Katey Brennan Named Freshman of the Year as All-BIG EAST Awards Announced

NEW YORK – Katey Brennan (Yardley, Pa.) capped off a stellar first season in South Orange with some hardware, receiving BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors, the conference announced Tuesday. Brennan becomes the second Seton Hall freshman in the last three seasons to win the award, joining Taylor Hill (Little Falls, N.J.) in 2022.

Brennan also landed a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team alongside senior Kelsey Carr (Ridgewood, N.Y.) and junior Olivia Gilbert (Johnston, R.I.). The Pirates placed three players on the All-BIG EAST First Team in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.

Brennan burst onto the scene in 2024, batting in the middle of the Pirates' batting order all season long. The Yardley, Pa. product led the team in RBI (21) and hits (29) and was second in batting average (.363) and doubles (7) during BIG EAST play. Brennan ranked in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in several offensive categories, including base hits (29), RBI, doubles and total bases (44), while also striking out just eight times across 89 plate appearances. She also showed great range in left field for the Pirates, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 39 chances and tallying four assists. Brennan becomes the third Pirate to win Freshman of the Year honors, joining Hill in 2022 and Alexis Walkden in 2015.

Carr lands on the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second consecutive season after landing on the team unanimously last season while also garnering Pitcher of the Year honors. The Ridgewood, N.Y. native followed up her junior year with another strong season in 2024, posting a 2.73 ERA in the circle while batting .300 with a team-best six home runs in BIG EAST play. Carr has been especially dominant down the stretch this season, posting a 0.60 ERA and throwing five consecutive complete games over her last five starts. In her nine starts against BIG EAST opponents this season, she allowed more than three earned runs just once. Carr becomes the first Pirate to appear on the All-BIG EAST First Team in consecutive seasons since Danielle DeStaso in 2014-2015.

After a big uptick in production as a sophomore in 2023, Gilbert was even better in 2024 to earn a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team. She batted a team-high .370 during conference play to go with an 1.100 OPS and nine doubles. Gilbert had a knack for getting on base efficiently, doing so at a .484 clip which sits sixth in the conference, as well as driving the ball, as her .616 slugging percentage ranks 10^th. The Johnston, R.I. native was a consistent force throughout BIG EAST play, collecting at least one base hit in 20 of 24 conference contests. Gilbert closed conference play strong, batting .467 (7-for-15) over the final five BIG EAST games of the regular season.

2024 BIG EAST Softball Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year: Lexi Hastings, UConn
Pitcher of the Year: Natalia Puchino, Creighton*
Defensive Player of the Year: Ashten Pierson, Creighton
Freshman of the Year: Katey Brennan, Seton Hall
Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year: Creighton & Villanova

First Team All-BIG EAST
Cate Lehner, RF, Butler
Rosie Garcia, INF, UConn
Lexi Hastings, OF, UConn
Ella Dalton, CF, Creighton
Cayla Nielsen, LF, Creighton
Natalia Puchino, P, Creighton*
Madeline Vejvoda, 2B, Creighton*
London Jarrard, SS, St. John's*
Katey Brennan, OF, Seton Hall
Kelsey Carr, P, Seton Hall
Olivia Gilbert, INF, Seton Hall
Lilly St. Jean, 2B, Villanova*

Second Team All-BIG EAST
Ella White, 3B, Butler
Grace Jenkins, C, UConn
Hope Jenkins, DP/P, UConn
Payton Kinney, P, UConn
Sydra Seville, RF, Creighton
Claire Turner, OF, Georgetown
Gabriella Lee, OF, Providence
Jess Bianco, St. John's
Ana Serafinko, P/DP, St. John's
Ava Franz, SS, Villanova
Ally Jones, C, Villanova
Elaina Wagner, OF, Villanova

*Denotes unanimous selection