Essex Player of the Year: Jill Cianfrocca, senior, Mount St. Dominic
The Villanova-bound Cianfrocca repeats as SC’s Essex Player of the Year as she put forth some truly impressive offensive numbers in 2026 including batting .534 with a slugging % of 1.295 based on an incredible total of 33 extra base hits, including 16 home runs. She scored 54 runs with 47 hits and had 54 RBI while helping to lead the Lions to a fourth straight Non-Public, North A state sectional title. She had the game-winning homer last June when the Lions defeated Donovan Catholic for the 2025 Non-Public A state championship and with her brilliant 4-year scholastic career will go down in Mount softball history as one of its all-time greats.
Runner-Up Player of the Year: Deanna Skikus, sophomore, Caldwell
The Chiefs’ versatile, young standout had a breakout season with great offensive numbers including 36 runs, 44 hits with 16 extra base hits highlighted by 8 home runs and 42 RBI for the undefeated Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division champions. She was a standout pitcher as well with a 1.94 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 108 1/3 IP and provides veteran coach Mike Teshkoyan with a true foundation piece to build on heading into next spring.
Essex Pitcher of the Year: Ava Kelshaw, junior, Mount St. Dominic
A terrific pitcher and hitter Kelshaw was in top form for a strong junior season after having missing much of the first month of the 2025 campaign as she was completing her recovery from a back ailment before then helping to lead the Lions to their first Non-Public A state title in 11 years last June. This season saw the University of Michigan commit put together a 26-3 record as a true workhorse in the circle with 166 2/3 IP while posting a terrific 0.63 ERA while walking just 28 and striking out 257. As a hitter, she was also quite a solid presence in the Mount lineup with a .368 BA, 14 extra base hits and 33 RBI.
Runner-Up Pitcher of the Year- Claire Shupe, senior, Columbia
The Boston University-bound standout was another outstanding 2-way player in Essex County while excelling both in the circle with her superb pitching and at the plate with a great offensive year. The 4-year Columbia standout had a 13-3 record and 0.58 ERA while sharing pitching duties with freshman pitching prospect Alison Kelly. She worked 109 1/3 innings allowing just 9 earned runs for a 0.58 ERA while walking only 12 batters and striking out 160. At the plate she batted a strong .438 with 7 home runs and 37 RBI.
Essex Newcomer of the Year: Hailey Root, freshman, Mount St. Dominic
A superb all-around athlete who also shines in basketball for the Lions, her No. 1 sport could very well be softball where she made big impact in her freshman season as starting right fielder on one of the top teams in the state. Root batted a solid .352 with 29 runs scored, 31 hits and 20 RBI while adding more strength to the Mount’s deep lineup.
Runner-Up Newcomer of Year: Charlotte Hogan, freshman, Glen Ridge
The talented daughter of Ridgers coach Rachael Hogan quickly emerged as a young player to watch on the Essex softball scene as a solid first baseman and fine hitter while producing a .435 BA with 17 runs, 30 hits and 18 RBI.
Essex Coach of the Year: Mike Teshkoyan, Caldwell
The legendary Chiefs coach keeps adding to his impressive lifetime victory total which stands at 776 (not that far from the state record of 848 compiled by the now retired South Plainfield coach Don Panciello) and ‘Tesh’ continues to shine with his uncanny ability to always promote terrific team chemistry and camaraderie, while winning on the diamond at the same time, including guiding his 2026 team to a 20-8 season and an undefeated 10-0 mark in the Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division plus semifinal berths in both the Essex County Tournament and North 2, Group 2 state tourney.
Runner-Up Coach of the Year: Jessica Sarfati, MKA
The veteran Cougars coach does a superb job in working with a young team that continues on the upswing, including producing a 14-8 record this spring with an undefeated 9-0 mark in winning the SEC-Colonial Division championship. Always providing a very patient and knowledgeable presence, the former Montclair High School and Bates College standout has been one of the county’s better coaches and has orchestrated a revival in the MKA program which has been to three straight prep B tournament finals and is on the verge of even better days ahead with a young and talented nucleus.
Essex Team of the Year: Mount St. Dominic
The Lions continued to be among those always in the conversation for No. 1 in the state before falling to powerful St. John Vianney in the overall Non-Public A state final. The Mount was clearly Essex’s top team once again, finishing undefeated in the SEC’s American Division and 29-3 overall while winning another Essex County Tournament championship and Non-Public, North A state sectional title. And, the beat should continue to go on for the Lions in 2027 with everyone but Villanova-bound senior star Jill Cianfrocca due back in the fold.
Runner-Up Team of the Year: Columbia
The 20-8 Cougars were ousted by Scotch Plains, 2-1 in the N2G4 quarterfinals, but had a strong season overall with a 20-8 record, including 8-2 in the SEC-American Division plus a narrow 1-0 loss to the powerful Mount in the ECT final as senior Claire Shupe shined in the circle with a 4-hitter. Coach Cliff Smith’s team continued to grow as one to watch on the statewide scene as the program has taken off since upsetting Livingston in the 2023 N1G4 final when Shupe and fellow senior star Eva Clevenger were freshmen. They faced a strong independent schedule in 2026 and despite a couple of narrow setbacks, did defeat strong teams such as DePaul.
NOTES- Nutley had a strong run in this year’s ECT while reaching the Final 4 at Ivy Hill Park and finishing 18-10 overall…West Essex, under longtime coach Andrea Mondadori-Llaugett, put together a 16-11 season including 4-6 in the American Division…Cedar Grove, despite an 11-16 record after graduating most of its lineup from three straight Group 1 state championship teams, still played better over the second half of the season under its impressive coach Nikki Velardi….Bard captured the Newark Public Schools Tournament title with a 22-9 victory over Barringer in the final.
SC’s Final Essex Top 10:
1-Mount St. Dominic (29-3)
2-Columbia (20-8)
3-Caldwell (20-8)
4-Nutley (18-10)
5-West Essex (16-11)
6-Cedar Grove (11-16)
7-Livingston (8-14)
8-Glen Ridge (13-10)
9-Verona (8-14)
10- West Orange (16-11)
SC’s All-Essex Softball
First Team:
P- Ava Kelshaw, junior, Mount St. Dominic
P- Claire Shupe, senior, Columbia
P- Deanna Skikus, sophomore, Caldwell
C- Brooke Mundy, junior, Mount St. Dominic
Inf- Jill Cianfrocca, senior, Mount St. Dominic
Inf- Bella Iannitelli, junior, Mount St. Dominic
Inf- Abby Cianfrocca, sophomore, Mount St. Dominic
Inf- Maya Bernstein, junior, Columbia
OF- Val Dilanni, junior, Livingston
OF- Fran Cutillo, junior, Mount St. Dominic
OF- Hailey Root, freshman, Mount St. Dominic
Uti- Eva Clevenger, Columbia
Second Team:
P- Alison Kelly, freshman, Columbia
P- Brooke Gillen, junior, West Essex
P- Sophia Rodriguez, senior, Caldwell
C- Chloe Chrobocinski, senior, West Orange
Inf- Laila Saeed, freshman, Newark Academy
Inf- Charlotte Hogan, freshman, Glen Ridge
Inf- Siri Krabbe, sophomore, Montclair
Inf – Ava Geraci, sophomore, Caldwell
OF- Ella Reynolds, junior, Montclair
OF- Gigi Liloia, sophomore, Nutley
OF- Lexi Kaplan, senior, Columbia
Utl – Maddie Cancel, senior, West Orange
Third Team:
P- Makenna DeJianne, junior Nutley
P- Liv Healey, junior, MKA
C- Ava Rodriguez, senior, Caldwell
Inf- Eva Sieger, junior, MKA
Inf- Luca Luzzi, junior, Caldwell
Inf- Camryn Ortega, junior, Nutley
Inf- Nina Maglifiore, sophomore, Verona
Inf- Catie Buntrock, junior, Glen Ridge
OF- Kaylan Bartolozzi, sophomore, Mount St. Dominic
OF- Teagan Weber, junior, Bloomfield
OF- Lena Caputo, senior, Cedar Grove
Utl- Brooke Ploetner, freshman, Millburn
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