NEW YORK – The BIG EAST announced its 2025 softball regular season and all-conference award winners on Tuesday, ahead of the 2025 BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep scheduled for May 7-10 at the Villanova Softball Complex. The major award winners as well as the first and second team honorees were decided by a coaches’ vote based on performance in conference this season.
UConn catcher Grace Jenkins headlined the awards, earning BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. Fellow Husky Cat Petteys was named Freshman of the Year. St. John’s pitcher Ana Serafinko was recognized as the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. Teammate London Jarrard and Creighton’s Ashten Pierson garnered Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. Led by head coach Michelle DePolo, St. John’s was honored as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Jenkins earned the BIG EAST’s top individual honor after leading the league in doubles (12), runs (33), total bases (77), and on-base percentage (.580) against BIG EAST competitors. Her 12 doubles in conference play tied the single-season record set in 2022. The junior owned a team-best .475 batting average and .963 slugging percentage, contributing nine home runs and 33 RBI in 80 at bats. Behind the plate, the California native registered 86 putouts while fielding .978. Overall, she led the league in RBI (64), doubles (19), home runs (19), total bases (142), and slugging percentage (.888) while hitting a second-best .416. She was the 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Petteys led the league’s rookies following a standout freshman campaign in which she registered nine doubles, 10 home runs, 29 runs scored, and 31 RBI while batting .427 in conference play. She logged 42 putouts while fielding .926 at shortstop. Overall, the New York native launched 12 home runs, the most by a freshman in program history. On March 22, Petteys was named the D1 National Freshman of the week after leading the Huskies past DePaul (.583, 7 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 R, 9 RBI). She was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week six times, earning four consecutive nods to end the regular season.
Pierson repeats as one of the league’s top defensive players after becoming the first freshman in BIG EAST history to collect Defensive Player of the Year accolades in 2024. During the 2025 conference campaign the sophomore started all 24 contests at shortstop, logging 42 putouts and 45 assists while fielding .946. Her efforts helped Creighton lead the league in total putouts (519) against BIG EAST opponents. Overall, she led the Bluejays with 87 assists.
Jarrard also garnered Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors after making all 24 BIG EAST starts at shortstop. She was perfect in the field, logging 22 putouts and contributing 44 assists without error. The senior helped the Red Storm lead the league in team fielding percentage (.976) while ranking second in putouts (491). Additionally, Jarrard paced the Red Storm with a .380 in-conference batting average.
Serafinko is the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year following a record-breaking year that saw the junior set a new BIG EAST single-season strikeout mark with 153 punchouts, upending the previous conference-best of 132 set in 2012. In conference play, the California product tossed a league-leading 105.1 innings while earning a BIG EAST-best 12 wins. She held conference opponents to .208 batting while owning a 2.59 ERA. On March 14, she registered the most strikeouts in a single game this season with 17 versus Georgetown. Serafinko was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week four times this season, the most by a Johnnie in program history.
In just her second year at the helm, head coach Michele DePolo leads the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Her staff includes assistant coaches Marissa Rizzi and Sean Crowell. Under DePolo, the Red Storm owned a program-best 39-15-1 (19-5) record en route to claiming the BIG EAST regular season crown for the first time since 2019. Her team took seven of its eight series, including four sweeps, to enter the BIG EAST Championship as the No. 1 seed. Through BIG EAST regular season play, DePolo’s squad led the conference in wins (19), earned run average (2.61), opposing batting average (.227), strikeouts (216), and fielding percentage (.976).
UConn led the All-Conference teams with seven selections, five of whom appeared on the first team. St. John’s followed with five honorees including a pair of first team selections. Seton Hall and Creighton earned four picks a piece with two Bluejays appearing on the first team. Villanova garnered a trio of first team accolades followed by Butler with a pair of first team selections. Providence and DePaul rounded out the Second Team with the Friars earning two selections and the Blue Demons collecting one.
Husky outfielder Lexi Hastings is a four-time All-BIG EAST selection. Butler’s Cate Lehner, UConn’s Grace Jenkins and Payton Kinney, and Seton Hall’s Kelsey Carr earn their third All-Conference nods. Butler’s Sydney Carter, UConn’s Rosie Garcia and Hope Jenkins, St. John’s Ana Serafinko, Jess Bianco, and London Jarrard, Seton Hall’s Olivia Gilbert, and Villanova’s Kat Gallant are two-time honorees.
2025 BIG EAST Softball Major Awards & All-Conference Teams
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year: Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John’s
BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Ashten Pierson, So., SS, Creighton & London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John’s
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John’s
All-BIG EAST First Team^
Sydney Carter, Sr., 2B, Butler
Cate Lehner, Jr., OF, Butler*
Kaitlyn Breslin, So., OF, UConn
Rosie Garcia, Sr., 3B, UConn*
Grace Jenkins, Jr., C, UConn*
Payton Kinney, Gr., P, UConn
Cat Petteys, Fr., SS, UConn
Sydney Potter, So.,1B, Creighton
Sydra Seville, Sr., OF, Creighton
Loreley Francia, Jr., P, St. John’s
Ana Serafinko, Jr., P, St. John’s
Kat Gallant, Jr., P, Villanova
Maranda Runco, So., DP, Villanova
Kelsey White, Sr., UT/P, Villanova*
^Denotes a tie in voting
*Denotes a unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Lexi Hastings, Sr., OF, UConn
Hope Jenkins, Jr., P, UConn
Kaelan Schultz, So., DP, Creighton
Lily West, Jr., C, Creighton
Baylee Cosgrove, Sr., 2B, DePaul
Victoria Grifone, Gr., P, Providence
Elisa Smith, Jr., OF, Providence
Jess Bianco, Jr., OF, St. John’s
London Jarrard, Sr., SS, St. John’s
Madison Konopka, Fr., 3B, St. John’s
Kelsey Carr, Gr., DP, Seton Hall
Olivia Gilbert, Sr., 1B, Seton Hall
Caroline Hobbes, Jr., 2B, Seton Hall
Kyra Kreuscher, Jr., P, Seton Hall
^Denotes a tie in voting