PHILADELPHIA -- Liz McCaffery was selected the 2025 Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Softball Performer of the Year joining Payton MacNair and Emily McCutcheon on the Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Softball team.

McCaffery is the second Prof in a row and third in the last four years to take home the top local honor as McCutcheon was the recipient last season and Morgan Zane was the winner in 2022. McNair earns her third career honor with Philly-SIDA.

The team is selected by votes from 30 four-year institutions within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. To be considered for Academic All-Area recognition, individuals had to have at least a 3.3 GPA.

The trio are fresh off a third-straight appearance in the Division III Softball Championship Tournament as this year's site was at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois where the Profs tied for a fifth-place finish. All three student-athletes were also named All-American.

McCaffery, a second-team NFCA All-America selection, first-team NFCA All-Region, and first-team All-New Jersey Athletic Conference led the Profs in nearly every offensive category this season including runs (66), hits (76), triples (6), home runs (5), and stolen bases (27) while also posting a team-best .425 batting average. A Sports Communications and Media major, her major academic achievements include an induction into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Student-Athlete Honor Society, and being named a Rowan Scholar-Athlete. McCaffery was also named to the Division III Softball Championship All-Tournament Team.

MacNair was right behind McCaffery for the team lead in average (.422) and OPS (1.044) while adding 49 runs, 41 RBI's, 17 doubles to highlight all-region and all-conference accolades. The Health and Physical Education major struck out just six times in 190 plate appearances. The fifth year leaves the program as the all-time leader in games played (231), at-bats (764), hits (283), and doubles (71).

McCutcheon posted a 21-2 record with a sub-one ERA (0.90) with 15 complete games, 10 shutouts, and a pair of saves. She was part of a pitching staff that produced a Division III leading 28 shutouts and second in team WHIP (0.90). Individually, the Elementary Education major was fifth in Division III in ERA and third in walks allowed per seven innings (0.35) as the junior also earned  all-region and all-conference honors.

The 2025 season saw Rowan record the winningest campaign in program history, going 49-4 and having the longest winning streak in all of NCAA Softball of 31 games. The streak also was the longest to start the season in team record books.
 
A trio of Villanova student-athletes: Kat Gallant, Maranda Runco, and Kelsey White join Gwynedd Mercy's Jocelyn Baumeister, West Chester's Danielle Ciliberto, Ursinus' Samantha Mallen, Swarthmore's Olivia McClammy, and Penn State Abington's Gretchen Yanss to round out the 2025 academic team.