Another high school softball season is in the books, and what a fantastic year it was. All three WPIAL teams that qualified for the state finals emerged victorious, as players from Neshannock, Penn-Trafford and Union achieved their lifelong dreams of playing in the biggest game of them all and bringing home the gold.
Now, the Pittsburgh Union Progress sports staff once again is honoring the area’s brightest stars by presenting the third annual PUP softball awards. These one-of-a-kind awards highlight the best of the best across 10 categories, including Most Well-Rounded Player, Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Best Playoff Performer and more. With so many ultra-talented players and memorable moments to choose from, narrowing down each category to three finalists and one winner is never an easy task, but we firmly believe each player selected is worthy of their spot.
All players in the WPIAL and City League were considered, and all finalists and winners were selected by the PUP sports staff. These could very well be the final awards of their kind, so the bragging rights that go along with them will last a lifetime.
(Winners in bold)
Best Pitcher
Addy Frye, Neshannock
Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley
Bria Bosiljevac, Shaler
Skinny: After leading Neshannock to consecutive undefeated seasons and four WPIAL titles in a row — not to mention a WPIAL-record 52-game winning streak — Frye beat out a loaded field to bring home her first Best Pitcher award. Other lights-out aces such as Hempfield’s Riley Miller and South Park’s Sydney Sekely barely missed the top three, and Bosiljevac and Hames are as dominant as it gets, but nobody shined brighter than “The Great 8” this spring. A Providence recruit and the 2024 Pennsylvania Pitcher of the Year, Frye finished her phenomenal career with a sparkling record of 81-1 to go with 767 strikeouts — and she saved her best for last, posting a record of 24-0 as a senior while recording a 0.77 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 232 strikeouts with only 15 walks.
Most Feared Slugger
Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley
Lily Duffill, Chartiers Valley
Calle Henne, Pine-Richland
Skinny: Although Hames narrowly missed out on her third consecutive Best Pitcher award, this Seneca Valley superstar is every bit as prolific at the plate as she is in the circle — and every team she faces knows it. Ever since bursting onto the scene with 14 home runs as a freshman, Hames has received the “Barry Bonds” treatment from opposing coaches, drawing a whopping 121 walks over the course of her career — most of them intentional — including 40 free passes as a senior. Despite receiving only 38 at-bats in 21 games this season, the Clemson recruit hit 7 home runs while slashing .500/.761/1.184 for an OPS of 1.945. A two-time WPIAL champion, Hames finished her decorated career with 35 homers in just 193 at-bats on her way to claiming her third consecutive Most Feared Slugger award.
Best Pure Hitter
Keara Mangieri, New Castle
Toryn Fulton, Franklin Regional
Ella Richey, Chartiers-Houston
Skinny: A Pitt recruit who led the WPIAL in home runs in 2025 despite narrowly missing out on a postseason berth, Mangieri posted some mind-boggling numbers in her final high school season for New Castle. A true five-tool talent, this superb shortstop slashed .471/.549/1.314 for an OPS of 1.863, finishing her senior year with 9 doubles, 16 homers, 45 RBIs and 36 runs scored for the Red Hurricanes.
Best Championship Performance
Marissa Snyder, Hampton
Allyson Paulone, Penn-Trafford
Irelyn Fisher, Union
Skinny: As always, there was no shortage of worthy candidates to choose from in this category, but nobody deserves this year’s Best Championship Performance award more than Snyder, who fought through a hand injury in a gutsy effort to help the Talbots secure their first WPIAL title with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory against Blackhawk in the Class 4A final. After helping Hampton reach its first WPIAL championship as a freshman, Snyder and her teammates had to settle for second place in 2024, but she made sure they turned silver into gold this time. Snyder belted a crucial two-run double to help complete the Talbots’ rally and struck out 10 in a complete-game win — including a championship-clinching K to strand the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Rookie of the Year
Emersyn Jones, Knoch
Ali Linhart, Avonworth
Cam Temme, Baldwin
Skinny: Every year, a breakout star emerges — and in 2025, it was Knoch’s Emersyn Jones who burst onto the scene with a debut season for the ages. This freshman shortstop announced her arrival with a bang for the Knights, wasting little time before joining the ranks of the area’s premier players. Jones batted .532 with 7 doubles, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs and 28 runs scored, finishing with an on-base percentage of .610 and slugging percentage of 1.210 for an OPS of 1.820.
Best Leadoff Hitter
Miley Anderson, Neshannock
Ella Richey, Chartiers-Houston
Olivia Williams, Union
Skinny: Richey and Williams did a tremendous job setting the table for their teams this spring — but truth be told, this race wasn’t particularly close, as Neshannock’s speedy outfielder ran away with her second consecutive Best Leadoff Hitter award for the undefeated Lancers. A Kent State recruit, Anderson slashed .519/.589/.963 for a 1.552 OPS with 14 doubles, 11 triples, 37 RBIs, 46 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. An energetic sparkplug with an unmistakable passion for the game, Anderson helped Neshannock complete consecutive perfect seasons by finishing 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a pair of runs scored in an 8-3 PIAA championship victory against South Williamsport.
Comeback Player of the Year
Bria Bosiljevac, Shaler
Alexa Edmunds, North Hills
Ashton Batis, Carmichaels
Skinny: As a freshman, Bosiljevac took over as Shaler’s starting pitcher in midseason and fueled the Titans’ run all the way to the WPIAL and PIAA championship games. Then, a hand injury cut her sensational sophomore season short, threatening to put her promising future in jeopardy. But the Indiana recruit bounced back with a vengeance as a junior, finishing 13-3 with a 0.90 ERA, 0.45 WHIP and 191 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 101 innings pitched. Bosiljevac’s most brilliant performance came when her team needed it most, as Shaler’s ace struck out 17 in a dramatic 2-1 win in 11 innings against Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL Class 5A title game.
Best Playoff Performer
Mia Preuhs, Union
Gabby Quinn, Neshannock
Kylie Anthony, Penn-Trafford
Skinny: Quinn and Anthony each helped power their teams to PIAA championships, but nobody put their team on their back during the 2025 postseason quite like Preuhs. The senior pitcher tossed six consecutive shutouts leading up to the state final — including a dazzling no-hitter with 16 strikeouts in a 3-0 win against Carmichaels in the WPIAL Class 1A championship — pitching 37⅔ consecutive scoreless innings in the playoffs before finally giving up two runs in the PIAA championship against Northeast Bradford. Still, Preuhs was effective enough to finish the job, striking out eight in a 12-2 mercy-rule win to bring the Scotties their first state title.
Most Well-Rounded Player
Lauren Howard, Hempfield
Julia Resnik, Elizabeth Forward
Cam Ponko, Penn-Trafford
Skinny: In another category with a handful of tough cuts to make while narrowing down the list, Hempfield’s multitalented junior takes home this year’s Most Well-Rounded Player award after batting .614 with 9 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs, 38 RBIs and 36 runs scored to help the Spartans capture the WPIAL Class 6A title. A speedy second baseman capable of fielding multiple positions at a high level while hitting for both contact and power, Howard posted a .659 on-base percentage and slugged 1.129 for a team-leading OPS of 1.787. This is the second PUP softball award in three years for the Virginia recruit, as Howard also earned Best Playoff Performer honors as a freshman in 2023.
Best Interview
Lydia Cole, Kaitlyn Hare and Addy Moskal, Mohawk
Gabby Quinn, Neshannock
Mia Preuhs, Union
Skinny: Quinn and Preuhs were on the verge of tears while reflecting on their four-year careers in separate post-championship game interviews, but Mohawk was the runaway winner in this category for the second year in a row after its 6-1 win against South Park in the WPIAL Class 3A championship. See for yourself:
Check back Monday and Tuesday, when we reveal the PUP softball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year for the 2025 season. The finalists are listed below.
Player of the Year
Addy Frye, Neshannock
Lexie Hames, Seneca Valley
Keara Mangieri, New Castle
Coach of the Year
Doug Fisher, Union
Jackie Lash, Neshannock
Denny Little, Penn-Trafford
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
