Mushinski, Rees And Caserta Headline Major USCAA Softball Awards
DUBOIS, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine's Kaylee Mushinski (Allentown, N.J./Allentown), Karly Rees (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) and Head Coach Mark Caserta took home the three biggest year-end honors from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Sunday night. Mushinski was named National Player of the Year, while Rees earned USCAA Student-Athlete of the Year and Caserta was tabbed as the National Coach of the Year.
Mushinski, the fifth Brandywine student-athlete to be named USCAA Player of the Year, is also the two-time reigning Penn State University Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was named First Team All-American for the second consecutive season.
In 41 starts this spring, Mushinski tops all USCAA softball players with nine home runs, 29 extra-base hits and 68 RBI. A .412 hitter, Mushinski has hit safely in 32 games, including four three-hit performance and two four-hit efforts. She has also produced at least four RBI in a game on six occasions this season. Mushinski's 56 hits and 43 runs scored are tied for third nationally.
In two seasons at Brandywine, Mushinski has produced 116 hits, 128 RBI, 82 runs scored and 13 home runs, while batting .417.
Rees claimed the top academic honor from the USCAA after also earning the John S. Egli Award from the PSUAC as the top student-athlete in the conference.
Rees' 3.99 grade-point average is the highest among Brandywine's 180 student-athletes. During her three years at Brandywine, Rees has earned academic recognition from the PSUAC, USCAA, National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association and College Sports Communications.
On campus, Rees serves as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Through her work with SAAC, Rees has helped to organize Threes for THON Night during basketball season, Hits for THON during baseball and softball season and Domestic Violence Awareness Night during a 2022 volleyball match. In addition, Rees serves as a peer mentor, tutor and as a teaching assistant for a first-year seminar class.
A three-year starting catcher, Rees has collected 143 hits, 101 runs scored and 85 RBI during her 118-game career. She has recorded a .464 batting average with 58 hits and 34 RBI in 40 games this spring, earning her third consecutive all-conference honor, while being named First Team All-American by the USCAA.
Now in the midst of his 11th season at Brandywine, Caserta led the Lions to their ninth-straight PSUAC championship. Caserta has guided Brandywine to its third-straight season of 30-plus wins with a 35-8 mark, the most wins in the USCAA.
Caserta's teams are 107-29 during the last three seasons, upping his career record to 269-133-1. He led Brandywine to the No. 1 seed in the USCAA Tournament as the Lions look to defend their World Series title after capturing the program's first-ever national championship last season.
