NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Dayton sophomore Emma Schutter earned recognition as the Atlantic 10 Softball Player of the Year while freshman teammate Izzy Kemp locked down Rookie of the Year accolades. Additionally, George Mason graduate student Aly Rayle garnered the league’s Pitcher of the Year distinction while Saint Louis veteran head coach Christy Connoyer rounded out the superlative awards with Coach of the Year laurels.

The Atlantic 10 released the four superlative awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Wednesday prior to the Opening Round of 2023 A-10 Softball Championship. The major honors, All-Conference teams and All-Rookie team were voted on by the A-10 softball head coaches while the All-Academic team was selected by the softball communications directors.

Schutter, a homegrown product of Dayton, Ohio, leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks fifth in the nation with a .467 batting average while her 79 hits on the year ranks fourth in the NCAA. Currently, she sits just one hit away from tying the program single-season record for the category. Additionally, the sophomore outfielder and 2022 Rookie of the Year also ranks second in the league in on-base percentage (.500) and stolen bases (29), third in runs scored (42) and seventh in slugging percentage (.574). Schutter paces the Flyers with 27 multi-hit games, including a career-high-tying four hits at Saint Joseph's (4/29), while also tallying the team's longest hitting streak of the season at 18 games.

Hailing from Herndon, Va., Rayle excelled as the primary ace for the Patriots, pacing the A-10 in both strikeouts (211) and strikeouts looking (61) on the year. Of special note, the right-hander concluded the 2023 regular-season campaign boasting three no-hitters – Holy Cross (2/25), Rhode Island (3/25) and Massachusetts (5/5) – on her 15-8 record, striking out double-digit batters in each contest along the way. Within conference play specifically, Rayle proved particularly effective, setting the bar with a 1.46 ERA on 110.0 innings pitched en route to earning a lethal .180 opposing batting average.

A three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, Kemp carries the team-low 1.71 ERA – good for second in the A-10 and among the top 50 nationally – while also leading the conference with .166 opposing batting average. The freshman right-hander slots in at second league-wide with a notable 184 strikeouts (24th NCAA) as well and even paces the A-10 with five saves (15th nationally). A native of Westfield, Ind., Kemp has managed a total 11 complete games on the season, including her first collegiate complete-game no-hitter as she struck out nine of 18 batters faced in Dayton's five-inning win at George Washington on April 1.
 
Connoyer, a 13-year veteran at Saint Louis, currently ranks as the longest-tenured head coach in program history as well as its winningest coach, opening the A-10 Championship run with 321 victories. The 2023 campaign has proven monumental for the long-time Billikens manager, as Connoyer guided SLU to school records for highest conference winning percentage (.800), most conference wins (20), longest overall winning streak (12 games) and longest A-10 regular-season winning streak (11 games) as well as the Saint Louis’ first-ever regular-season league title.

Joining Schutter (outfield) and Rayle (pitcher) on the All-Conference First Team are Dayton’s Maddie Kapsimalis (designated player), Fordham’s Neleh Nogay (outfield), Mason’s Nicole Bechtel (catcher) and Marlaina Bozek (second base), Loyola Chicago’s Madison Ebeling (shortstop), Saint Joseph’s Kaelin Cash (first base) and Saint Louis’ Gabbie Kowalik (outfield), Abby Mallo (third base) and Chloe Wendling (pitcher).

The All-Conference Second Team features Kemp (pitcher) along with Dayton teammates Kapsimalis (second base), Emily Daniel (outfield) and Nico Papavasiliou (catcher), George Mason’s Haley Taormina (third base), George Washington’s Maggie Greco (third base), Loyola’s Peyton Pepkowski (pitcher) and Amelia Thomas (first base), St. Bonaventure’s Brooke Bobbey (outfield) and Saint Louis’ Jane Kaniecki (designated player), Chloe Rhine (shortstop) and Natalie Sullivan (outfield).

The All-Rookie team stars All-Conference selections Kemp, Mallo, Nogay and Rhine in addition to Fordham’s Holly Beeman, GW’s Rose Cano and Ashley Corpuz, Loyola’s Sierra Sass, Rhode Island’s Hannah Hernandez, SJU’s Meghan Sinkus and Saint Louis’ Ashley Marietta.

The All-Academic team includes Schutter, Cash, Daniel, Kowalik, Thomas, and Wendling as well as Dayton’s Alyssa Cacini and Ali Weekly and Rhody’s Elena Gonzalez and Liz Lynchard.
 
The 2023 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship opens with first round contests Wednesday between fourth-seeded George Mason and No. 5 Fordham at noon ET and No. 3 overall Dayton and sixth-seeded Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Wednesday tripleheader concludes with the tournament’s first elimination game between the losing squads of the first two matchups in the nightcap, first pitch slated for 5 p.m. ET.
 
The entirety of the A-10 Softball Championship will be streamed live via ESPN+.