WATERVILLE, Maine – Cazenovia College came away with two major 2023 softball awards as Olivia Simone was recognized as the North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and Alivia Turk was named Rookie of the Year, when the NAC’s post-season honors in softball were unveiled Thursday.

Thomas College senior Maddie Rock was awarded Senior Scholar Athlete. Husson’s McKenna Smith was tabbed Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year, and Eagles Head Coach Diann Ramsey was voted Coach of the Year by her NAC peers.

Olivia Simone, the junior catcher, earned her first NAC All-Conference Award as she closes out her historic career at Cazenovia College. For the 2023 season, she led the conference in multiple areas including overall batting average (.515), hits (69), and doubles (21). She is second in overall on-base percentage (.544), RBIs (45), and slugging percentage (1.245). Simone was able to break three Cazenovia school records this season, setting new marks for single-game RBIs, single-game doubles, and single-season doubles. Simone’s efforts on the field helped the Wildcats to a second-place finish at the 2023 NAC Softball Championship, as well as a place on the All-Tournament Team.

Alivia Turk is among the one of the conference’s top first year leaders in batting average, runs, hits, triples, and RBIs. She is also second in the NAC in runs overall (46) and conference games (23). She is also tied for first in overall triples with a total of five, third overall in hits with 52, and has 36 RBIs to finish out her stat sheet. Turk started in 31 games for the Wildcats as their center fielder and had a strong bat at the top of the Cazenovia lineup. Notable performances from her 2023 season include a season high of four hits and RBIs on April 20 versus Nazareth College, in addition to her four runs scored against SUNY Canton on April 7.

Senior pitcher McKenna Smith earned her second NAC Pitcher of the Year accolade after previously claiming the award in 2022. Smith finished the regular season with a 0.18 ERA in conference, recording 76 strikeouts in 38.0 inning pitched with a perfect 6-0 record. Additionally, Smith recorded four complete games, one save, and three shutouts while holding opponents to a .103 batting average. She also helped Husson win its fifth straight NAC softball title this past weekend, pitching all 20 innings for the Eagles. Smith was able to add to her career stat line by recording her 500th strikeout during the championship game, ranking her third in strikeouts in Division III with 235 this season. She was also named the tournament MVP, and claimed NAC Pitcher of the Week honors six times this season.

Maddie Rock has excelled both on and off the field and has been awarded the NAC’s Senior Scholar Athlete award in softball. A double major in psychology and political science with a minor in diversity, Rock holds a 3.99 cumulative GPA. She is a member and president of Alpha Chi (Top 10 of the junior and senior class) and has made President’s List every semester during her undergraduate career. She wrote and presented on the Significance of Money in Politics during her undergraduate capstone. Rock has completed internships for Thomas College’s first President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from 2021-22, and was a part of the internship program with The Washington Center and interned with Kalik & Associates in Washington D.C. during the Fall 2022 semester. Outside the campus community, Rock does community service at the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, is a camp counselor and program coordinator for the town of Bridgton, and is currently a Development Assistant at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville, Maine. She has a hand in many programs and clubs on campus including the Student Philanthropy Team, Thomas College Admissions’ Ambassadors, and as a peer tutor. As a member of the Thomas women’s soccer team (2020-2021) and softball team, she has been named to the NAC All-Academic team every season. For the 2023 softball season, she was a team captain and SAAC representative.

Husson Head Coach Diann Ramsey earned her first-ever NAC Coach of the Year award since taking over the Eagles program in September 2018. She led Husson to a perfect 10-0 conference record and a 27-12-1 overall regular season record in 2023. The Ramsey-led Husson softball team has appeared in all three NCAA regional rankings issued by the NCAA Division III Softball Committee this season, and won the 2023 NAC softball championship after going 3-0 in the post season tournament. A 2011 Husson graduate, Ramsey has coached her team to three NAC Championships and NCAA appearances.

In addition to the top conference awards, 37 student-athletes were named to the All-Conference teams, and 11 were named to the NAC Softball Sportsmanship Team. The Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who distinguish themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees have positively affected the sport’s culture and game environment by clearly demonstrating sportsmanship and integrity beyond playing rules and etiquette.

The full list of softball honorees is below:

Player of the Year – Olivia Simone, Cazenovia College
Pitcher of the Year – McKenna Smith, Husson University
Rookie of the Year – Alivia Turk, Cazenovia College
Senior Scholar Athlete – Maddie Rock, Thomas College
Coach of the Year – Diann Ramsey, Husson University

First Team East All-Conference
Dalaney Anfinson, UMaine-Presque Isle
Kelsey Currier, Thomas
Kenzie Dore, Husson
Bulla McCabe, Husson
Megan Oberholzer, Thomas
Katie Raymond, Husson
Maddie Rock, Thomas
Hailey Saylor, UMaine-Presque Isle
McKenna Smith, Husson
Victoria Valentine, Northern Vermont-Lyndon

Second Team East All-Conference
Seairra Anderson, Northern Vermont-Lyndon
Jill Bisson, Husson
Teagan Blackie, Husson
Adriana Lemieux, Northern Vermont-Lyndon
Olivia McCarty, Husson
Kiley Merritt, UMaine-Farmington
Maddie Pike, UMaine-Farmington
Zoe Stewart, UMaine-Presque Isle
Gracelyn Walsh, UMaine-Presque Isle

First Team West All-Conference
Kayla Beers, SUNY Delhi
Kimberly Birmingham, SUNY Poly
Madison Cieslak, Cazenovia
Trinity Critelli, SUNY Poly
Angelina LoPiccolo, SUNY Canton
Morgan Marl, Cazenovia
Alexis Miranda, SUNY Cobleskill
Sarah Penny, Cazenovia
Olivia Simone, Cazenovia
Alivia Turk, Cazenovia

Second Team West All-Conference
Sydney Burk, Cazenovia
Mackenzie Currie, SUNY Canton
Gabriella Ellixson, SUNY Poly
Maddelyn Hoehn, SUNY Poly
Emily Lutz, SUNY Cobleskill
Danielle Seymour, SUNY Delhi
Mackenzie Wendelken, SUNY Cobleskill
Marissa Wheeler, SUNY Cobleskill

Sportsmanship Team
SUNY Canton – Mackenzie Currie
Cazenovia – Emery Sawitzki
SUNY Cobleskill – EmmaRae Easton
SUNY Delhi – Danielle Seymour
UMaine-Farmington – Katie Hammer
Husson – Tatyanna Biamby
Northern Vermont-Johnson – Kayla Irick
Northern Vermont-Lyndon – Kazandra Gonzalez
UMaine-Presque Isle – Emily Blauvelt
SUNY Poly – Joy Stevens
Thomas – Kelsey Currier