COLONIA, NJ – The East Coast Conference (ECC) announced its softball All-Conference selections and major award winners today ahead of the ECC Softball Championship, which begins tomorrow afternoon at top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College. The Spartans, D’Youville University, and Mercy University each earned major award recipients. Those teams, along with the College of Staten Island, will compete for the ECC Championship.
 
D’Youville sophomore Frankie Morris (Lancaster, NY) was named Player of the Year, while her teammate, senior Summer Clark (Williamsville, NY), earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Mercy outfielder Emma Jackson (Marlboro, NY) and St. Thomas Aquinas pitcher Emma Grace Popp (Buffalo, NY) share Rookie of the Year honors.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Kristen Sullivan was named ECC Coach of the Year after leading the Spartans to the ECC regular-season title. The team has won 30 games and posted an 18-2 conference record. This marks Sullivan’s fifth consecutive Coach of the Year award in her 12th season at the helm.
 
Morris leads the Saints and ranks fourth in the ECC with a .441 batting average. A First Team All-Conference selection at first base, she has recorded 25 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs while posting a .703 slugging percentage. Morris also holds a 1.225 OPS and a .980 fielding percentage.
 
Clark leads both D’Youville and the ECC with a 2.04 ERA. Her 15 wins are tied for second in the conference, and she ranks second with 110 strikeouts. Clark has thrown complete games in all 13 of her starts, including two shutouts. She owns a 1.17 WHIP and has issued just 15 walks over 137.1 innings. A First Team All-Conference selection, Clark was named Pitcher of the Week three times and Player of the Week once.
 
Jackson is batting .322 with an .803 OPS, 16 RBIs, 10 walks, and eight extra-base hits. She earned Rookie of the Week honors twice. Popp led the Spartans’ pitching staff with a 16-1 record, 16 complete games, and a 3.17 ERA. She was named Pitcher of the Week twice and Rookie of the Week once, and she also earned First Team All-Conference honors.
 
The 2026 ECC Softball Championship begins tomorrow at noon, with St. Thomas Aquinas facing fourth-seeded College of Staten Island. The second game will feature No. 2 Mercy against No. 3 D’Youville. The double-elimination tournament continues Friday with three games and concludes with the championship game on Saturday.
 
All games will be played at Spartan Field on the St. Thomas Aquinas campus in Sparkill, NY. All games will be streamed live on FloCollege.
 
First Team All-Conference
C - Olivia Leon, St. Thomas Aquinas
1B – Frankie Morris, D’Youville
2B - Allison Murphy, Mercy
3B - Santiago Trinadey, St. Thomas Aquinas
SS - Averi Miller, Mercy
OF - Danielle Fenlong, D’Youville
OF - Shannon Howes, D’Youville
OF - Dylan Reyer, Mercy
DP - Sofia Marella, St. Thomas Aquinas
UTIL Player – Alyssa Bueno, Molloy
UTIL Pitcher – Caylea Campbell, Queens
UTIL Pitcher – Stevie Dabbadie, Molloy
P – Summer Clark, D’Youville
P – Emma Grace Popp, St. Thomas Aquinas
 
Second Team All-Conference
C - Mariah Cepeda, Molloy
C - Madilyn Paul, Staten Island
1B - Alyssa Haberstoh, St. Thomas Aquinas
2B - Elyse Marcano, St. Thomas Aquinas
3B - Kadie Cain, Queens
SS - Adriana Coira, St. Thomas Aquinas
OF - Emma Jackson, Mercy
OF - Abbie Morris, Staten Island
OF - Megan Wegel, Molloy
DP - Olivia Wanser, Queens
P – Lauren McSweeney, Mercy
P – Lauren Falk, St. Thomas Aquinas
P – Nellie Donahue, Queens
 
Player of the Year: Frankie Morris, D’Youville
Pitcher of the Year: Summer Clark, D’Youville
Co-Rookie of the Year: Emma Jackson, Mercy
Co-Rookie of the Year: Emma Grace Popp, St. Thomas Aquinas
Coach of the Year: Kristen Sullivan, St. Thomas Aquinas