ALFRED, NY – Alfred University's Jessica Remm (Carmel, IN/Carmel) was named the Empire 8 Softball Defensive Player of the Year on Monday afternoon, highlighting the seven All-Conference selections for the Saxons.
 
Remm also earned All-Empire 8 First Team honors. She was joined by Delaney Prather (North East, PA/North East), Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph), Meghan Neto (Miami, FL/Doral Academy Charter) and Molly Whitmyer (Enola, PA/Trinity) as members of the All-Empire 8 First Team. Abigail Gatza (Burlington, ON, Canada/Assumption Catholic) and Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) were both members of the All-Empire 8 Second Team.
 
"Incredibly proud of not only the players who were selected All-Conference, but this entire team and what they were able to accomplish this year," Head Coach Luke Wesneski said. "It was a tough weather year with a lot of reschedules, and they just rolled with the punches and never complained, and stuck together as a unit. There were a lot of amazing individual performances, but nothing tops what they were able to accomplish as ONE team! Congratulations to all the girls who were selected All-Conference, but also to every player on this team and our amazing coaching staff. Row the boat!"
 
Remm had a standout season, finishing the regular season and Empire 8 Championships with a perfect, 1.000 fielding percentage. She was named the Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week twice and Saxon of the Week five times. At the end of the regular season, Remm broke the single season record for RBI at SUNY Poly with her 55^th and continued to add to it to where she broke the Empire 8 record, held by Laura Remia of Ithaca College in 2001 with 63 RBI, recording her 65^th on Saturday afternoon to help the Saxons go undefeated in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament with a win over St. John Fisher University. Her game-winning home run also clinched her the AU and Empire 8 record for single season runs scored, surpassing Alfred University great and All-American, Liz Thompson '17 and her record of 56 runs scored in 2015.
 
Remm finished the regular season and E8 Championships with a batting average of .481 with 65 hits on 135 at-bats. 16 of those hits were doubles, 11 were home runs and five were triples. Her slugging percentage was as close to perfect as one could get, reaching .919. She was walked 13 times and hit-by-pitch five times. Remm was only struck out five times on the year. She was a perfect, 20-for-20 in stolen base attempts. She added four sacrificed flies and one sac-bunt. This was the second year in a row where she had a perfect fielding percentage, recording 69 putouts and assisting in one more from center field.
 
Steward was perfect against Empire 8 opponents, both in the regular season and all four games of the Empire 8 Championships, going 16-0. She posted a 23-2 record overall on the season and so far in the post season, only dropping games to nationally-ranked opponents, Gettysburg and Ithaca. Her wins broke the school record for most in a single season, held by former teammate, Megan Bennett '24. She added one save to her resume against Saint Joseph's (ME) during the Florida Spring Break trip. In total, Steward struck out batters 140 times in her 157.0 innings pitched. Steward was named an Empire 8 Softball Co-Pitcher of the Week twice and Saxon of the Week once. She also stood out in the batter's box, hitting a .372 batting average with 35 hits. Six of those were double, three were home runs and one was a triple. Steward drove in 22 runs while scoring 23 times herself. Defensively, she had 34 assists and nine putouts with one error for a .977 fielding percentage.
 
Prather posted her best season to date as a Saxon, batting a .440 with 44 hits during 100 at-bats. 11 of those hits were doubles while driving in 21 runs and scoring 27 times herself. Prather stole five bases on the year. She recorded 59 putouts and 32 assists with a .948 fielding percentage.
 
Neto had multiple career-highs during her senior season. Notably, she totaled 41 hits with a batting average of .366, driving in 29 runs and crossing home plate 31 times. Out of her hits, five were home runs and 12 were doubles. She was hit-by-pitch 12 times and walked 14 times. For her career, Neto was hit 42 times, far surpassing the previous record of 38, held by Dana Torchia '16 while her 12 times this season ties Torchia's record for a single season. 2025 was the first season for Neto playing shortstop where she had 61 assists and 55 putouts.
 
Whitmyer was a 2025 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Player of the Year Watchlist for Region III selection. She transferred in from Division II Lock Haven University and had a statement season, batting a .442 with 57 hits. She totaled 13 doubles, nine home runs and one triple while driving in 49 runs and scoring 31 times herself. Whitmyer totaled three stolen bases and three sacrificed flies while being walked 12 times. Defensively, she had 208 putouts with nine assists and only one error at first base, sporting a .995 fielding percentage.
 
Speedy Vidal continues to impress on the bases, recording 41 stolen bases, besting her first-year season total of 32. She had 49 hits with 52 runs and 18 RBI. Out of her hits, three were doubles, one was a triple and one was an in-the-park home run. Defensively, she had 70 putouts and five assists from right field.
 
Gatza was named an Empire 8 Player of the Week once and was one of the Empire 8 Torchbearer Award winners, posting the highest GPA out of the two teams competing for the E8 Championship Crown. She batted a .435 with 57 hits, eight doubles and seven home runs while driving in 40 runs and scoring 28 times herself. At third base, Gatza had 66 assists and 32 putouts with five errors for a .951 fielding percentage.
 
Ty Thomas (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) was named Alfred University's selection for the Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year. The Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. Thomas has distinguished herself, consistently exhibiting the critical traits as an outstanding sportswoman.