Two Softball Players Claim All-NEAC Awards

The Wells College softball team has two players honored with all-conference recognition as the North Eastern Athletic Conference announced its 2017 Softball North Division All-Conference selections. The top 20 student-athletes in the division received honors on the first and second team. Each all-conference team consists of 10 student-athletes regardless of position and was voted on by conference coaches within the North Division.

Freshman utility player Naomi Kubo was picked to the 2017 NEAC First Team and senior shortstop Sydney Cullen was named to the Second Team.

Kubo, a freshman from Sacramento, Calif., played primarily at third base, pitcher, and catcher for the Express. She was the team's offensive leader with a .385 batting average, four home runs, 10 stolen bases, and 33 runs scored. Kubo was the team leader in on-base percentage (.482) and slugging percentage (.681). As a pitcher, she led Wells with 50 strikeouts in 58 innings of work. She was named as the team's Most Valuable Player at the annual athletics recognition and awards ceremony earlier this week.

Cullen, a senior from King Ferry, N.Y. joined the re-launched softball program in her senior year at Wells, her first season of competitive softball since her high school career at Southern Cayuga. Cullen tied for the team lead with 35 hits on the year and ranked second on the team in extra-base hits (10), RBIs (21), and runs scored (18). She played a premium defensive position as the team's shortstop. Cullen was the softball team's recipient of the Express Award for her contributions to the team.

The 2017 season marked a return to varsity competition for the first time since the 2014 season. Softball was reinstated as a varsity sport for this year, and the Express went 9-21 over 30 games. This included an 8-14 record in the NEAC North Division and fifth-place finish.