MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – The NEWMAC has released its 2026 baseball postseason awards, as announced by the conference on Wednesday morning. The awards are determined by the conference's nine coaches following the conclusion of regular-season play.
Outfielder
Shane Williams (Georgetown, Mass.) of Salve Regina University was voted NEWMAC Player of the Year. His teammate
Nolan Romanowski (Wynantskill, N.Y.) was named Pitcher of the Year, while fellow Seahawk
Grady Schopps (Fairfield, Conn.) was voted the Defensive Player of the Year. Wheaton College's
Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.) was named the Rookie of the Year. The Salve Regina coaching staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.
Williams and Lewis headline the first team outfielder selections and are joined by Clark University's
Cole Camera (Pawtucket, R.I.). The infield spots went to Clark's
Dom Mariani (Walpole, Mass.), MIT's
Dalton Chi (Cerritos, Calif.), Salve Regina's
Jake Harring (Portsmouth, N.H.), and U.S. Coast Guard Academy's
Carson Cho (Haymarket, Va.). Babson College's
Ryan Grace (Concord, Mass.) was the utility/DH selection. Romanowski is featured in the pitcher slot, along with teammate
Luis Ortiz Ramirez (Boston, Mass.), Babson's
Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.), and Coast Guard's
Tyler Michalek (Fort Worth, Texas). MIT's
John Dwyer (Northport, N.Y.) rounds out the first team as a catcher.
Emerson College's
Braeden O'Connell (Boxford, Mass.)
, Salve Regina's
Elliot Hamilton (Glastonbury, Conn.), Springfield College's
Kyle Mitchell (Wallingford, Conn.), and Coast Guard's
Nathan Stafford (Jupiter, Fla.) were the second team infield selections. Babson's
Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) is an outfield selection, along with Salve Regina's
Danny Rogers (New Canaan, Conn.) and Springfield's
Chris Balchius (Norwalk, Conn.). Clark's
Michael Soares (Concord, Mass.) and Salve's
Dylan Cimini (Stonington, Conn.) were awarded spots at utility/DH. Salve Regina's
Joe DeRienzo (Trumbull, Conn.) and Springfield's
Josh Mayo (Westfield, Mass.) were the second team pitcher selections, along with Wheaton's
Aiden Cardoza (Dartmouth, Mass.) and WPI's
Brian Riley (Portland, Maine). Salve Regina's
Shea Donovan (Milton, Mass.) wraps up the selections as a catcher.
Player of the Year - Shane Williams (Sr., OF), Salve Regina University
Williams is hitting .380 on the year, which ranks fifth in the league. He leads the NEWMAC with a .729 slugging percentage, with a league-leading 14 home runs, and a league-leading 59 RBI. He is second in the league with a 1.191 OPS and is tied for second with 63 hits on the year. He is a danger on the base paths, with 22 stolen bases (third in the league), and he also leads the league with 61 runs scored.
COACH CIRELLA ON WILLIAMS
Shane deserves all the awards and accolades he has received. He's a leader and he has carried this offense day in and day out. He does it in so many different ways, it's been a pleasure to watch him grow into a great hitter and player over the last four year.
Pitcher of the Year – Nolan Romanowski (So., P), Salve Regina University
Romanowski led the league with 83.1 innings pitched, 64 strikeouts, and 10 wins, with only one loss on the season. His ERA of 2.92 was good for second in the league. He allowed opponents to hit only .232 off him and allowed only 11 walks. He started 12 games for the Seahawks and had two complete games.
COACH CIRELLA ON ROMANOWSKI
Romo - just as steady as they come. Always gives you a chance to win and has picked us up in a year when we have had so many pitchers sidelined with injuries. Could not be happier for him and I look forward to seeing him compete again this weekend.
Defensive Player of the Year – Grady Schopps (So., INF), Salve Regina University
Schopps led the NEWMAC with 116 assists, with 62 putouts in 186 chances. He has a .957 fielding percentage, making only eight errors in the infield.
COACH CIRELLA ON SCHOPPS
Grady is as good an infielder:defender as you will see at most levels of baseball. He does things some D1 guys cannot do, and he has a great instinct for the position. He wants the ball hit to him and we want him to get the ball hit his way in the biggest spots.
Rookie of the Year – Brayden Lewis (Fr., OF), Wheaton
Lewis hit .329 in his first season for the Lyons, with a 1.020 OPS. He has compiled seven doubles, a triple, and 10 home runs, which is good for fourth in the league. He has driven in 36 runs for the Lyons, which is also top ten in the NEWMAC, as are his 42 runs scored. He leads the league with 29 stolen bases and has not been thrown out this season.
Laurels of Academic Excellence – Brooks Saft (So., C), Babson College
Saft carries a 3.88 in his finance concentration.
Coaching Staff of the Year – Salve Regina University
Salve Regina went 14-2 in conference play to earn the regular-season crown. Going 36-6 overall, the Seahawks are No. 4 in the NCAA NPI rankings and No. 4 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III Coaches Poll. The Seahawks earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament and will make their seventh-straight appearance. Salve Regina is under the direction of head coach
Eric Cirella '05, pitching coach
Zach Clesas, assistants
Harrison Barlow,
Chris Ursillo,
Peter Clays, Dirk Baker, and mental performance coach
Stephen Cirella.
COACH CIRELLA ON HIS FELLOW STAFF
People see 36-6 and 14-2 in NEWMAC play and immediately think this is just a train rolling continuously, season to season. But a year ago we lost a lot of older guys and returned some players who were unproven. And throughout the year we have battled injuries, put guys in different roles and spots, etc. To say the very least it has been a challenge, behind the scenes, to be where we are now. We wouldn't be here now if I didn't have the best coaches around me. They deserve this award and have for a number of years.
2026 NEWMAC Baseball All-Conference
| Team |
Name |
Position |
Institution |
| First Team All-Conference |
Jason Finkelstein |
P |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Luis Ortiz Ramirez |
P |
Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Nolan Romanowski |
P |
Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Tyler Michalek |
P |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference |
Dom Mariani |
INF |
Clark University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Dalton Chi |
INF |
MIT |
| First Team All-Conference |
Jake Harring |
INF |
Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Carson Cho |
INF |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| First Team All-Conference |
Cole Camera |
OF |
Clark University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Shane Williams |
OF |
Salve Regina University |
| First Team All-Conference |
Brayden Lewis |
OF |
Wheaton College |
| First Team All-Conference |
Ryan Grace |
UTL |
Babson College |
| First Team All-Conference |
John Dwyer |
C |
MIT |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-Conference |
Joe DeRienzo |
P |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Josh Mayo |
P |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Aiden Cardoza |
P |
Wheaton College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Brian Riley |
P |
WPI |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Braeden O'Connell |
INF |
Emerson College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Elliot Hamilton |
INF |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Kyle Mitchell |
INF |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Nathan Stafford |
INF |
U.S. Coast Guard Academy |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Ben Valente |
OF |
Babson College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Danny Rogers |
OF |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Chris Balchius |
OF |
Springfield College |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Michael Soares |
UTL |
Clark University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Dylan Cimini |
UTL |
Salve Regina University |
| Second Team All-Conference |
Shea Donovan |
C |
Salve Regina University |
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), United States Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.
