Softball | 5/6/2026 3:14:00 PM

Saint Francis softball's Sofia Zielinski was named to the All-NEC first team, while Olivia Hood earned a spot on the NEC All-Rookie Team, the conference announced Wednesday.

After being named to the All-Rookie Team last season, Zielinski showcased her skills again, finishing her second season with the Red Flash as the team leader in several categories, including batting average (.452), on-base plus slugging (1.348), slugging percentage (.831), on-base percentage (.517), hits (56), home runs (12), total bases (103), and runs scored (34). Few sophomores have had a season as impressive as Zielinski's. After breaking the all-time single-season batting average record set in 2021 by McKenzie Saban, she also set a new program record for slugging percentage, surpassing Jordan Seneca's .736 from 2017. This earned her recognition for the second consecutive year, this time being named to the All-NEC first team for the first time in her career.

This season, Hood proved to be a key contributor to the Saint Francis offense as a freshman. She finished her campaign with a .304 batting average, including 41 hits, two home runs, and 21 RBIs, earning three NEC Rookie of the Week awards and a spot on the NEC All-Rookie Team.

These underclassmen are the 101st and 102nd players in program history to receive NEC recognition. Zielinski is the 57th player named to the All-NEC first team, and Hood is the 14th all-time player selected for the All-Rookie Team.