Softball | 5/11/2026 1:29:29 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship All-Tournament Team on Monday, May 11. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Kendall Steward of Alfred University was named the Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player for second straight season after leading the Saxons to back-to-back E8 crowns, their fourth in the last six seasons their fifth league title in program history and over the weekend. Steward becomes the first player in Empire 8 Softball Championship history to earn multiple Tournament MVP honors.
Steward was tremendous for the Saxons during the tournament, throwing 23 innings for the Saxons, finishing 3-0 with a 2.43 earned run average, while batting .400 (6-for-15) with four runs scored, three doubles, home run and a pair of RBI, as the Saxons won all four of their tournament games. Steward threw six strong innings and hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 3-2 win over Nazareth University to open the tournament on May 7. She earned wins on the mound and added a pair of doubles against St. John Fisher University and SUNY Geneseo on May 8. Steward led Alfred to the Empire 8 Championship clinching win on May 9, scattering three hits and an unearned run over five innings, while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and run scored in the 3-1 victory over St. John Fisher. Steward was one of four Alfred student-athletes to earn All-Tournament Team honors.
2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship All-Tournament Team
Ally Boulger, So., 3B, Alfred (Mukilteo, WA/Kamiak)
Bella Mistrella, Fr., C, Alfred (Alexandria, VA/Hayfield Secondary)
Kendall Steward, Jr., P/2B, Alfred (Kennedy, NY/Randolph) *
Samantha Vidal, Sr., OF, Alfred (Lake Worth, FL/Forest Hill)
Liana DeValder, Fr., P/OF, SUNY Brockport (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Molly Griffin, So., OF, SUNY Geneseo (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy)
Ray Schumacher, Jr., 3B, SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena)
Amanda Linnenbrink, Jr., P, Nazareth (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Alina Ferguson, So., P, Russell Sage (New Windsor, NY/Newburgh Free Academy)
Molly Kuhn, Jr., P, St. John Fisher (Lancaster, NY/Sacred Heart Academy)
Isabella Mahar, Sr., C, St. John Fisher (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park)
Taylor Shackleton, Jr., 1B, St. John Fisher (Placentia, CA/El Dorado)
* Named 2026 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player