2026 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Postseason Awards Revealed
Dylan Smith
RICHMOND, Va. – Stony Brook, Hofstra and Monmouth highlight the 2026 CAA Women’s Lacrosse postseason awards, officially announced on Wednesday, ahead of the league’s conference tournament.
The Pride’s
Nikki Mennella and the Seawolves’
Isabella Caporuscio go back-to-back as CAA Attacker and Midfielder of the Year, respectively. Fellow Seawolves’ teammates
Hailey Huebner (Defensive Player of the Year) and
Mirabella Altebrando (Rookie of the Year) also received major accolades, while Monmouth’s
Katie Sullivan squared up in the cage all season to garner Goalkeeper of the Year. Hofstra’s
Shannon Smith and Stony Brook’s
Joe Spallina became the first Co-Coaches of the Year in the league’s history.
Caporuscio continued to put her dominance on display on both sides of the ball, as the CAA Midfielder of the Year recognition is brought back to Stony Brook for the fourth consecutive season. The back-to-back recipient of the league’s top midfielder has produced multi-point efforts in all 17 games this season, including at least three goals in 10 contests. Her 50 goals on the year are second in the conference, while her 65 points sit third. Defensively, the Mountain Top, Pa., native has caused 2.35 turnovers and picked up 2.59 ground balls per game. Caporuscio is one of two players nationally with at least 50 goals and 2.00 caused turnovers per game.
Mennella wielded a hot stick for the second consecutive season, flirting with the century mark in points with 84 en route to her second consecutive Attacker of the Year honor. The Smithtown, N.Y., native paced the CAA with 59 goals this season, good for 11
th in the country. She continued her rise in the league’s history book with 174 career snipes (13
th) and 254 points (15
th), cracking the all-time career leaderboard’s top 15 in both categories. The Pride’s 12
th different major award winner is also the first Hofstra player to repeat for the same honor since April Iannetta was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014.
The Seawolves’ Huebner put forth one of the most dominant seasons by a defensive player in league history to secure Defensive Player of the Year. A six-time CAA Defensive Player of the Week honoree, she is averaging 3.47 caused turnovers per game and is looking to become just the fifth player to finish a campaign with at least 3.5 CTs per game. Her 59 forced miscues are also the fourth-most in a single season in CAA history and third in the nation.
The Hawks’ Sullivan flirted with double-digit saves per game this season on her way to Goalkeeper of the Year. The Gainesville, Va., native is eighth in the nation with 160 total saves, working through 9.41 stops per game to sit 10
th in NCAA Division I. The junior netminder has also produced a top-20 mark with a .482 save percentage this season, good for 19
th.
Stony Brook’s Altebrando went off for 60 points in her first season on Long Island, posting 16 goals and 44 assists to secure Rookie of the Year honors. Her 44 helpers were also second in the conference and 14
th nationally. The Miller Place, N.Y., native’s 60 total points also rank seventh nationally among freshmen, while her 44 assists sit second among the first-year players, trailing only Clemson’s Alexa Spallina (67).
The Seawolves’ Spallina earned his fourth straight CAA Coach of the Year honor, joining James Madison’s Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe (4x, 2016-19) and Towson’s Sonia LaMonica (4x, 2011-14) as the only coaches to do so. The Seawolves earned their fourth consecutive regular season crown after another perfect season in league action and listed a league-high eight all-conference selections, with three garnering major accolades. The Seawolves won by a margin of 10.0 goals per game in conference play and will look to extend their perfect 36-0 record (regular season and postseason) against CAA opponents since joining the conference in 2023.
Hofstra’s Smith earned just her second CAA Coach of the Year honor, having previously won in 2015, the same year that Pride standout Brittain Altomare won the league’s Player of the Year. One of the longest tenured women’s lacrosse coaches in the league, Smith took her program from being picked fifth in this season’s preseason coaches’ poll to second with a 6-1 mark in league play. Smith also guided six players to conference accolades with a pair of All-CAA First Team selections, Mennella and
Christine Dannenfelser, two Second Team honorees in
Kayleigh Bender and
Madeleine Rudolph, and the dynamic freshman duo of
Charli Joyce and
Shannon Steck to land on the CAA’s All-Rookie Team.
2026 CAA WOMEN’S LACROSSE POSTSEASON AWARDS
CAA Attacker of the Year
Nikki Mennella, Hofstra
CAA Midfielder of the Year
Isabella Caporuscio, Stony Brook^
CAA Defensive Player of the Year
Hailey Huebner, Stony Brook^
CAA Goalkeeper of the Year
Katie Sullivan, Monmouth
CAA Rookie of the Year
Mirabella Altebrando, Stony Brook^
CAA Co-Coaches of the Year
Shannon Smith, Hofstra
Joe Spallina, Stony Brook
^ unanimous selection
2026 All-CAA First Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Hannah Lewis |
Towson |
A |
R-Jr. |
Bayville, N.J. |
| Nikki Mennella |
Hofstra |
A |
R-Jr. |
Smithtown, N.Y. |
| Lauren Rismani |
Monmouth |
A |
Grad. |
Denver, Colo. |
| Isabella Caporuscio |
Stony Brook |
M |
Jr. |
Mountain Top, Pa. |
| Kate Draddy |
William & Mary |
M |
Sr. |
Charlotte, N.C. |
| Julia Fusco |
Stony Brook |
M |
So. |
Bayport, N.Y. |
| Kate Quinn |
Drexel |
M |
Sr. |
West Caldwell, N.J. |
| Christine Dannenfelser |
Hofstra |
D |
Jr. |
Bayport, N.Y. |
| Hailey Huebner |
Stony Brook |
D |
So. |
Bethesda, Md. |
| Hailey Kohlmann |
Campbell |
D |
5th |
Crofton, Md. |
| Katie Maloney |
Drexel |
D |
R-Jr. |
Gaithersburg, Md. |
| Katie Sullivan |
Monmouth |
GK |
Jr. |
Gainesville, Va. |
2026 All-CAA Second Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Mirabella Altebrando |
Stony Brook |
A |
Fr. |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Kayleigh Bender |
Hofstra |
A |
So. |
Huntington Station, N.Y. |
| Bea Buckley |
Drexel |
A |
Jr. |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Ana Lee Vandiver |
Elon |
A |
R-Jr. |
Baltimore, Md. |
| Madeleine Rudolph |
Hofstra |
M |
Sr. |
Olney, Md. |
| Braeden Siverson |
Stony Brook |
M |
Jr. |
Morristown, N.J. |
| Valerie Thompson |
Towson |
M |
Sr. |
Sykesville, Md. |
| Allie Masera |
Stony Brook |
D |
Sr. |
Eastport, N.Y. |
| Ocea Leavy |
Towson |
D |
Sr. |
Perth, Australia |
| Eliza Ritter |
Elon |
D |
Jr. |
Glen Head, N.Y. |
| Kendall Wilson |
Campbell |
D |
So. |
Dacula, Ga. |
| Natalia Altebrando |
Stony Brook |
GK |
Jr. |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
2026 CAA All-Rookie Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Mirabella Altebrando |
Stony Brook |
A |
Fr. |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Charli Joyce |
Hofstra |
A |
Fr. |
Parkville, Md. |
| Annie Madden |
Drexel |
A |
Fr. |
Arlington, Va. |
| Mila Millhouse |
William & Mary |
A |
Fr. |
North Haven, Conn. |
| Lizzie Scalzo |
Elon |
A |
Fr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| Marlaina Grimm |
Monmouth |
M |
Fr. |
Pottstown, Pa. |
| Taylor McCall |
William & Mary |
M |
R-Fr. |
Nashville, Tenn. |
| Shannon Steck |
Hofstra |
M |
R. |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Anna Lopez |
William & Mary |
GK |
R-Fr. |
Lewes, Del. |
| Adria Welsh |
Campbell |
GK |
Fr. |
Ellicott City, Md. |
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