WBB: Zancan Named Player Of The Year; All-Conference Teams Released By Conference Office

WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2025-26 Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams and major award winners on Tuesday afternoon. 

Voting was conducted by the league's 13 Women's Basketball head coaches following the regular season and did not take postseason play into account.

Regis' Madi Zancan was voted Player of the Year while Emmanuel's Geanna Bryant collected Defensive Player of the Year honors. Ariellys Velez of Albertus Magnus claimed this year's Rookie of the Year honor while legendary head coach Andy Yosinoff was named Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his coaching career.

The Mitchell College Women's Basketball team was the recipient of the Institutional Sportsmanship award.

The full list of All-Conference honorees and the representatives on the All-Sportsmanship Team can be viewed below.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Madi Zancan, Regis

Madi Zancan earned Player of the Year honors after a dominant season for Regis, after the Cumberland, RI senior led the Pride to the third seed, averaging a league-best 20.7 points a game (19.8 in GNAC, second-best) on 52.1% from the field on the season (third in league) with 11.8 rebounds a night, with 12.5 coming from conference play (second-best). Defensively, Zancan averaged 2.8 steals per game, which was also good for third in the league. Her scoring marks placed her top-10 in the nation in DIII as well as her rebound placed her in the top-20 nationally. The five-time GNAC player of the week had 17 double-doubles on the year, which was second in the GNAC and 13th in the country in which her best performance this season came in non-conference play with a 50 point, 17 rebound game against Alma. Zancan was also named to D3Hoops.com Team of the Week and was United States Writers Basketball Association (USWBA) Player of the Week once (Week of Feb 2). 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Geanna Bryant, Emmanuel

Geanna Bryant was named Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring an elite undefeated Emmanuel defense in conference play this past season. Bryant was dominant defensively on the ball for the Saints as the Boston, Mass. junior led the GNAC in steals with 110 total (38 in conference play) with an outstanding 4.07 steals per game average while only playing 25 minutes a night, which not only led the league as well but also places her fifth in the nation. Bryant was the leader of an Emmanuel defense that gave up only 51.5 points a game in conference play on 30.9% from the field, both of which led the conference. Bryant had 21 games of 3+ steals, which her best defensive game came against MIT when the junior had 12 steals. She was also fourth in the league in assists with 104 (3.9 a game).

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Ariellys Velez, Albertus Magnus

Ariellys Velez earns Rookie Of the Year honors after leading Albertus Magnus to the sixth seed in GNAC play, averaging 19.5 points a game on the season (third-best in the league and 21st in DIII) with a conference-best 20.7 points per game in conference action. Velez had 12 games of 20+ points with her best scoring game coming from a conference victory over University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) as she netted 35 points. The Watertown, Conn. native was also a pest defensively for the Falcons, averaging 2.61 steals a game and totaling 60 on the season. Velez collected Rookie of the Week honors four times and was Player of the Week honors. 

COACH OF THE YEAR

Andy Yosinoff, Emmanuel

Andy Yosinoff adds another Coach of the Year honor to his legendary resume (sixth in career) after leading the Saints to an undefeated season in conference play at 12-0 (22-6 overall) and to the NCAA Tournament. Yosinoff’s squad was dominant on both sides of the ball in the conference this season, leading many categories including points per game at 71.9 (78.8 in GNAC play) and allowing opponents to only 54.8 points a game (51.5 in conference action). With 952 wins in his coaching career, Andy is the seventh all-time winningest coach across all three divisions and is the all-time winningest NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Coach. 

2025-26 Women's Basketball All-GNAC Teams

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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