Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
21st Annual Gael Awards, Presented by University Credit Union, Celebrate Record-Breaking 2025-26 School Year for Saint Mary’s Athletics
5/14/2026 9:00:00 AM | General
MORAGA, Calif. — For the 21st straight year, all Saint Mary's student-athletes, coaches, and support staff gathered to celebrate the athletic department's annual achievements at the 2026 Gael Awards. This academic year featured many truly prolific team and individual performances for the Gaels, including a program record 176 combined wins (and counting!), six programs (and counting!) represented at NCAA Postseason, two West Coast Conference Coaches of the Year and two WCC Players of the Year. Here's a look at this year's award winners:
FEMALE TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Softball Three Ranked Wins at the Cardinal Round Robin
The Gaels softball team had a season-defining weekend at the Stanford Round Robin. The Gaels opened their week with an upset win over 14th ranked Washington 5-2, good for their first ranked win since 2017. They then followed that up with two more ranked wins that weekend, defeating the Huskies again, 3-2 in an 11 inning thriller, and host 24th ranked Stanford 5-1. The win propelled the Gaels into every mid-major top-25 poll, and even earned them votes in many national polls.
MALE TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Men's Basketball Upset Win vs. No. 9 Gonzaga
Needing a win on the final day of the regular season against WCC rival Gonzaga in their final matchup as conference foes to secure their fourth straight West Coast Conference Regular Season Title, the Gaels erased a 10 point first half deficit to down the Zags 70-59. The win marked the Gaels first win over a top-10 opponent since 2022.
FEMALE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Kate Plachy, Women's Soccer Shutout at No. 16 Georgetown
Goalkeeper Kate Plachy helped the Gaels to one of their biggest wins of the season, defeating No. 16 Georgetown on the road, 2-0. Plachy made six saves in the match and also defended eight corner kicks as the Gaels pulled off an upset road win. Plachy also recorded her first career assist with a booming punt down the field that found Sydney Middaugh who scored the second goal of the game.
MALE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Ian Josephson, Baseball Program's First Cycle vs. CSU Bakersfield
The Saint Mary's baseball team came away with a dominant midweek victory over CSU Bakersfield 14-4 but also witnessed some history Wednesday afternoon as true freshman Ian Josephson hit for the program's first-ever cycle, which was capped off by a game ending two-RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to complete the cycle. Josephson becomes just the third player in West Coast Conference history to record a cycle and the first since Portland's Matt Allen, who recorded a cycle against LMU in 2001.
MIKE GIBBONS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – John Koch, Beach Volleyball
John Koch has been a tremendous help to not only our Beach Volleyball team as a student manager, but also assisting as a PA around the athletics department at many home games this year.
TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – Softball
Softball led the entire athletics department in community service impact this year, making it a priority to be model student-athletes on and off the diamond. Their presence was felt all over campus and the surrounding community through participation with numerous local organizations!
HIGHEST TEAM GPA – Golf
Saint Mary's Golf earned a 3.712 team GPA in the Fall semester, while maintaining a 3.575 cumulative team GPA.
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Ashlyn Vaughn, Women's Soccer
Ashlyn Vaughn was an electric winger for the Gaels, finishing the 2025 season with three goals and three assists as a true freshman. Vaughn was named to the All-WCC Freshman Team and All-WCC Honorable Mention after playing in all 18 games and making 17 starts. After the conclusion of the season, Vaughn was ranked No. 57 in Top Drawer Soccer's postseason top100 freshman list in the country.
MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Oisine Spillane, Men's Cross Country and Track
Oisin Spillane placed 18th at the WCC Cross Country Championship, and set the school track record in the outdoor 5K and Steeplechase. He currently ranks 19th in the NCAA West Region and 34th in the 2026 Division I Top 100 in the 3000m Steeplechase and looks to be the first Gael to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals since 2017.
TODD OGORZELEC STUDENT-EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Jackson Simmons, Sports Performance
Jackson has made a large impact on many of our teams in just a short amount of time as a graduate assistant in the weight room for the sports performance department.
BRYAN VARGAS GAEL SPIRIT AWARD – JT Haughey, Sports Performance
JT is our Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance, and always brings the energy in the weight room for all of the Saint Mary's Athletic programs.
COACH OF THE YEAR – Sonja Garnett, Softball
Coach Garnett led her team to their third straight conference title, and 2nd NCAA appearance in 3 years. She was recently named WCC Head Coach of the Year, for the second time in three years, and led her team to 40 wins, making them just the second ever team in Saint Mary's history to reach that mark.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Hannah Ferguson, Softball
Returning after missing all of 2025 with an injury, Hannah Ferguson has been an unsung leader for the Gaels. The redshirt junior is batting 0.422, good for third best in the conference, and one of only three players in the WCC batting over 0.400. Her 50 runs scored lead the WCC, while her 10 triples lead the country. Hannah also has swiped 21 bags this year, bringing her career tally to 62, a new program record, one of four that she has broken this year.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Joshua Dent, Men's Basketball
Sophomore point guard Joshua Dent burst onto the scene as a star for the Gaels after appearing in just 83 minutes of action as a true freshman. Taking over for two time WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis to run the offense, Dent earned first team All-WCC honors this year, finishing out the season as the Gaels' third-leading scorer (13.2 PPG), while leading the team with 185 assists and 52 steals. Dent showed a tremendous ability to score from beyond the arc, burying 61 three pointers, the second most on the team, at a 40.4% clip. He also converted 91.8% of his foul shots in the regular season. Dent played a full 40 minutes on 13 different occasions this year.
GAEL CUP – Softball
The Gael Cup encompasses not only academic, and athletic performance, but also community service, sportsmanship, WCC awards, as well as Shamrock Student-Athlete of the Week Honors. Softball accumulated over 1000 hours of community service, 10 WCC weekly honors, and 6 Shamrock Student-Athlete of the Week honors. They also earned a team GPA of 3.307 from the Fall semester. Congratulations Softball and Good luck at NCAA Regionals this weekend!
#GaelsRise
FEMALE TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Softball Three Ranked Wins at the Cardinal Round Robin
The Gaels softball team had a season-defining weekend at the Stanford Round Robin. The Gaels opened their week with an upset win over 14th ranked Washington 5-2, good for their first ranked win since 2017. They then followed that up with two more ranked wins that weekend, defeating the Huskies again, 3-2 in an 11 inning thriller, and host 24th ranked Stanford 5-1. The win propelled the Gaels into every mid-major top-25 poll, and even earned them votes in many national polls.
MALE TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Men's Basketball Upset Win vs. No. 9 Gonzaga
Needing a win on the final day of the regular season against WCC rival Gonzaga in their final matchup as conference foes to secure their fourth straight West Coast Conference Regular Season Title, the Gaels erased a 10 point first half deficit to down the Zags 70-59. The win marked the Gaels first win over a top-10 opponent since 2022.
FEMALE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Kate Plachy, Women's Soccer Shutout at No. 16 Georgetown
Goalkeeper Kate Plachy helped the Gaels to one of their biggest wins of the season, defeating No. 16 Georgetown on the road, 2-0. Plachy made six saves in the match and also defended eight corner kicks as the Gaels pulled off an upset road win. Plachy also recorded her first career assist with a booming punt down the field that found Sydney Middaugh who scored the second goal of the game.
MALE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – Ian Josephson, Baseball Program's First Cycle vs. CSU Bakersfield
The Saint Mary's baseball team came away with a dominant midweek victory over CSU Bakersfield 14-4 but also witnessed some history Wednesday afternoon as true freshman Ian Josephson hit for the program's first-ever cycle, which was capped off by a game ending two-RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to complete the cycle. Josephson becomes just the third player in West Coast Conference history to record a cycle and the first since Portland's Matt Allen, who recorded a cycle against LMU in 2001.
MIKE GIBBONS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR – John Koch, Beach Volleyball
John Koch has been a tremendous help to not only our Beach Volleyball team as a student manager, but also assisting as a PA around the athletics department at many home games this year.
TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD – Softball
Softball led the entire athletics department in community service impact this year, making it a priority to be model student-athletes on and off the diamond. Their presence was felt all over campus and the surrounding community through participation with numerous local organizations!
HIGHEST TEAM GPA – Golf
Saint Mary's Golf earned a 3.712 team GPA in the Fall semester, while maintaining a 3.575 cumulative team GPA.
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Ashlyn Vaughn, Women's Soccer
Ashlyn Vaughn was an electric winger for the Gaels, finishing the 2025 season with three goals and three assists as a true freshman. Vaughn was named to the All-WCC Freshman Team and All-WCC Honorable Mention after playing in all 18 games and making 17 starts. After the conclusion of the season, Vaughn was ranked No. 57 in Top Drawer Soccer's postseason top100 freshman list in the country.
MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Oisine Spillane, Men's Cross Country and Track
Oisin Spillane placed 18th at the WCC Cross Country Championship, and set the school track record in the outdoor 5K and Steeplechase. He currently ranks 19th in the NCAA West Region and 34th in the 2026 Division I Top 100 in the 3000m Steeplechase and looks to be the first Gael to qualify for the NCAA West Regionals since 2017.
TODD OGORZELEC STUDENT-EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – Jackson Simmons, Sports Performance
Jackson has made a large impact on many of our teams in just a short amount of time as a graduate assistant in the weight room for the sports performance department.
BRYAN VARGAS GAEL SPIRIT AWARD – JT Haughey, Sports Performance
JT is our Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance, and always brings the energy in the weight room for all of the Saint Mary's Athletic programs.
COACH OF THE YEAR – Sonja Garnett, Softball
Coach Garnett led her team to their third straight conference title, and 2nd NCAA appearance in 3 years. She was recently named WCC Head Coach of the Year, for the second time in three years, and led her team to 40 wins, making them just the second ever team in Saint Mary's history to reach that mark.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Hannah Ferguson, Softball
Returning after missing all of 2025 with an injury, Hannah Ferguson has been an unsung leader for the Gaels. The redshirt junior is batting 0.422, good for third best in the conference, and one of only three players in the WCC batting over 0.400. Her 50 runs scored lead the WCC, while her 10 triples lead the country. Hannah also has swiped 21 bags this year, bringing her career tally to 62, a new program record, one of four that she has broken this year.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Joshua Dent, Men's Basketball
Sophomore point guard Joshua Dent burst onto the scene as a star for the Gaels after appearing in just 83 minutes of action as a true freshman. Taking over for two time WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis to run the offense, Dent earned first team All-WCC honors this year, finishing out the season as the Gaels' third-leading scorer (13.2 PPG), while leading the team with 185 assists and 52 steals. Dent showed a tremendous ability to score from beyond the arc, burying 61 three pointers, the second most on the team, at a 40.4% clip. He also converted 91.8% of his foul shots in the regular season. Dent played a full 40 minutes on 13 different occasions this year.
GAEL CUP – Softball
The Gael Cup encompasses not only academic, and athletic performance, but also community service, sportsmanship, WCC awards, as well as Shamrock Student-Athlete of the Week Honors. Softball accumulated over 1000 hours of community service, 10 WCC weekly honors, and 6 Shamrock Student-Athlete of the Week honors. They also earned a team GPA of 3.307 from the Fall semester. Congratulations Softball and Good luck at NCAA Regionals this weekend!
#GaelsRise
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