Cardinal Points picks spring standouts

By Justin Rushia

With the spring 2025 season wrapping up, it’s time for the Cardinal Points Burghies awards. The Burghies honor stand-out teams and players across six categories, highlighting their exceptional performances in the Spring 2025 season. 

The awards include:

Most Valuable Cardinal: Awarded to the athlete whose performance, leadership and impact drove their team’s success.

Rookie of the Season: Recognizing a first-year athlete who made an immediate, standout impact on their team.

Most Improved Cardinal: Awarded to an athlete who showed outstanding growth from last season, refining their skills and performance.

Senior Achievement: Celebrating a senior whose leadership, dedication and talent left a lasting mark on their respected team.

Best Coaching Staff: Recognizing coaches who provided exceptional leadership, strategy and led their team to a successful season.

Game of the Season: Awarded to the team who played the best game all season. 

Most Valuable Cardinal: Grace Yarkosky

Grace Yarkosky’s spring 2025 season was nothing short of dominant, making her the clear choice for this year’s Most Valuable Cardinal. The standout sprinter for the Plattsburgh State women’s track and field team delivered clutch performances all season long.

During her outdoor campaign, Yarkosky achieved three wins in the 400-meter dash, never completing the event in over 60 seconds. She clinched the SUNYAC championship with an impressive time of 57.98 seconds.

In addition, the junior sprinter anchored the Cardinals’ SUNYAC title-winning 4×400-meter relay team, posting a split time of 56.9 seconds and helping to secure crucial points in the championship competition. Although her season isn’t finished yet, with regionals and potentially nationals on the horizon, Yarkosky’s consistent high-level performance has set her apart in a competitive field of athletes, earning her the title of  Most Valuable Cardinal.

Most Improved Cardinal: Carly Gemmett

This season, Carly Gemmett proved to be one of the most feared arms in the SUNYAC, making her the clear recipient of the Cardinal Points Most Improved Cardinal honor.

After transferring to Plattsburgh, Gemmett worked her way into the rotation her junior year. She appeared in nine games with six starts, recording 30.2 innings pitched, 24 strikeouts and an overall ERA of 7.99.

Gemmett pitched in 23 games this spring, making 12 starts and throwing 110.1 innings. She struck out a staggering 139 batters, walked just 58, and posted a 3.87 ERA by season’s end. Her performances included six complete games, three shutouts, and several key wins that helped stabilize the Cardinals’ rotation through a demanding SUNYAC slate.

She opened eyes early in the season with a complete game two-hitter against Keene State on March 16, where she fanned 13 batters. That dominant outing set the tone for what would become a breakout stretch: a one-hit shutout against Salem State with 12 strikeouts, and a 10-strikeout complete game in a win over Morrisville on May 2. On Senior Day, she delivered her most dominant performance of the year, throwing a perfect game with 13 strikeouts in a 14-0 rout of Canton.

For a program navigating tough conference matchups and a packed schedule, Gemmett was the go-to pitcher again and again, earning her Most Improved Cardinal. 

Rookie of the Season: Isabella Scott 

Coming off a very strong indoor season, helping the 4x400m relay team to a SUNYAC Championship, first-year sprinter/hurdler Isabella Scott established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the SUNYAC.

Scott captured SUNYAC titles in both the 400-meter hurdles (1:06.00) and the 4×400-meter relay (4:03.45), while also placing fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at the conference championship. Throughout the spring, she posted multiple wins, including sweeps in the 100H, 400H, and 4×400 at the St. Lawrence Twilight Meet.

Scott collected five individual victories and contributed to two relay wins, consistently finishing among the top competitors at every meet. Her versatility and scoring ability made her a key contributor and a clear choice for Rookie of the Year. 

Senior Achievement: Kyle Cremin

After four standout seasons with the Cardinals, senior Kyle Cremin was a clear choice for the Cardinal Points Senior Achievement award. 

The three-time Second Team All SUNYAC selection posted a .318 batting average this season, collecting 34 hits, 22 RBIs and seven doubles across 31 starts. He recorded a season-high four hits against SUNY Canton on May 1. 

The senior slugger had standout performances during the Cardinals’ final SUNYAC series against Fredonia, where he notched six hits, three runs scored, a stolen base and broke the Plattsburgh all-time doubles record.

Beyond his offensive production, Cremin was a defensive anchor at first base, finishing the year with a .996 fielding percentage and just one error in 247 chances. Over his career, he totaled 153 hits, 104 RBIs, and a .970 fielding percentage across 128 games, becoming one of the program’s most reliable all-around players.

Cremin’s consistent performances and decorated Plattsburgh career earned him the Cardinal Points Senior Achievement Award.

Best Coaching Staff: Softball

The Plattsburgh State softball coaching staff was named the 2025 Coaching Staff of the Year after leading a young squad through a season of steady growth and a strong late-season playoff push. 

After starting the year 1-11 during a tough spring trip in Florida, the Cardinals regrouped and improved dramatically in SUNYAC play. They finished the season with a conference record of 7-11 and won key conference games down the stretch, allowing the team to make the SUNYAC playoffs.

What set this coaching staff apart was their ability to maintain composure and belief in their team despite early struggles.

The coaching staff’s impact extended beyond wins and losses. Several players saw significant improvement throughout the season, with first-years and veterans alike stepping into key roles. Their leadership helped turn a rocky start into a promising finish, laying the foundation for future success.

Game of the Season: Softball come back win over Morrisville to clinch playoffs

Plattsburgh softball’s 8-5 comeback victory over Morrisville earned it the 2025 Game of the Season, thanks to a dramatic seventh-inning rally and standout performances on both sides of the ball.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind RBI hits from Sara Isaacs, Bella Toleman, and Emma Deo. However, defensive miscues and timely hitting from the Mustangs allowed Morrisville to storm back and take a 5-4 lead by the fifth inning.

Facing defeat, Plattsburgh’s offense delivered in the final inning. Meghan Stork and Isaacs sparked the rally with back-to-back singles, and Toleman tied the game with her third hit of the day. With the bases loaded, Michelle DeFina came through with a two-run single to give the Cardinals the lead. An RBI groundout from Mikayla Pappas added insurance, pushing the lead to 8-5.

Carly Gemmett shut the door in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side to secure the win. The late-inning heroics, combined with a resilient team effort, made this comeback victory a defining moment of the Cardinals’ season.