ALFRED, NY – Alfred University's Samantha Vidal (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill) was named the Empire 8 Softball Defensive Player of the Year to lead the selection of seven Saxons to All-Empire 8 Honors.
 
Vidal also earned All-Empire 8 First Team recognition. She was joined by Kendall Steward (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) and Paris Guzman (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) as members of the First Team. Molly Whitmyer (Enola, PA/Trinity) and Ally Boulger (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak) were both selected to the All-Empire 8 Second Team. Brielle Wark (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) and Ava Galvan (Santa Fe Springs, CA/Santa Fe) were both member of the All-E8 Third Team.

"Super proud of all the players who were selected as E8 all conference picks," Head Coach Luke Wesneski said. "Their hard work and tireless dedication to this program is truly appreciated. After a slow start and some early season adversity, we were able to turn the corner and finish strong and that's a testament to the leadership of this program and the work ethic of not only the all-conference players, but everyone involved with this team! Great work ladies!"
 
Vidal has had a strong season thus far, in particular, when it comes to her base running. In just her junior season, Vidal already is No. 2 all-time in stolen bases with 126, posting 49 for the year, just three shy of tying the school record of 52 held by Ashley Lugo '23 (Lugo has 164 career stolen bases for the school record). Vidal is batting .397 with 58 hits, five doubles and three triples while also recording two inside-the-park home runs. She has reached home plate 48 times this season and has driven in an additional 17 runs. Defensively, Vidal has 88 putouts and three assists. She earned Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week once and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Steward was an all-around threat to opponents whether it was pitching, hitting, playing third base or playing second base. She batted a .449 with 62 hits, 17 doubles, 10 home runs and three triples while driving in 46 runs and scoring 44 herself. Steward tacked on nine stolen bases. Inside of the circle, Steward went 13-7 with one save and retired batters 84 times in 114.2 innings pitched. She did not commit a single error while in the circle and totaled 21 putouts and 39 assists with only two errors while playing another field position. Steward was named the 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player, named to the All-Tournament Team, was named a Co-Pitcher of the Week and a three-time Saxon of the Week.
 
Guzman was the top catcher in the conference with a dangerous arm, throwing out players attempting to steal bases 14 times. She totaled 163 putouts with 32 assists. Guzman batted a .312 with 29 hits, seven doubles and three home runs while adding 20 RBI and 17 runs. She had three stolen bases.
 
Whitmyer batted a .405 with 51 hits, 13 doubles and nine home runs while driving in 53 RBI and scoring 27 runs. She tacked on three stolen bases. In the field, she totaled 207 putouts with eight assists. Whitmyer was named an Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week for the season.
 
Boulger had a breakout season, batting a .362 with 42 hits, 11 doubles and seven home runs while driving in 26 runs and scoring 31 herself. She tacked on three stolen bases and had three sacrificed hits and two sacrificed flyouts. She had 51 assists and 50 putouts. Boulger was named to the Empire 8 All-Tournament Team, named an Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week and named a Saxon of the Week.
 
Wark batted a .346 with 37 hits, nine doubles, two triple and two home runs with 19 RBI and 21 runs, adding six stolen bases. She totaled 20 putouts and one assist.
 
Galvan pitched in 97.0 innings with 61 strikeouts to reach a record of 9-1 with five saves. She picked up three saves alone in the Empire 8 Tournament to move her up in the national rankings. She added 21 assists and six putouts to her inaugural season stats with no errors. Galvan had three at-bats with one hit that resulted in two runs scoring.
 
Destiny Avila (Long Beach, CA/St. Anthony) was named Alfred's representative to the Empire 8 Tomorrow's Leaders listing. This honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they "compete with honor and integrity" and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
 
The Saxons will next turn their sights towards the regional round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament.