Fresh off their ninth Liberty League Tournament Championship in program history, the 24th-ranked University of Rochester softball team garnered three major awards and saw nine earn All-Liberty League honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
 
URochester junior Riley Laygo was named the Liberty League Softball Player of the Year, senior Molly Broccolo was selected as the Liberty League Softball Pitcher of the Year, and the 'Jackets' coaching staff, led by Head Coach Abby Hurley-Martin, received Coaching Staff of the Year accolades.
 
Five Yellowjackets earned First-Team All-Liberty League honors: Broccolo, Laygo, Marie Kinchington, Rowan Mulholland and Jensen Sminchak, while two were selected to the Second Team: Ally Kim and Katelyn Wade, and Savanna Hernandez and Maddie White received Honorable Mention honors.
 
Rochester topped the regular season standings in the Liberty League, going 13-1 in conference play to earn the top seed in the Liberty League Tournament. The Yellowjackets then won the Liberty League Tournament to earn the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament, twice defeating No. 2-seeded Ithaca on Saturday to win the conference championship.
 
Coaching Staff of the Year:
Abby Hurley-Martin, Cass Platt, Emily Doherty, Rosella Gomez, Bradley Shannon – 1st Coaching Staff of the Year honor; After being picked to finish third in the preseason poll, the Yellowjackets went 35-8 (13-1 LL) in their third season under Hurley-Martin and co., winning both the Liberty League regular season and tournament titles to make their 12th NCAA appearance in program history. Rochester's 35 wins are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, while Rochester's nine all-conference honorees and three major awards under Hurley-Martin are the program's most since 2021. Rochester set numerous offensive records this year under Hurley-Martin and co., tallying the most runs, hits, home runs and RBI in program history, and ranks first or second in the Liberty League in nearly every statistical category, with an offense that currently ranks top 10 in Division III.
 
Player of the Year/First Team:
Riley Laygo (JR, UTL, Hacienda Heights, CA/Whittier Christian) – 5th All-LL honor (2024 POTY, 2024 1st TM, 2025 1st TM); Laygo not only led Rochester's offense in nearly every statistical category, but also led the Liberty League in nine different offensive categories. The junior appeared in and started all 43 games for the 'Jackets, batting .534 (79-for-148) with 20 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 65 runs scored and 69 RBI. Laygo compiled a .575 on-base percentage and a 1.047 slugging percentage, drawing 16 walks and one hit-by-pitch, while striking out just 12 times. The Hacienda Heights, CA native also went 24-for-26 in stole base attempts, and was impressive in the field as well, with a team-best .990 fielding percentage. Against conference foes, Laygo slashed .560/.596/1.220, with a 1.816 OPS that was nearly 300 points better than any other qualified hitter in conference play. Laygo also leads NCAA DIII in total bases (155) and ranks second in both slugging and hits, and third in home runs, runs scored and RBI.
 
Pitcher of the Year/First Team
Molly Broccolo (SR, P, Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) – 5th All-LL honor (2023 1st TM, 2024 1st TM, 2025 1st TM); For the fourth-consecutive year, Broccolo was again the ace of Rochester's staff, compiling a team-best 19-5 record, 2.41 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 133.2 innings pitched. In 29 starts and 35 total appearances, Broccolo allowed 46 earned runs on 141 hits, walking 41 and striking out a team-high 141 batters. The senior pitched five complete games and seven shutouts, two solo and five combined, and notched two saves, holding opponents to a .255 batting average. Broccolo led the conference in innings pitched and wins, and ranked in the top five in ERA, strikeouts and saves. In conference play, Broccolo went undefeated with a 9-0 record, a 0.91 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 46.1 innings pitched, holding Liberty League opponents to a .223 batting average and just 15 runs, six earned, with 14 walks and 43 strikeouts.
 
First Team:
Marie Kinchington (SR, DP, Presto, PA/Chartiers Valley) – 1st All-LL honor; Kinchington had a breakout campaign as the Yellowjackets' designated player in 2026, batting .345/.444/.602 with two doubles, nine home runs, 21 runs scored and 36 RBI. The senior drew a team-high 19 walks and one hit-by-pitch, batting in the heart of Rochester's order for much of the season. Kinchington's season featured a team-best 23-game on-base streak from March 21 to April 26, while the senior also compiled 10 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games, including a two-homer, five-RBI performance at St. John Fisher on March 21. In Liberty League play, Kinchington batted .350 (14-for-40) with a .469  on-base and .600 slugging, marks that rank top 10 in the conference. Overall, Kinchington ranked top 10 in the Liberty League in on-base, slugging, home runs, walks and RBI, as well as top 50 in Division III with her nine home runs.
 
Rowan Mulholland (SR, C, Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) – 2nd All-LL honor (2025 HM); Mulholland started all 43 games for the Yellowjackets and 39-of-43 behind home plate, including all 14 conference games, and every game of the Liberty League Tournament. For the year, Mulholland batted .365 (50-for-137) with 10 doubles, six home runs, 29 runs scored and 46 RBI, adding 16 walks, a hit-by-pitch and one stolen base. The senior compiled a .427 on-base percentage and a .569 slugging percentage and caught four runners stealing from behind home plate. Mulholland had 12 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances and opened the season with a 12-game hitting streak. In conference play, Mulholland batted .383/.426/.569, while statistically, Mulholland ranked second in the Liberty League in RBI, as well as top six in both hits and home runs, ranking top 55 in DIII with her six dingers.
 
Jensen Sminchak (SR, OF, Euclid, OH/Andrews Osborne Academy) – 1st All-LL honor; Statistically, Sminchak was Rochester's second-best hitter behind Laygo, batting .408 (53-for-130) with seven doubles, a team-high five triples, four home runs, 42 runs scored and 43 RBI. Sminchak compiled a .477 on-base percentage and a .631 slugging percentage, while drawing a team-high 19 walks and stealing 18 bases in 19 attempts. In the field, Sminchak started all 43 games in center field and did not make an error in 42 chances. This season, Sminchak had 17 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games, including a season-high six RBI at Skidmore on April 17, one of two games Sminchak hit a grand slam in. The junior ranked in the top five of the Liberty League in eight statistical categories, tied for league-leading five triples, and hit .444/.537/.711 in Liberty League play. Currently riding an eight-game on-base streak, Sminchak also had a 14-game hitting streak midway through the year.
 
Second Team:
Ally Kim (JR, IF, Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley) – 4th All-LL honor (2022 1st TM, 2022 ROTY, 2023 1st TM); Kim turned in a stellar campaign for the Yellowjackets appeared and starting all 43 games at shortstop and hitting .367 (55-for-150) with eight doubles, two triples, 54 runs scored and 17 RBI. Kim drew 17 walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out just 10 times, and was an absolute menace on the basepaths, with 42 stolen bases in 44 attempts. Kim's 42 steals lead the Liberty League and rank 14th in NCAA Division III and are the third-most in a single season in program history, behind only Kim's first-year and sophomore campaigns. In addition to a .433 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging, Kim had 18 multi-hit games and three multi-RBI performances and turned five double plays in the field. The junior also ranked second in the conference behind Laygo in hits and runs scored and hit .321 in Liberty League play and was a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen base attempts.
 
Katelyn Wade (JR, OF, Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy) – 1st All-LL honor; Wade appeared in and started 41 games for the Yellowjackets in left field, slashing .342/.439/.496 with 40 hits, eight doubles, two triples, two home runs, 27 runs scored and 26 RBI. On the bases, Wade also contributed 12 steals in 13 attempts, while drawing 16 walks and five hit-by-pitches, compiling a .439 on-base percentage and a .496 slugging percentage. Wade had nine multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games this season, with several clutch performances, including the go-ahead RBI single in game six of the Liberty League Tournament against Ithaca on Saturday. In conference play, Wade also upped her game, batting .357 (15-for-42) with a .438 on-base percentage and a .548 slugging. Wade's best performance of the year came against Union on April 6, as the junior went 2-for-3 with a home run, run scored and four RBI.
 
Honorable Mention:
Savanna Hernandez (FY, IF, Los Angeles, CA/Saint Monica Prep) – 1st All-LL honor; Hernandez appeared in and started 26 games for URochester at second base before missing the rest of the regular season with an injury. Over those 26 games, the first-year batted .370 (27-for-73) with six doubles, a triple, three home runs, 20 runs scored and 20 RBI. Hernandez walked five times and drew one hit-by-pitch, compiling a .418 on-base percentage and a .603 slugging percentage, while stealing six bases in as many attempts. The first-year also upped her game in conference play before injury, with a .391 average, .440 on-base percentage and .913 slugging in the eight Liberty League games she played in. Hernandez ranked among the top-five rookies in the Liberty League in several statistical categories, and would rank among the top 20 overall had she had the at-bats to qualify.
 
Maddie White (SR, P, McLean, VA/Langley) – 1st All-LL honor; White formed an impressive 1-2 punch with Broccolo in the circle, appearing in 26 games and making 13 starts with a 13-3 record, 2.58 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. In 97.2 innings pitched, White allowed 56 runs, just 36 of which were earned, on 93 hits, walked 26 and struck out 102 batters, holding opponents to a .243 average. The senior pitched four complete games, two combined shutouts and notched a team and league-high four saves. White also led the conference in opponent batting average, while ranking in the top five in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. In conference play, White went 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, striking out 45 batters in 37.0 innings pitched, while the McLean, VA native's best performance came in the Liberty League Tournament, where she pitched Rochester to the championship game with a complete-game against Ithaca, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five.