Women's Basketball | 2/26/2026 10:00:00 AM
SUNY Brockport senior guard Stephanie Jean Baptiste was named Player of the Year, while Nazareth senior Kiara Anglin earned Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2025-26 Women’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Thursday, February 26. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Jean-Baptiste, who also earned All-E8 first team honors for the second straight season, led all E8 players in scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 5.9 boards and 2.3 steals per game. A five-Empire 8 Player of the Week, Jean-Baptiste scored in double figured in 25 of 26 contests, with 11 games of at least 20 points, including a career-high 41 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the floor in a win at St. John Fisher on Feb. 7. She was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Feb. 10 for her efforts. A native of Jersey City, NY, Jean-Baptiste scored 950 points in two seasons as an E8 member and finished her career with 1,578 points. She was also named the E8 Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Anglin, a native of Rochester, NY, is third in the league, averaging 3.1 steals per game and is averaging just under a block per game. Anglin also averages 9.9 points and 7.2 boards per game. She had 54 steals in 16 E8 league games. The Nazareth defense allowed opponents to shoot just 31.8 percent from the floor in league play.
Houghton University guard Olivia Simser was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. Simser, a native of Constable, NY, is averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while draining 46 3-point field goals on the season. A two-time E8 Rookie of the Week, Simser scored a season-high 29 points against Alfred on Jan. 27.
Nazareth, led by head coach Kelly Dunne-Romig and assistant coaches Makalah Sizer, Stephanie Spoto, Olivia Dobrovosky and Tim Dunne led the Golden Eagles to a 15-1 mark in league play, regular season title and top-seed in the Empire 8 Tournament. Nazareth, 22-5 overall, is out-scoring opponents by an average of 12.4 points per game this season (69.4-57.0) and lead the league in blocked shots (5.04 per game) Nazareth is second in the league in field goals percentage. Three Golden Eagles earned All-E8 accolades this season. It is the third time in the last six season that Nazareth has earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
The Nazareth duo of Molly Benetti and Katie MacLachlan, Grace Galgano of SUNY Geneseo, Crysta LaCrosse of Houghton University, Layla Acosta of Russell Sage College and Vanessa Hall of Utica University joined Jean-Baptiste on the Empire 8 first team this season. Acosta, Benetti, MacLachlan, Lacrosse and Hall all surpassed the 1,000-career point milestone this season.
No. 3 seed Houghton will host No. 4 SUNY Geneseo in the 2026 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. The Empire 8 Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025-26 Women’s Basketball Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2025-26 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Stephanie Jean-Baptiste, Sr., G, SUNY Brockport
Defensive Player of the Year: Kiara Anglin, Sr., G, Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Olivia Simser, Fr., G, Houghton
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach Kelly Dunne-Romig
Empire 8 First Team
Stephanie Jean-Baptiste, Sr., G, SUNY Brockport (Jersey City, NJ/John Jay)
Grace Galgano, Sr., G, SUNY Geneseo (Brewster, NY/Brewster)
Crysta LaCrosse, Sr., G, Houghton (Liberty Township, OH/Mt. Notre Dame)
Molly Benetti, Sr., F, Nazareth (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
Katie MacLachlan, Sr., G, Nazareth (Marcellus, NY/Marcellus)
Layla Acosta, Sr., G, Russell Sage (Haines City, FL/Haines City)
Vanessa Hall, Jr., F, Utica (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville)
Empire 8 Second Team
Jaidyn Chest, Jr., G, Alfred (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield)
Mandy Brink, Jr., G, SUNY Brockport (Ashville, NY/Panama)
Brianna Carey, Jr., G, SUNY Brockport (Mechanicville, NY/Shenendehowa)
Maggie McGrane, Sr., G, SUNY Geneseo (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River)
Tabitha DeVries, Jr., F, Houghton (White House Station, NJ/Hunterdon)
Kiara Anglin, Sr., G, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Presleigh Brunner, Sr., G, St. John Fisher (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy)
Empire 8 Third Team
Amarionah Dixon, Sr., G, Elmira (Elmira, NY/Elmira)
Kristin Suydam, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo (Sayville, NY/Sayville)
Macy Durkin, Jr., G, Hartwick (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt)
Olivia Simser, Fr., G, Houghton (Constable, NY/Franklin Academy)
Brooke Burd, Jr., F/C, Keuka (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood)
Alysa Jackson, Jr., G, SUNY Poly (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Hannah Ferguson, Sr., G, St. John Fisher (Owego, NY/Newark Valley)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Bri Dorr, Jr., G/F, Alfred (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Madison Misser, Sr., G, SUNY Brockport (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West)
Abby Belcher, Sr., F, Elmira (Dansville, NY/Dansville)
Eva Elliot, Sr., G, SUNY Geneseo (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Trinity Thornton, Jr., G/F, Hartwick (Sherburne, NY/Sherburne Earlville)
Karina Crouse, So., G/F, Houghton (Salamanca, NY/Salamanca)
Emiley Anderson, Fr., G, Keuka (Gerry, NY/Cassadaga Valley)
Leah Fusilli, Sr., F, Nazareth (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Rebeckah Tittle, Jr., F, SUNY Poly (Boonville, NY/Adirondack)
Emily Zeh, Sr., F, Russell Sage (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta)
Julia Perales, Sr., G, St. John Fisher (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
McKenzie Simmons, Sr., G, Utica (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook)