WATERVILLE, Maine – The 2026 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Baseball postseason awards have been released. Awards include Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Senior Scholar Athlete, Coaching Staff of the Year, and First Team and Second All-Conference honors.
Husson junior outfielder
Matt Holmes (Bangor, Maine) has been named the 2026 NAC Baseball Player of the Year, while Vermont State University graduate student
Carlos Rodriguez (La Mirada, Calif.) earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Thomas College first-year infielder/outfielder
Ajay Rychcik (Apex, N.C.) was selected as Rookie of the Year, and UMaine-Farmington senior
Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) claimed the 2026 NAC Baseball Senior Scholar Athlete award. Rounding out the major awards,
SUNY Cobleskill earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Each season, the NAC names a Sportsmanship Team, with one honoree per institution nominated by their head coach. This recognition is awarded to individuals who demonstrate exceptional sportsmanship and positively impact the culture of track & field with integrity beyond the sport’s requirements. The seven NAC Sportsmanship Team honorees are listed below.
Player of the Year – Matt Holmes, Husson University
Holmes has put together one of the better years for Husson baseball, leading the NAC in the regular season in batting average (.403), on-base percentage (.520), slugging percentage (.782), OPS (1.302), hits (48), RBIs (55) and total bases (93), while tying for the league-lead in home runs (9) and placing third in both doubles (12) and walks (27). Holmes has had multiple hits in 15 of his 36 regular season games played, including six games of at least three hits and two games with four hits.
In conference games, Holmes has taken his game to a different level, leading the NAC in batting average by nearly .030, in addition to holding significant leads in the same categories he leads the league in overall. Holmes has been named NAC player of the week three times this season, in addition to Maine College Baseball and Softball Association Player of the Week once.
This marks Holmes’ second NAC Baseball major award honor after earning Rookie of the Year recognition in 2024. He also garners First Team All-Conference honors for the third consecutive season.
Pitcher of the Year – Carlos Rodriguez, Vermont State University Lyndon
The Hornets’ Rodriguez earned Pitcher of the Year honors after posting a 2.31 ERA, 5-3-1 overall record (4-2-1 NAC), and 49 strikeouts across 58.1 regular season innings. He limited opposing hitters to a .129 batting average while issuing just seven walks during the regular season. His performance on the mound also earned him First Team All-Conference honors for the first time in his career.
The graduate student also delivered a standout performance in the 2026 NAC Baseball Tournament, tossing eight innings in Lyndon’s close contest against Husson while striking out eight batters and allowing no earned runs. Including his postseason appearance, Rodriguez finished the season with a 2.04 ERA. Rodriguez currently leads the NAC in ERA, strikeouts (57), earned runs allowed (15), and walks allowed (10). Nationally, he ranks among the top 30 in NCAA Division III in both ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.70).
Over his four-year career at Lyndon, Rodriguez compiled a 4.71 ERA with 180 strikeouts and a 13-13-1 record across 206.1 innings pitched, including eight complete games.
Rookie of the Year – Ajay Rychcik, Thomas College
Terriers’ rookie Rychcik made an immediate impact in his first collegiate season, primarily hitting in the 3-5 spots in the lineup while also transitioning to a new defensive position, where he committed just two errors in the regular season. Among NAC rookies, he was the only player to finish in the top five of every major offensive category.
Rychcik totaled 40 hits (1st among rookies, T-11th overall), 39 RBI (1st among rookies, 4th overall), nine doubles (1st among rookies, T-6th overall), seven home runs (1st among rookies, T-3rd overall), a .320 batting average (5th among rookies, 19th overall), and 23 runs scored (5th among rookies, T-25th overall). He also earned multiple NAC Rookie of the Week honors, along with Maine Baseball and Softball Coaches Association Rookie of the Week recognition.
During the Terriers’ run in the NAC Baseball Tournament, Rychcik continued his strong play at the plate, batting .667 (12-for-18) with four doubles, three stolen bases, two walks, and an RBI as Thomas finished tournament runner-up.
Across both regular season and postseason play, Rychcik ranked among the Terriers’ top two hitters in most offensive categories.
Senior Scholar Athlete – Jameson Bloch, UMaine-Farmington
Bloch has been named the 2026 NAC Baseball Senior Scholar Athlete after excelling both academically and athletically throughout his collegiate career.
Bloch maintained a 3.8 GPA while earning Dean’s List recognition six times, including four semesters with High Honors distinction. A Business Psychology major with a concentration in marketing, he also pursued minors in business communications and coaching.
He has held internships with the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, where he assisted with grant projection spreadsheets for more than 60 grants and developed a new formatting system for projections. At the University of Maine at Farmington Athletic Department, Bloch served as both an Athletic Administration and Athletic Communications intern. His responsibilities included creating a student-athlete handbook, assisting with event operations, managing website content and student-athlete biographies for GoUMFBeavers.com, producing social media graphics through Adobe Photoshop, and utilizing statistical archives to update athletic record books.
A leader on campus and within the athletic department, Bloch served as team captain during his senior season and was a member of SAAC for three years, including one year as UMF SAAC Secretary. He currently represents the conference as the NCAA Division III National SAAC representative and was able to attend the 2026 NCAA Convention held in National Harbor, Maryland. He also served as the Morgan’s Message representative and as a student employee within the athletics department at Farmington for three years.
On the field, Bloch earned NAC All-Academic honors three times (2023-25) and CSC Academic All-District recognition twice (2024, 2025). He was named to the 2025 NAC Second Team All-Conference squad and also earned NAC Player of the Week, NAC Pitcher of the Week, and Maine Baseball and Softball Coaches Association Player of the Week honors during his career.
Coaching Staff of the Year – SUNY Cobleskill
The 2026 NAC Baseball Coaching Staff of the Year honors go to SUNY Cobleskill, led by four-year Head Coach
Austin Straub. He is joined by assistant coaches
Ryan Fay and
Chris Champlin. Straub and his staff led Cobleskill to their sixth consecutive NAC Tournament appearance this spring, capping a 20-21 season that included a 16-8 record in conference play. The Tigers secured the No. 2 seed for the 2026 NAC Tournament, during which Cobleskill went 1-2.
Major Awards
Player of the Year: Matt Holmes, Husson University
Pitcher of the Year: Carlos Rodriguez, Vermont State University Lyndon
Rookie of the Year: Ajay Rychcik, Thomas College
Senior Scholar Athlete: Jameson Bloch, UMaine-Farmington
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Cobleskill
First Team All-Conference
P – Carlos Rodriquez, VTSU Lyndon
P – Connor Mulligan, SUNY Cobleskill
RP – Noah Hurd, Husson University
C – Gerlys Martinez, Lesley University
1B – Cam Rendell, Husson University
2B – Ryan Lansing, SUNY Cobleskill
SS – Jeffrey Guttierrez, SUNY Cobleskill
3B – Preston Libby, Husson University
UT – Brady Vincent, UMaine-Farmington
OF – Matt Holmes, Husson University
OF – Tony Woodie, SUNY Cobleskill
OF – Logan Firment, SUNY Cobleskill
Second Team All-Conference
DJ Cagnina, Thomas College
Jacob Nemergut, Lesley University
Ajay Rychchik, Thomas College
Hayden Dippner, Thomas College
Kyle Delano, Thomas College
Henry Lausier, Husson University
Tyler Rosa, UMaine-Farmington
Ian Libby, Thomas College
Gus Hollen, Thomas College
Colin Marshall, Husson University
Roy Lenhard, Lesley University
Garrett Chadwick, UMaine-Presque Isle
Sportsmanship Team
Gage Eggleston, Thomas College
Alexander Juhasz, Lesley University
Jackson Lizzotte, Husson University
Andrew Lovejoy, Vermont State University Lyndon
Ian Michaud, UMaine-Presque Isle
Sam Parsell, UMaine-Farmington
Jesus Sarda, SUNY Cobleskill