NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - For just the second time in program history, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Softball Player of the Year plays for Wilmington University, as Lexi Moore, Kylee Gunkel, and head coach Mike Shehorn headline a cast of six Wildcats named All-CACC by the league's head coaches on Tuesday.

Lexi Moore (Dover, Del.) was voted the league's Player of the Year while Kylee Gunkel (Highland, Md.) was the sixth Wildcat to be voted the CACC Pitcher of the Year. Head coach Mike Shehorn picks up his first ever, and the program's second, CACC Coach of the Year award in a vote by the league's sports information directors.

Joining Moore and Gunkel on the All-CACC First Team are outfielder Taylor Gillis (Hockessin, Del.) and utility player Sara Miller (Clayton, Del.). Earning spots on the All-CACC Second Team are pitcher Delani Sheehan (New Castle, Del.) and designated player Jess Reed (Little Heaven, Del.)., amassing six Wildcats on the All-CACC teams.

Lexi Moore becomes the second Wildcat to win CACC Player of the Year with the first being Rosa'Lynn Burton in 2019. She currently leads the CACC and is 12^th in all of NCAA Division II with a .468 batting average, collecting 74 hits on the season. She is also second in the CACC with a .491 on-base percentage, and then when she gets on, is second in the league with 32 stolen bases. She is third in the CACC with 51 runs scored and has nine doubles, three triples, and a home run on the year. She is carrying a 1.073 OPS into the playoffs.

Kylee Gunkel continued her outstanding postseason run from a year ago into this season, earning her first CACC Pitcher of the Year award and the sixth overall for the program. The last Wildcat to win the award was Caitlyn Whiteside in 2019. She leads the CACC and is 31^st in NCAA Division II with a 1.48 earned run average on the year, going 17-4 in the circle. She has three complete game shutouts on the season, amassing 13 total complete games. She is sixth in the league with 92 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched and third overall with an opponent's batting average of .209. She struck out a season high eight batters twice, first at Felician and again at Post.

Taylor Gillis earns her first All-CACC nod with another outstanding year at the top of the Wildcats batting order. She is currently fourth in the CACC with a .419 batting average, sixth in the CACC with 24 stolen bases, and seventh in the CACC with 43 runs scored. She is carrying a 1.014 OPS into the playoffs with a .568 slugging percentage, collecting 11 doubles, a triple, and three home runs out of her 62 hits this year. She hit two home runs in the final game of the regular season at Kutztown.

Sara Miller earns her first All-CACC award as well, playing all over the field defensively to make a spot as the Utility Player (non-pitcher). She is second in the CACC with 56 RBI this season, ranking fourth overall with nine homers. Both of those numbers are second all-time in a single season in Wildcat program history. She is hitting .366 on the year with 10 doubles, three triples, and nine blasts, with a fifth best slugging percentage of .669 in the CACC. She is slugging .840 in CACC games only this year, with a 1.340 OPS against conference opponents.

The Wildcats other threat in the circle Delani Sheehan was named Second Team All-CACC in her first season as a Wildcat. She is ranked 10^th in the league with a 2.74 ERA, carrying a 12-6 record with 85 punchouts in 102.2 innings pitched. Her 5.81 strikeouts per game are third most in the CACC and she has two complete game shutouts and six total complete games in 17 starts.

In her first season as a Wildcat, Jess Reed as found a role as the designated player, leading her to a Second Team nod as well. She is batting .340 on the year with 34 hits, getting on base at a .389 clip while slugging .410. She went a season's best 4-for-4 with a run scored in game two at Florida Southern and had three hits in two other games this year.

Bridgeport's Mya Jones was named the CACC Rookie of the Week while Alliance was voted with the Team Sportsmanship Award to round out the Major Awards.

The Wildcats are in the 2023 CACC Tournament beginning on Thursday at Georgian Court. The top seeded Wildcats play No. 4 Bridgeport on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

2023 CACC Softball All-Conference Teams:

First Team:
1B Kaitlyn Stufft (Georgian Court University)
2B Courtney Grundhauser (Caldwell University)
3B Daisha Howard (Felician University)
SS Lexi Moore (Wilmington University)
C Sam Gomez (Thomas Jefferson University)
OF Vienna Chierchia (Felician University)
OF Taylor Gillis (Wilmington University)
OF Gabby Simms (University of Bridgeport)
P Mariah Culver (Caldwell University)
P Kylee Gunkel (Wilmington University)
P Olivia Kennedy (Caldwell University)
DP Alexis Velotta (Felician University)
UTIL PLAYER Sara Miller (Wilmington University)
UTIL PITCHER Samantha Schiebe (University of Bridgeport) 

Second Team:
1B Maya Rodriguez (Caldwell University)
2B Hailey Kim (University of Bridgeport)
3B Mya Jones (University of Bridgeport)
SS Ashleigh Tavaska (Caldwell University)
C Adriana Mungo (Georgian Court University)
OF Sierra Albritton (Bloomfield College)
OF Jayda Jones (Georgian Court University)
OF Taylor Lipkins (Georgian Court University)
P Madison Burns (Caldwell University)
P Delani Sheehan (Wilmington University)
P Riley Williams (Felician University)
DP Jess Reed (Wilmington University)
UTIL PLAYER Janelle Adams (Alliance University)
UTIL PITCHER Danielle Walters (Bloomfield College)

2023 CACC Player of the Year: Lexi Moore (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Pitcher of the Year: Kylee Gunkel (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Rookie of the Year: Mya Jones (University of Bridgeport)
2023 CACC Coach of the Year: Mike Shehorn (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Team Sportsmanship Award: Alliance University