St. John's Softball Lands America East Pitcher of the Year Via Transfer Portal

Maddie Wachter was named the 2026 America East Pitcher of the Year at Bryant. She is the second consecutive America East Pitcher of the Year to transfer out of the conference this summer.

Maddie Wachter delivers a pitch for the Bryant Bulldogs | From Bryant University Athletics

On July 8, St. John's announced the addition of pitcher Maddie Wachter, formerly of Bryant, who was named the 2026 America East Pitcher of the Year.

Wachter pitched for Bryant in 2025 and 2026 and led the Bulldogs to their first America East regular-season conference championship this past season. In addition to her 2026 Player of the Year honor, Wachter was named First-Team All-Conference. In 2025, she was named to the 2025 America East All-Rookie Team. Wachter, who hails from Concord, New Hampshire, was that state's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024.

Welcome to the Red Storm, Maddy! 🔴⛈️

Excited to have the 2026 America East Pitcher of the Year join the squad 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dfwCz0dzLl

— St. John's Softball (@StJohnsSoftball) July 8, 2026

Wachter and the Bulldogs were the No.1 seed in the 2026 America East Tournament, but they exited after going 1-2. Wachter was the losing pitcher in both a 9-2 loss to UMass Lowell in the opening game of the tournament and a 10-1 drubbing by eventual tournament champion Binghamton.

Wachter is now headed to the Big East Conference. She joins Brianna Roberts, formerly of Binghamton, as the second consecutive America East Pitcher of the Year to transfer out of conference. Roberts, the 2025 award winner, went to the ACC when she announced her commitment to Virginia on June 29.

This past season, Wachter was Bryant's best pitcher by far, logging 107 innings pitched with a 3.60 earned run average and 46 strikeouts. She finished with an 11-6 record and led the Bulldogs in every important pitching category. Her conference record was even more impressive as she went 7-1 with a 2.73 earned run average with six complete games and two shutouts. In 2025, Wachter registered a 10-8 record with a 3.28 earned run average and 68 strikeouts.

The Bryant pitching staff as a whole had an earned run average north of five runs per game in both 2025 and 2026. The loss of Wachter, will increase expectations on the returning Bulldog pitchers, as well as their incoming freshman hurlers.

The Red Storm finished their 2026 season with a 32-23 overall record. In Big East play, they posted a 9-15 record. The addition of Wachter helps to offset the loss of two senior workhorses to graduation. Anna Serafinko and Loreley Francia threw all but 16.1 innings for St. John's in 2026.

Serafinko was the 2025 Big East Pitcher of the Year, and she was named to the 2026 NFCA First-Team Northeast Region team. In 2026, Serafinko worked 195.1 innings and struck out 279 batters. She posted a 17-12 record with 21 complete games.

Francia was named First-Team All-Big East in 2025, and she was named to the 2025 NFCA Second-Team Northeast Region team. Francia had a 15-10 record for the Red Storm in 2026 and pitched 155.1 innings. She had a 3.74 earned run average, struck out 118 batters and threw 11 complete games.