Five members of the University of Rochester softball team: seniors Rowan Mulholland, Jensen Sminchak, Ilana Wiess and Maddie White, and junior Julianna Lyons, received College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors, as announced by the CSC on Tuesday.
 
The 2025-26 CSC Academic All-District® Softball Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average. Position players must have competed in at least 90 percent or must have started at least 66 percent of an institution's contests, while pitchers must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched at least 35 innings.
 
Now a two-time Academic All-District honoree, Mulholland turned in another stellar season behind home plate for the Yellowjackets, capped off with First-Team All-Liberty League and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Second-Team All-Region honors. Starting nearly every game at catcher, Mulholland appeared in and started 46 contests, batting .367 (55-for-150) with 10 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 32 runs scored and 50 RBI. The senior ranked in the top five in the Liberty League in hits, home runs and RBI, ranking 38th in NCAA Division III with her 50 runs batted in.
 
A digital media studies major with a concentrated psychology minor, Mulholland is a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete. On campus, Mulholland worked as a creative assistant in the Athletic Communications office and held internships with the Trenton Thunder and Rochester Red Wings. Currently working for the Philadelphia Phillies, Mulholland has also volunteered with the Hearts of Skylar and several Adopt-a-Family programs during the holidays.
 
Sminchak earned both First-Team All-Liberty League and First-Team All-Region honors this season after putting together a sensational senior campaign. The Euclid, OH native slashed .403/.479/.612 with 56 hits, seven doubles, five triples, four home runs, 44 runs scored and 45 RBI. Sminchak also drew 22 walks and went 20-for-21 on stolen base attempts. The senior started every game in centerfield this season for URochester and posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, with two assists and one double play. Sminchak ranked in the top 10 in the Liberty League in 11 categories, leading the conference in triples while ranking 51st nationally.
 
Off the field, Sminchak majored in chemical engineering and was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and URfellowship. A two-time Academic All-District selection and a three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree, Sminchak was also named an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete this past fall. The senior has received several scholarships, including the George Eastman Young Leader's Award, is on the Dean's List, and was named the Chemical Engineering TA of the Year in 2026, having TA'd for multiple classes, including CHEM 131 and CHE 242. This summer, Sminchak will be moving into a full-time position in research and development at KraftHeinz in Chicago, IL.
 
Weiss took over a starting role this season, appearing in 38 games and making 36 starts. In 86 at-bats, the senior batted .337 with a double, 14 runs scored and 15 RBI, drawing 11 walks and three hit-by-pitches while striking out just 10 times. Weiss also compiled a .426 on-base percentage and a .349 slugging percentage while hitting one sacrifice fly and laying down seven sacrifice bunts. Defensively, Weiss also helped turn two double plays, including the first triple play in program history against Southern Virginia on March 13.
 
The Scottsdale, AZ native graduated with a degree in political science, with minors in statistics and psychology. A three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, Weiss also received the Jay F. Birdsall Memorial Award for 2026 and the Dean Josephine C. Asbury Award for Commitment to Community. On campus, Weiss served as the Chief Justice of the All-Campus Judicial Council and as a peer advisor for the political science and international relations department. Weiss has worked several internships across the landscape of professional baseball and will be working full-time for the New York Mets in the baseball operations department.
 
White excelled in the circle for the Yellowjackets this season, going 14-4 with a 2.96 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 104.0 innings pitched. An Honorable Mention All-Liberty League selection, White made 13 starts and 29 total appearances in the circle for Rochester, pitching four complete games, two combined shutouts, and notching four saves. The senior held opponents to a .256 batting average while striking out 106 batters and walking just 29. White's best performance of the year came in the Liberty League Championship, where she held Ithaca to just one run in a complete-game effort to force a decisive game-seven, which Rochester would go on to win to clinch the Liberty League title.
 
One of Rochester's 10 Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar-Athletes this past fall, White double majored in microbiology and business, and plans on applying to dental school this summer, with the hopes of starting her DDS/DMD in the fall of 2027. A three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, White is also a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and now a two-time CSC Academic All-District Team member.
 
Lyons appeared in and started all 46 games for the Yellowjackets this season, seeing time at third base and catcher. The junior batted .319 (44-for-138) with seven doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 38 runs scored and 38 RBI. On the base paths, Lyons stole four bases in as many attempts, and added 21 walks and four hit-by-pitches for a .418 on-base percentage and a .580 slugging. Lyons ended her season on a tear, with home runs in three of Rochester's last four contests, including a grand slam in game seven of the Liberty League Tournament that helped lift the 'Jackets to a Liberty League title. Lyons then hit two more blasts in the Angola Region en route to All-Tournament Team honors.
 
Away from the diamond, Lyons is a biochemistry and economics major, a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-District honoree. Additionally, Lyons was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, named a Provost Circle Scholar and is a member of the Dean's List. On campus, Lyons is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Dragony Fu's biochemistry lab, as well as a research assistant for the Preventive Care Program for Children with Asthma in Dr. Jill Halterman's lab at URMC. A Pittsford native, Lyons volunteers at the Monroe Community Hospital and the Battery Softball and Baseball Facility, and plans on attending medical school following her graduation next year.
 
Academic All-District selections will be evaluated by a subcommittee and advanced to the national All-America ballot, to be voted on by CSC members within their respective divisions.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes softball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.