Drexel's Van Hellemont Headlines 2026 CAA Field Hockey Major Awards
Kylon Lewis
RICHMOND, Va. (Nov. 3, 2026) – The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) has announced its 2026 Field Hockey major award winners, highlighted by Drexel's Valentine Van Hellemont earning her third consecutive Player of the Year honor. Dragons’ teammate Halle Geiger was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Northeastern's Aiko Price was selected as the Rookie of the Year. Fairfield head coach Laura Gebhart rounded out the major award selections, earning Coach of the Year honors.
Van Hellemont became the first three-time CAA Player of the Year since Old Dominion’s Marina DiGiacomo earned the award during all four seasons from 1997-2000. She finished the regular season with 44 points, which ranks fourth nationally, by recording a career-high 16 goals and a CAA-best 12 assists. A catalyst for Drexel's success, Van Hellemont helped lead the Dragons to 15 regular season wins, their highest total since 2010. The Lier, Belgium, native scored in six of Drexel's final seven games entering postseason play, helping fuel an offense that led the CAA with 72 goals during the regular season.
Geiger became the second Dragon to earn a major CAA postseason award, taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Townsend, Del., led the conference and ranked 13
th in the nation with a. 773 save percentage. The junior goalkeeper made 68 saves, more than doubling her save total from the previous season (32) and posted a 14-3 record with a 1.31 goals against average. Geiger recorded four shutouts on the season.
Price earned Rookie of the Year honors following an impressive freshman campaign in which she recorded 71 saves with a .717 save percentage. Her season was highlighted on Sept. 23, when she earned NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honors after holding No. 7 Harvard scoreless through regulation and recording eight saves. Price finished the season with four shutouts, tying Geiger for the conference lead in shutouts per game.
Gebhart received CAA Coach of the Year honors after leading Fairfield to its second consecutive 10-win season since taking over the program. The Stags finished 10-7 overall and 5-1 in conference play during their inaugural season in the CAA. Fairfield's five conference wins helped the Stags claim a share of the regular-season title and secure the No. 1 seed in the CAA Championship. The Stags won six straight games from Oct. 4-23 and finished with 52 goals on the season, tied with Monmouth for the second-most in the league.
Drexel had a league-high four players chosen to the All-CAA first team and Fairfield had three. Fleur Hamers and Pili Lemoine joined Geiger and Van Hellemont on the squad from Drexel, while the Stags were represented by Kylie Corcoran, Noor Hellemans and Rylee LaLoup. Monmouth’s Milla Frye and Anna Moors earned first-team recognition along with Josie Mae Gruendel of William & Mary and Anouk Westerink of Towson.
The CAA Field Hockey Championship is set for Nov. 4 and 6 at Buckley Field on the campus of Drexel University. All games will be streamed live on FloCollege.
2026 All-CAA Field Hockey Major Awards
Player of the Year: Valentine Van Hellemont, Drexel
Defensive Player of the Year: Halle Geiger, Drexel
Rookie of the Year: Aiko Price, Northeastern
Coach of the Year: Laura Gebhart, Fairfield
First Team
Name
|
School
|
Class
|
Pos. |
Hometown
|
| Kylie Corcoran |
Fairfield
|
Jr.
|
M/D
|
Crofton, Md. |
| Milla Frye |
Monmouth |
Jr. |
M |
Ratingen, Germany |
| Josie Mae Gruendel |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
F |
Matthews, N.C. |
| Fleur Hamers |
Drexel |
So. |
M |
Enschede, Netherlands |
| Noor Hellemans |
Fairfield |
Sr.
|
M/D
|
Heemstede, The Netherlands |
| Rylee LaLoup |
Fairfield |
Grad. |
F/M |
Pottstown, Pa. |
| Pili Lemoine |
Drexel |
Sr. |
F/M |
Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Anna Moors |
Monmouth |
Sr. |
D |
Tilburg, Noord-Brabant |
| Valentine Van Hellemont |
Drexel |
Sr. |
F |
Lier, Belgium |
| Anouk Westerink |
Towson |
Jr. |
M |
Ede, The Netherlands |
| Halle Geiger |
Drexel |
Jr. |
GK
|
Townsend, Del. |
Second Team
Name
|
School
|
Class
|
Pos. |
Hometown
|
| Amelia Albers |
Northeastern |
R-Sr. |
F/M |
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| Claire Campen |
Monmouth |
Jr. |
F |
Hawley, PA |
| Nicole Enslin |
Drexel |
Sr. |
D |
Perth, Australia |
| Kaelyn Fogelson |
Fairfield |
So. |
F |
Norwalk, Conn. |
| Jessica Garden |
Northeastern |
So. |
M |
Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Delfina Larripa |
Towson |
Grad. |
F |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Maia McCourt |
Monmouth |
So. |
M |
Cork, Ireland |
| Alex Mega |
Northeastern |
Sr. |
M/F |
East Greenwich, R.I. |
| Catalina Ness |
Fairfield |
Sr. |
F/M |
Hamburg, Germany |
| Sarah Smalley |
Hofstra |
Sr. |
F |
East Islip, NY |
| Else Wismans |
Towson |
Fr. |
M |
Deventer, The Netherlands |
| Charlie Bowman |
Monmouth |
Jr. |
GK |
Hillsborough, Northern Ireland |
All-Rookie Team
Name
|
School
|
Class
|
Pos. |
Hometown
|
| Bryn Andres |
Fairfield |
Fr. |
F/M |
Millville, N.J. |
| Malena Bertone |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
D |
Santa Fe, Argentina |
| Hailey Haynes |
William & Mary |
Fr. |
M/F |
Bear, Del. |
Ludy Holst
|
Drexel
|
Fr. |
D |
Wassenaar, Netherlands |
| Izzy Johnson |
Northeastern |
Fr. |
F/M |
Bury St. Edmonds, England |
| Cato Nackaerts |
Drexel |
Fr. |
M |
Antwerp, Belgium |
| Aiko Price |
Northeastern |
Fr. |
GK |
Macungie, Pa. |
| Maja Schröder |
Monmouth |
Fr. |
D |
Berlin, Germany |
| Olivia Thunnissen |
Towson |
Fr. |
M |
Apeldoorn, The
Netherlands |
| Else Wismans |
Towson |
Fr. |
M |
Deventer, The Netherlands |