PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Junior Kenzie Bessette (Cranston, R.I.) was selected to the All-Little East Conference (LEC) First Team and was one of four Plymouth State University softball student-athletes to earn postseason recognition when the LEC announced its major awards winners and All-Conference teams on Tuesday.
 
In addition to Bessette's First Team honors, seniors Mia Ly (Lowell, Mass.) and Kate McGrath (Boston, Mass.), and sophomore Avery Couch (Fort Worth, Texas) were all named to the All-LEC Second Team.
 
Under head coach Mike Bernier, the Panthers concluded the season with a 28-16 record (9-7 LEC) and advanced through the winner's bracket of LEC Tournament to compete for the league title for just the third time in school history. Picked eighth in the LEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Panthers finished with the second-most wins in a season in program history – just two shy of the program record – marking an exceptional 12-win improvement from last spring.
 
 
Kenzie Bessette:

• A 5-9 centerfielder, Bessette had an outstanding season, ranking among the league leaders in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, and stolen bases.
• She set a program record with 38 steals this spring, being caught just four times – a better-than-90% success rate.
• Bessette finished with a .485/.536/.618 slash line, tallying 10 doubles, four triples, 42 runs scored, 23 RBIs, and 16 walks, while going 38-for-42 in stolen base attempts.
• Nationally, she ranked in the top-50 in hits (10th), steals (16th), steals per game (22nd), batting average (26th), and on-base percentage (40th).
• She got off to a scorching start, hitting .596 (28-for-47) with more than one steal per game during the team's 13-game Spring Break trip to Florida. She started 43 games and finished the year with 23 multi-hit games, including six three-hit performances and the team's only four-hit game.
• Bessette was named a candidate for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFPA) Division III Player of the Year in early April.
• This marks her second consecutive First Team selection.

 
Mia Ly:

• A 5-8 first baseman, Ly came up huge in the LEC Tournament, hitting .438 with a .550 on-base percentage and .625 slugging percentage while playing an error-free first base.
• She tied for sixth in the league with three home runs, tied for seventh in walks (16), and tied for 12th in runs scored (24).
• Ly posted a .271/.360/.449 slash line, with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 24 runs scored, and 23 RBIs while drawing 17 walks. She went 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts and posted a .978 fielding percentage with more than 300 total chances.
• She was fourth on the team with eight multi-hit games, tied for second with six multi-RBI games, and ended the season on a seven-game hitting streak.
• In the postseason, Ly went 7-for-16 with three doubles, two RBIs and five runs scored. She walked four times, struck out just once, went a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts, and recorded 44 putouts without an error.
• This marks her second All-Conference nod, having been named the LEC Rookie of the Year and All-LEC Second Team in 2022.

 
Kate McGrath:

• A 5-5 pitcher, McGrath proved herself as one of the league's top starters.
• She ranked in the top-ten of the LEC in several categories, finishing first in saves (3), second in wins (13), third in strikeouts looking (26), fifth in ERA (2.32), eighth in opponent's batting average (.244), and tenth in total strikeouts (61), while logging the sixth-most innings (114.2) in the league.
• McGrath made 23 appearances and 15 starts, going 13-6 with three saves, a 2.32 ERA, and 1.12 WHIP in more than 114 innings. Her 13 wins were the most since 2019, and all three career saves came in a one-week stretch in late April.
• She threw 13 complete games in her 15 starts.
• Nationally, she ranked in the top-50 in walks allowed per game (just 1.04 per seven innings), and her three saves were tied for 23rd in all of Division III.
• This marks her first postseason honor.

 
Avery Couch:

• A 5-5 outfielder, Couch provided a true power threat in the middle of the Panthers' lineup.
• She led the LEC in home runs (6), ranked second in RBIs (40), 11th in slugging percentage (.515), and 13th in runs scored (24).
• Her six home runs were the most for a PSU hitter since 2015, while her 40 RBIs were the most since 2014.
• She posted a.308/.361/.515 slash line, appearing in 42 of 44 games with 40 starts. She was second on the team in hits (40), third in doubles (7), second in total bases (67), and led the team in sacrifice flies (4), while going 10-for-11 in steals.
• Nationally, her four sac flies ranked top-50, and she placed in the top-75 in RBIs.
• Couch recorded ten multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games, including a career-high six RBIs after going 3-for-4 with a double and a homer against Old Westbury in mid-March.
• She earned All-LEC Second Team honors and an LEC All-Rookie Team selection last spring.