OMAHA, Neb. – Five members of the Creighton Softball program have earned All-BIG EAST honors, with Natalia Puchino being unanimously selected as the Pitcher of the Year, Ashten Pierson recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year and the Creighton coaching staff named as the Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. The league announced the awards on Tuesday following a vote of league coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
In addition to Krista Wood, Ryan Wieligman, KJ Murphy and Danielle Manley sharing BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors with Villanova’s staff, Bluejays Ella Dalton, Cayla Nielsen, Madeline Vejvoda and Puchino were all recognized on the All-BIG EAST First Team, while Sydra Seville took home All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. This year’s five all-conference selections are the most by a Bluejay squad in the BIG EAST and the most since Creighton had seven all-conference selections in 2012.
Puchino became Creighton’s first BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honoree, while joining Tammy Nielsen (2004), Tara Oltman (2007, 2008, 2009) and Becca Changstrom as the only Bluejays to ever earn conference Pitcher of the Year accolades. The right-handed hurler also earned unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team honors, marking the first year-end awards of her Bluejay career.
The Milliken, Colo., native lead the league in both conference wins (12) and innings pitched (102), while ranking second in BIG EAST play with 82 strikeouts. Puchino logged a 1.78 ERA while holding opponents to just .170 hitting in 21 BIG EAST appearances, recording a 12-3 record with two saves.
A two-time BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, Puchino ended the regular season with the pitchers’ triple crown, leading the BIG EAST in overall games for ERA (1.75), wins (24), strikeouts (158), innings pitched (179.2), and opponent batting average (.173). Puchino’s 24 wins this season currently rank tied for third most in the NCAA this season and are the seventh most in a single season in Creighton history.
Freshman Ashten Pierson became Creighton’s first Defensive Player of the Year and is recognized as the first freshman in the BIG EAST to earn the honor since its addition to the league’s major awards in 2018. The freshman phenom boasted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 38 putouts, contributing 48 assist and fielding five double plays during league action. The Wamego, Kan. native was instrumental in helping Creighton hold BIG EAST opponents to a league-low 127 hits.
Joining Puchino as a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team pick was senior Madeline Vejvoda. The La Vista, Neb. product earned her first BIG EAST all-conference honor, leading the Bluejays with a .350 batting average, while ranking second on the team in hits (55), doubles (12), walks (16) and runs scored (30). In BIG EAST play, Vejvoda raised her average to .397 with 29 hits, while ranking second in the league with 10 doubles and sixth in the conference with 18 runs scored.
One of the league’s most improved players, Ella Dalton earned her first All-BIG EAST accolade after a huge season that saw her rank second in BIG EAST play with a .441 batting average, fourth in on-base percentage at .500 and tied for third with 30 base hits. In all games, the Elkhorn, Neb. native owns a .331 batting average with 43 hits, including eight doubles, a team-high two triples, two home runs and 28 RBI while recording a team-best seven stolen bases.
Rounding out Creighton’s first team selections was Cayla Nielsen, who became the Bluejays 30th player in program history to earn multiple all-conference honors. A fifth-year senior from Blair, Neb., Nielsen logged a .385 batting average during BIG EAST play, while pacing the Bluejays and ranking tied for third in the league with 30 hits and tied for eighth in RBI with 19. Overall, the senior slugger ranks second on the team with a .348 batting average but does lead the team in hits (62), on-base percentage (.406), RBI (30), doubles (16), and total bases (87), while her 16 doubles this year are the fourth most in a single season in school history.
Entering this week’s BIG EAST Tournament, Nielsen ranks seventh in Creighton history with a .335 career batting average, is tied for fourth in career doubles with 40, is sixth in career hits with 204, ninth all-time with 307 total bases and sits just outside of the top-10 with 96 RBI. Earlier this year, Nielsen became the all-time career runs scored record holder, breaking a 20-year-old school record by scoring the 133rd run of her Bluejay career in Creighton’s 8-1 win over DePaul.
Surging as of late, junior Sydra Seville claimed her first all-conference honor this spring, being named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The New Lenox, Ill. product ranked fourth in BIG EAST play with a .420 batting average on 21 hits, while ranking tied for seventh in the league with four sacrifice bunts. Overall, the junior has notched career-highs in batting average (.347), slugging percentage (.387), on-base percentage (.367), hits (26), RBI (5) and stolen bases (5).
Wood leads a group that was named BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staff of the Year, guiding a league-best four student-athletes to first team accolades. Assisted by Ryan Wieligman, KJ Murphy, and Danielle Manley, Creighton secured its third berth to the BIG EAST tournament since joining the league, earning the No. 3 seed. Under the second-year head coach, the Bluejays recorded a remarkable turnaround, finishing tied for second in the league with an 18-6 record after closing out her first year at the helm with a 6-18 mark in league play. At the conclusion of the regular season, Creighton led the league in batting average (.311) and hits (195), ranking second in runs scored (115) and third in runs batted in (105). Bluejay pitchers held opponents to a league-low 127 hits allowed while boasting a 3.21 ERA (third).
Creighton (33-20) will be the No. 3 seed at this week’s BIG EAST Tournament, hosted by Providence, and begins play on Wednesday, May 8 at 2 p.m. CT against No. 6 seeded Butler.
The 2024 BIG EAST regular season awards are listed below. All-Conference team appear in alphabetical order by team name, last name. An asterisk denotes a unanimous selection. The All-BIG EAST teams and major awards were voted upon by the league’s head coaches, with each coach unable to vote for their own team or players.
Player of the Year: Lexi Hastings, Jr., OF, UConn
Pitcher of the Year: Natalia Puchino, So., P, Creighton*
Defensive Player of the Year: Ashten Pierson, Fr., SS, Creighton
Freshman of the Year: Katey Brennan, Fr., OF, Seton Hall
Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year: Creighton & Villanova
First Team All-BIG EAST
Cate Lehner, So., RF, Butler
Rosie Garcia, Jr., INF, UConn
Lexi Hastings, Jr., OF, UConn
Ella Dalton, So., CF, Creighton
Cayla Nielsen, Sr., LF, Creighton
Natalia Puchino, So., P, Creighton*
Madeline Vejvoda, Sr., 2B, Creighton*
London Jarrard, Jr., SS, St. John’s*
Katey Brennan, Fr., OF, Seton Hall
Kelsey Carr, Sr., P, Seton Hall
Olivia Gilbert, Jr., INF, Seton Hall
Lilly St. Jean, So., 2B, Villanova*
Second Team All-BIG EAST
Ella White, Jr., 3B, Butler
Grace Jenkins, C, UConn
Hope Jenkins, So., DP/P, UConn
Payton Kinney, Sr., P, UConn
Sydra Seville, Jr., RF, Creighton
Claire Turner, So., OF, Georgetown
Gabriella Lee, So., OF, Providence
Jess Bianco, So., OF, St. John’s
Ana Serafinko, So., P/DP, St. John’s
Ava Franz, Jr., SS, Villanova
Ally Jones, Gr., C, Villanova
Elaina Wagner, Jr., OF, Villanova
Puchino, Pierson and Coaches Claim Top Honors As Softball Lands Five on All-BIG EAST Teams
