PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Little East Conference has announced its All-Conference and year-end award winners in softball and five UMass Dartmouth student-athletes have been recognized.
RaeLynn Perregaux and
Edy Crawford were named to the First Team, while
Bre Fontes and
Emma Talpey were Second Team honorees. Fontes, along with freshman
Brielle Kenney were also All-Rookie Team selections.
Additionally, Perregaux was named the 2026 Little East Player of the Year, becoming the first Corsair in program history to earn the honor since the conference was established in 1997. The UMass Dartmouth coaching staff, led by head coach
Rachael Powers, was also named the 2026 Little East Coaching Staff of the Year.
Perregaux, a senior third baseman from Torrington, Conn., garnered First Team honors for the second straight season after leading the Corsairs with a .430 batting average. Through 41 games, she has produced a single-season record 65 hits in 151 at-bats, including 19 doubles, two triples and six home runs. Perregaux has a team-high 38 runs scored with 32 runs batted in. The 2026 Little East Tournament Most Outstanding Player also has a .702 slugging percentage with a .460 on-base percentage to go along with a 1.162 OPS.
Crawford, a sophomore pitcher out of Exeter, N.H., nabbed her first year-end honor after a phenomenal season in the circle through 29 games. Sporting a 14-8 overall record, she has posted 13 complete games, a shutout and three saves. In 137.2 innings pitched, Crawford has a 2.24 earned run average, allowing 61 runs (44 earned) on 143 hits, recording 64 total strikeouts with 30 walks. Opponents are batting .266 against her. Currently, Crawford ranks first in the Little East in innings pitched, second in total wins, third in saves, fifth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts.
Fontes, a rookie first baseman from Swansea, Mass., garnered her first year-end nod after ranking second on the squad with a .383 batting average. She has 44 hits in 115 at-bats, including six doubles. Fontes has 28 runs scored with 16 runs batted in as a starter in 39 games this season. She currently owns a .435 slugging percentage with a .467 on-base percentage.
A senior second baseman from Bridgewater, Mass., Talpey earns her first All-Conference honor having played in 35 games for the Corsairs. Owning a .374 batting average – which ranks third on the team – she has posted 40 hits in 107 at-bats, including five doubles and a triple. She has produced 22 runs scored with 18 runs batted in, adding a team-high 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Currently, Talpey has a .439 slugging percentage and a .407 on-bast percentage.
In her career, Talpey has appeared in 126 games for the Corsairs, including 102 as a starter. Owning a .283 batting average, she has posted 83 hits in 293 at-bats so far with seven doubles and a triple. In addition to 64 runs scored, she has posted 38 runs batted in with all of her efforts in the 2026 season so far being career-high numbers.
Kenney, a freshman pitcher from Waterford, Conn., earned All-Rookie Team honors for a season that has seen her post an 11-3 overall record. In 22 total appearances so far, she has eight complete games and two shutouts with one save. Sporting a 2.98 earned run average, Kenney has allowed 56 runs (47 earned) on 101 hits through 110.1 innings pitched. She boasts a team-high 77 strikeouts with 30 walks surrendered.
Led by third-year head coach
Rachael Powers, the Corsairs are 30-11 on the season, having gone 11-5 in conference play – which was good for second overall and a First Round bye in tournament play. UMass Dartmouth opened LEC Tournament action with a narrow 1-0 loss to sixth-seeded UMass Boston.
UMass Dartmouth – which has now won seven of its last 10 contests – went on to post a 4-1 win over fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State to advance. The Corsairs then posted a 6-0 win over top-seeded Vermont State University Castleton, before eliminating UMass Boston, 10-1 (6 inn.) on Saturday to advance to Championship Sunday. Needing two victories to claim the crown, UMD defeated fifth-seeded Rhode Island College, 2-1, before recording an 8-3 win in game two to claim their second championship title in program history.
The Corsairs were selected to the Worcester Regional for the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament and will face Stockton University on Friday, May 15 at 1:30pm. The winner of Friday's game advances to Saturday's 11am game to face the winner of the other Friday's other contest between WPI and Albertus Magnus. The losing team from each game on Friday will meet on Saturday at 1:30pm.
