runs (48 players total), and was one of two catchers to accomplish both marks (Miranda Treadway, Huntingdon College (AL)). Overall, she was one of 16 players in Division III to finish with at least 60 hits with 10 home runs. Serena was also tied for 30th overall in total bases (108 - 5th best among catchers) and tied for 60th in RBI (43 - 12th best among catchers).
"Jewels was great as a freshman, but continued to improve throughout her career," coach Curran-Headley continued. "Not only was she a great player, she is also a great person and a solid leader."
Serena played 154 games in her career and finished with 198 hits, which includes 29 home runs, 50 doubles, and four triples for 343 total bases and recorded 157 RBI. She posted a .410 batting average, .461 on-base percentage, and an astonishing .710 slugging percentage, while she scored 104 runs, worked 51 walks, and stole eight bases.
In program history, Serena is the only player to score six runs in a single game and is one of four players to record five hits in a game, one of four to record seven RBI in a game, and one of two to hit two home runs in a game. She has had two games with two home runs, including one where she hit both in the same inning (1st inning of game one vs. Canton, 4/4/25).
Along with the game records, the senior slugger leaves Oneonta atop the program record books in single season hits (tied at 60 – 2025), doubles (18 – 2023), home runs (10 – 2025), total bases (108 – 2025), RBI (45 – 2024), walks (24 – 2025), on-base percentage (.556 - 2025), slugging percentage (.864 - 2025), and multi-RBI games (13 – 2024). Career wise, Serena leads program history in hits (198), doubles (50), home runs (29), total bases (343), RBI (157), on-base percentage (.461), slugging percentage (.710), and multi-RBI games (42). She is second in career multi-hit games (57), career batting average (.410), and batting average in a single season (.480 - 2025), while being tied for fourth in career walks (51) and sixth in career runs scored (104).
On top of being the only Red Dragon to be named All-American, Serena is also the only player in program history to win both the SUNYAC Player of the Year (2025) and Rookie of the Year awards (2022). She garnered All-SUNYAC status four times in her career with three first team All-Conference selections, and All-Region III honors four times, again the first time in program history, with two first team selections, one second team, and a third team.
Academically, Serena graduated with an exercise science major with a concentration in pre-nursing. She was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team four times, the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll three times, and the NFCA All-America Scholar team twice. The NFCA and SUNYAC release their academic awards later this month.
Oneonta ended the season 20-19 overall and earned the five seed in the SUNYAC tournament, where they finished as the runner-up after advancing to the championship game for the first time since 2017.
