GORHAM, Maine – Senior Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) was named the 2026 Little East Conference Player of the Year as the University of Southern Maine Huskies swept the major post-season conference honors.  Junior Gabe Gifford (Bradley, Maine/Old Town) is the LEC Pitcher of the Year, while freshman pitcher Hayden Strout (Charleston, Maine/Foxcroft Academy) was chosen as the conference's Rookie of the Year.  Second year head coach Scott Heath was chosen by his peers as the Little East Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Douin, Gifford and junior Evan Baschnagel (Garden City, NY) earned first team all-conference recognition, while six Huskies were named to the second team. Strout was joined by juniors Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.), Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine), Carter Higgins (Truro, Nova Scotia), Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine) and sophomore Caleb Vacchiano (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) on the second team. Freshman Kaiden Morin (Brewer, Maine)  and junior Carson Black (Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley) found spots on the LEC third team.  
 
Now a two-time LEC Player of the Year, previously earning the honor in 2024, Douin had a remarkable 2026 campaign, becoming the program's all-time leader in home runs (37) and RBI (204). Hitting a team-leading .436, Douin collected 72 hits in 165 at-bats with 14 doubles, four triples and a team-best 12 home runs, and a team-leading 66 RBI. Posting 22 multi-hit games, Douin had a season-high five hits on a 5-for-6 effort at the dish with five RBI in a 19-6 win at Keene State in the regular season. Fielding a solid .986 at 1B, Douin had 262 putouts and 15 assists while helping turn 17 double plays.
 
Posting 5-2 record in 13 appearances and nine starts in his first season with the Huskies, Gifford had a team-leading 75 strikeouts in 56.2 innings while carrying a 2.22 earned run average.  Holding his opponents to an anemic .200 batting average, Gifford had regular-season conference wins over Castleton and Keene State, and he pitched Southern Maine to an 11-1 win over Eastern Connecticut State in the second game of the 2026 Little East Conference tourney.  Overpowering his opponents, Gifford had three games with double-digits strikeouts, reaching a season-high 11 twice.
 
Pitching in big spots as a freshman, Strout is the 11th Husky to earn Little East Conference Rookie of the Year honors, and the first since Cam Seymour in 2021.  Strout is the first pitcher in Southern Maine program history to earn the award. Making 10 appearances and seven starts, Strout posted a 6-1 record with a 3.38 earned run average in 48 innings. Amassing 29 strikeouts, Strout held his opponents to a .229 batting average. Pitching Southern Maine to a 14-6 win over UMass Dartmouth to advance to the championship game of the 2026 LEC Tournament, Strout fired seven strong innings allowing five earned runs on seven hits.
 
Playing in the outfield and hitting .353, Baschnagel had a tremendous first season with the Huskies.  Collecting 42 hits in 119 at-bats, Baschnagel had 10 doubles and nine home runs for 37 RBI.  The Huskies' lead off hitter, Baschnagel scored 63 runs and had a team-leading .547 on-base percentage drawing a team-best 32 walks while being hit by a pitch a team-best 19 times.  Baschnagel led the Huskies on the bases with 23 stolen bases. Recording 14 multi-hit games, Baschnagel reached a season-high three hits four times.  During the LEC tourney, Baschnagel hit safely in each of the Huskies four games and had eight RBI. 
 
A sophomore infielder, Vacchiano had a strong 2026 season hitting .297 while playing second base for the Huskies.  One of two Huskies to play and start in all 40 games so far this season, Vacchiano was 46-for-155 at the plate with 48 runs scored and 52 RBI. Ripping eight doubles, three triples and five home runs for the Huskies, Vacchiano had a pair of grand slams this season, including a pivotal four-run homer in the championship game of the 2026 LEC tourney, helping USM to a 11-5 win over the Keene State College Owls.  Vacchiano was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
The Huskies' starting shortstop, Keblinsky is now a two-time All-Little East Conference selection earning third team honors in 2025.  Second on the team with a .404 batting average, Keblinsky was 65-for-161 at the plate with 61 runs scored and 46 RBI, connecting on a team-high 19 doubles while adding a triple and two home runs.  Recording 16 multi-hit games, Keblinsky had a season-high five hits on a 5-for-5 effort in a 19-8 win over Eastern Connecticut State to help Southern Maine clinch the number one seed and regular season championship. Keblinsky's 5-for-5 effort against the Warriors cemented his spot in USM records as the junior shortstop hit for the cycle in the game, becoming the first Husky to hit for the cycle since Forrest Chadwick did so against Western Connecticut State on April 12, 2014 and just the fourth overall. Defensively, Keblinsky was outstanding with 57 putouts and 107 assists for a .927 percentage while helping turn nine double plays.
 
The Huskies' starting left fielder the last two seasons, Anquillare is now a two-time All-LEC pick, earning third team honors in 2025. Hitting a career-best .363 in 2026, Anquillare was 53-for-146 at the plate with 37 runs scored and 48 RBI, connecting on six doubles, two triples and seven home runs.  Tying the Huskies' single-game record for home runs in a game (3) and RBI in a game (9), Anquillare was 4-for-6 at the plate in a lopside 23-5 (7 inning) conference win at Plymouth State. 
 
Patrolling center field, Higgins hit .326 (47-for-144) in his first season with the Huskies, scoring 45 runs. Connecting on 10 doubles and five home runs, Higgins drove in 33 RBI. With 12 multi-hit games during the season, Higgins had a season-high four in a 4-for-6 effort at the plate in a 21-3 win against Plymouth State.  Higgins had three hits (3-for-5) with a run scored in USM's 11-5 win over Keene State to win the LEC crown.  Outstanding defensively, Higgins matched his season-high with four putouts in the championship game.
 
McDonald has a 9-1 record in 10 starts and 12 appearances for the Huskies in 2026.  Now a two-time All-LEC pitcher, McDonald has a career-best 3.84 earned runs. Working a team-high 58.2 innings so far this season, McDonald is holding his opponents to a .239 batting average and has a team-leading 1.23 WHIP. Earning five wins during the Little East Conference regular season (5-0), McDonald was the game-one starter in the 2026 Little East Conference Championship, earning the win over VTSU-Castleton. McDonald recorded his 100^th career strikeout in an 11-1 conference win at Rhode Island College on March 29.
 
Rookie catcher Kaiden Morin put together an outstanding first season in Gorham, playing in 26 games with 25 starts.  Hitting .374, Morin was 34-for-91 at the plate with six doubles and 24 RBI.  Drawing 19 walks during the season, Morin had an outstanding .473 on-base percentage. The Huskies' starting catcher throughout the LEC tourney, Morin was season-high 4-for-5 with two runs scored in Southern Maine's 14-6 win over UMass Dartmouth to secure a spot in the LEC title game. Strong defensively, Morin had 167 putouts and 11 assists, and threw out five baserunners.
 
Now a two-time All-LEC pitcher earning third team honors in 2024 as well, Black posted a 7-1 record making 13 appearances and eight starts with a 3.54 earned run average and a 1.39 WHIP.  Posting a 5-1 record against conference opponents during the regular season, Black recorded his 100^th career strikeout in a 23-1 (7 inning) win at Rhode Island College, holding the Anchormen to just three singles.
 
In his second year at the helm of the Huskies' baseball program, head coach Scott Heath guided Southern Maine to 2026 Little East Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships.  Defeating Keene State 11-5 for the 2026 crown, the Huskies won their seventh overall LEC title and first since 2021.  In two seasons and counting with the Huskies, Heath has a record of 50-29 and has led USM to a 30-10 record so far in 2026.  The10th head coach in program history, Heath joins legendary Ed Flaherty as one of two Husky coaches to earn conference Coach of the Year honors.
 
 
 

2026 Baseball All-Little East Conference
Player of the Year	Kyle Douin	Southern Maine
Pitcher of the Year	Gabe Gifford	Southern Maine
Rookie of the Year	Hayden Strout	Southern Maine
Coach of the Year	Scott Heath	Southern Maine
First Team All-LEC
Hank Penders	Catcher	Eastern Connecticut
Kyle Douin	First Base	Southern Maine
Trevor Snow	Second Base	Keene State
Elliot Miles	Shortstop	UMass Boston
Evan McCue	Third Base	Keene State
Evan Baschnagel	Outfield	Southern Maine
Derek Finlay	Outfield	Keene State
Brett Baker	Outfield	UMass Dartmouth
Brandon Gaer	Designated Hitter	UMass Boston
David Floyd	Pitcher	Keene State
Gabe Gifford	Pitcher	Southern Maine
Cameron Fisher	Pitcher	UMass Boston
AJ Rooks	Relief Pitcher	Eastern Connecticut
Second Team All-LEC
Evan Cali	Catcher	Keene State
Ian Moser	First Base	Eastern Connecticut
Caleb Vacchiano	Second Base	Southern Maine
Peter Keblinsky	Shortstop	Southern Maine
Ryan Slack	Third Base	UMass Boston
Mike Anquillare	Outfield	Southern Maine
Carter Higgins	Outfield	Southern Maine
Sam Bradford	Outfield	UMass Dartmouth
Lucas Rogers	Designated Hitter	Keene State
Stephen Rickert	Pitcher	Eastern Connecticut
Colin McDonald	Pitcher	Southern Maine
Jordan Paradis	Pitcher	UMass Dartmouth
Hayden Strout	Relief Pitcher	Southern Maine
Third Team All-Conference
Kaiden Morin	Catcher	Southern Maine
Jonathan Chatfield	First Base	Keene State
Jayden Cruz	Second Base	UMass Dartmouth
Cooper Wixon	Shortstop	UMass Dartmouth
Jeff Rosa	Third Base	Western Connecticut
Lucas Malave	Outfield	Eastern Connecticut
Ethan Rainha	Outfield	Keene State
Thomas Keoug	Outfield	Western Connecticut
Nick Lobouno	Outfield	Western Connecticut
Justin Strozyk	Designated Hitter	Vermont State Castleton
Rob Moynihan	Pitcher	Eastern Connecticut
Carson Black	Pitcher	Southern Maine
Jake Hayes	Pitcher	UMass Dartmouth
Evan Lavasseur	Relief Pitcher	Keene State

 
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