Edison, N.J. (May 7, 2021) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2021 Softball All-MAAC Team and Major Award winners, as voted by the league’s 11 coaches.
 
The junior from Iona, Jessica Chilcott is the 2021 Softball Player of the Year. Chilcott started all 31 games for the Gaels this season and hit .385 in her 96-plate appearance, while recording 24 RBIs, 10 home runs and 37 hits. She also registered a .496 on-base percentage and .833 slugging percentage. She led the led the MAAC in home runs and finished in the top five in runs, hits, doubles, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks and also finished in the top 10 in RBIs. Chilcott’s slugging percentage and doubles also placed in the top 30 in the NCAA Division I Softball.
 
Marist’s Caroline Baratta was named the 2021 Softball Defensive Player of the Year. Baratta started in all 22 of the Red Foxes games this season and had 29 put outs, 42 assists and only committed three errors, while recording a .959 fielding percentage. The senior was a key component in the Red Foxes returning to the MAAC Championship after finishing as the runner-up in 2019. Baratta was also named to the All-MAAC First Team at the Infield position.
 
The 2021 Softball Pitcher of the Year is Iona’s Kara Zazzaro. Zazzaro led the MAAC in wins (18), complete games (15), strikeouts (161), strikeouts looking (49) and was tied in shutouts with three. The junior pitched 128.1 innings, and only surrendered 99 hits, 41 runs and had a 2.24 ERA, the third-best in the MAAC among pitchers starting 10 or more games. Her 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings ranks 42nd in the NCAA.
 
Iona softball took home their third award as Jamie Sheeran was named the 2021 Softball Rookie of the Year. Sheeran made 25 starts and appeared in 27 of the Gaels 31 games this season. In her 78 at-bats, Sheeran recorded 26 hits, 31 RBIs, nine home runs, five doubles, scored 13 runs and drew 10 walks. She hit .333 this season with a .411 on-base percentage and a .744 slugging percentage. Her 31 RBIs ranked first on the Gaels and her batting average, slugging percentage and home runs all ranked second behind Player of the Year Chilcott.
 
The 2021 BSN Sports Coach of the Year is Shannon Salsburg of Monmouth University. She led her Hawks to a 25-7 record, the best record in the MAAC and to their third straight MAAC Regular Season Championship. Salsburg will be looking to get the Hawks back to the MAAC Championship Game for the sixth straight time as she has led the program to the championship game in every season as the Hawks Head Coach since she took over the program in 2015. This season Salsburg coached three All-MAAC First Team selections, two All-MAAC Second Team selections and had the only unanimous player selected to the All-Rookie Team.  

* Denotes Unanimous Selection

* Denotes Unanimous Selection
 

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40^th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.