STONY BROOK, N.Y. — After leading Stony Brook to its second-straight America East regular-season title, senior outfielder Bria Green was unanimously named the conference’s Player of the Year Wednesday evening at an awards barbecue on Stony Brook’s campus. Maine’s Alexis Bogdanovich earned Pitcher of the Year of the accolades while her head coach, Lynn Coutts, earned Coach of the Year honors and Binghamton’s Jessica Rutherford was named Rookie of the Year. The award winners and all-conference teams were determined in a vote by the league’s head coaches who could not vote for their own team.
Green, also a first-team all-conference outfielder, leads the conference in all three triple crown categories, hitting .438 with 18 home runs and 48 runs driven in. One of the top power hitters in the country, Green ranks ninth nationally in slugging percentage (.942). A three-time America East Player of the Week, she hit .478 with seven homers in 16 conference games.
Bogdanovich, a senior right-hander, was the conference’s top hurler all season, going 14-7 with a 1.54 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a league-low .193 average. Also a first-team all-league pitcher, Bogdanovich fanned 9.1 batters per 7 innings, 176 in total, while walking just 12 hitters, 0.62 per game, the second-best mark in the country. She took home five America East Pitcher of the Year awards this season.
Coutts, who’s in her fourth season as Maine’s head coach, is Coach of the Year for the first time. She led her program back to the America East Championship for the first time since the 2012 season as the Black Bears went 21-20 in the regular season, their most wins since 2010 and best winning percentage since 2009. Led by Bogdanovich, Maine boasts a league-best 2.61 team ERA.
Rutherford, a freshman outfielder who also earned second-team honors, is the third Bearcat to to be named Rookie of the Year and the second in three seasons. She ranks ninth in the conference with a .352 batting average and eighth in runs scored with 31. The league leader among rookies in slugging (.533), won a pair of Rookie of the Week honors this season.
Joining Bogdanovich as a first-team all-league Pitcher is Cukrov, a three-time selection while Binghamton’s Lisa Cadogan was the first-catcher. The first-team infielders are Binghamton’s Taylor Chaffee (first base), Albany’s double play tandem of Kelly Costello (second base) and Maggie Cocks (shortstop) and Stony Brook freshman Chelsea Evans (third base). Green is joined by three others as first-team outfielders, including teammate Shayla Giosia, Albany’s Vicky McFarland and Binghamton’s Sydney Harbaugh. Stony Brook’s Lauren Kamachi (designated player) and Albany’s Alexa Toole (utility player) round out the first team.
UMBC’s Jessica Holte and Stony Brook’s Jane Sallen are the second-team hurlers while Albany’s Elizabeth Snow, last season’s Rookie of the Year, is the second-team catcher. Maine has three of the four second-team infielders, first baseman Nikki Byron, second baseman Kristen Koslosky and shortstop Felicia Lennon. Binghamton’s Kate Richard rounds out the second-team infield as the third baseman. Maine’s EmJ Fogel and UMBC’s Tori Alexander join Rutherford in the second-team outfield with Albany’s Marlin Solano (designated player) and UMBC’s Kelly Lane (utility player) rounding out the team.
Eleven players earned All-Rookie honors, including Rutherford, Alexander, Evans and Richard along with Albany hurlers Devin Durando and Erynn Sobieski, Binghamton’s Stephanie Bielec, Hartford’s Jamie Soles, Maine’s Erika Leonard, UMBC’s Emily Neal and UMass Lowell’s Vanessa Cooper.
Bogdanovich, Cocks, Costello, Cukrov and Snow are also All-Academic honorees after excelling on the field and sustaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA in the classroom. Joining the quartet are Hartford’s Maggie Betz and Peyton Fisher, UMBC’s Kaelin Jackson and UMass Lowell’s Ariana Darcy and Marielle Handley. Those selections were chosen by a committee made up of America East sports information directors, academic advisors and faculty athletic representatives.
Thirty-five of the 46 All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic sections will be in action at the 2015 America East Softball Championship, which will be held at Stony Brook University May 7-9.