MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Conference recognized seven student-athletes from the winter season as Sport Excellence Award winners on Thursday afternoon, honoring their outstanding athletic and academic achievements.
Among the 72 student-athletes named to the NE10 Academic All-Conference teams, the Sport Excellence Award is given to one top individual from each of the league’s seven winter sports. Five different institutions were represented in the announcement, with Bentley leading the way with three honorees.
One of the Conference’s most prestigious awards, the Sport Excellence Award was highlighted by a grouping of Bentley student-athletes, including Maggie Whitmore (women’s basketball), Sam Capobianco (men’s indoor track & field) and Caitlin Burmester (women’s indoor track & field).
Whitmore is a two-time recipient of the Sport Excellence Award, which she also won during the 2023-24 season. For Burmester, it is her second honor this academic year, as she was named Sport Excellence Award winner for women’s cross country this past fall.
Adelphi’s Ryan Kakimseit (men’s swimming & diving), Pace’s Tray Alexander (men’s basketball), Southern Connecticut’s Molly Kennedy (women’s swimming & diving) and Southern New Hampshire’s Collin Berke (ice hockey) rounded-out the list of Sport Excellence Award recipients.
To be eligible for Academic All-Conference and Sport Excellence honors, a student-athlete must have started at least half or played in two-thirds of all contests while making significant contributions and maintaining a 3.3 grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Name: Tray Alexander
School: Pace
GPA: 3.54 (Undergraduate) / 4.0 (Graduate)
Major: Data Science
Notes: NABC All-American…D2CCA Third Team All-American…First ever Pace Men’s Basketball Northeast-10 Player of the Year…NE10 First Team…NE10 All-Defensive Team…D2CCA East Region Player of the Year…D2 National Player of the Week (11/16)…Two-time NE10 Player of the Week (11/11 & 11/18)…Started in all 32 games for the Setters…Led the team with 16.2 points per game along with 8.7 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game (second in all of Division II in assists and steals per game)…Shot 45% (210-466) from the field and 85% (82-96) from the charity stripe…Tallied a season-high of 35-points versus Saint Anselm (2/22/25)…Recorded 17 assists versus Saint Michael’s (12/7/24)…Became the all-time leader with assists in a season with 277 and became second all-time with 479 assists in his career as a Setter…Was one rebound shy of a triple-double in win over New Haven (11/20/24) with 14 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds…Posted 13 games with a double-double in points and assists…12 games with 4 or more steals (most was 6 2x – 1/5/25 & 2/1/25)…Earned Academic Excellence on the NE10 Academic Honor Roll.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Name: Maggie Whitmore
School: Bentley
GPA: 3.61/4.00
Major: MBA in Leadership
Notes: WBCA Division II All-America and team captain who helped Bentley to the NE10 and NCAA Div. II East Region championship…In 34 games, has averaged 12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals…First Team All-Northeast-10 for second straight year and the Northeast-10 Championship MVP for the second time in three years…Two-time Northeast-10 Player of the Week…WBCA Honorable Mention All-America the last two seasons…2024 Academic All-Northeast-10 and recipient of the Northeast-10 Sport Excellence Award…In the Northeast-10 Championships, averaged 20 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting .489 overall and .889 from the line…Ninth in Northeast-10 in scoring…One of three players in Bentley’s storied history with at least 1400 points, 750 rebounds and 250 assists…One of two players in NE10 with at least 400 points, 175 rebounds and 80 assists…Four 20-point games and three double-doubles…Career: 1465 points, 781 rebounds, 266 assists, 130 steals, 114 threes…Career averages: 11.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.1 APG…Graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2024 as a management major.
ICE HOCKEY
Name: Collin Berke
School: Southern New Hampshire
GPA: 3.98
Major: Accounting and Finance
Notes: NE10 Goaltender of the Year…NE10 All-Conference First Team…Joe Concannon Award semifinalist…NE10 Goaltender of the Week (Nov. 24, Jan. 20, Feb. 3)…Started 21 of the 23 games he played in…Finished 12-7-2 with five shutouts…Stopped 640 of 687 shots over 1265:34 for a .932 save percentage and 2.23 GAA…Led the NE10 in shutouts, while ranking second in GAA and minutes, and third in save percentage and total saves…NE10 All-Rookie Team in 2024.
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
Name: Ryan Kakimseit
School: Adelphi
GPA: 3.857
Major: Marketing
Notes: Won every race he was a part of at the 2025 NE10 Championship – three individual gold medals and Adelphi records while also being part of all four gold-medal winning relays for Adelphi…Named Swimmer of the Meet at the NE10 Championship…Earned three individual golds and three relay golds at the 2024 NE10 Championship en route to being named NE10 Swimmer and Rookie of the Year…Helped Adelphi men’s swimming to an undefeated dual season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
Name: Molly Kennedy
School: Southern Connecticut
GPA: 3.78
Major: Health Science
Notes: 2025 Northeast-10 Championship Swimmer of the Meet…In 2025, she won seven NE10 Championships…In 2024, she won seven NE10 Championships…Is 14-for-14 in NE10 Championship events with 14 gold medals…2025 NE10 Champion in: 800 Freestyle Relay (G), 200 Freestyle Relay (G), 50 Freestyle (G), 200 Freestyle (G), 200 Yard Medley Relay (G), 100 Freestyle (G), 400 Freestyle Relay (G)…2024 NE10 Champion in: 50 Freestyle, 100 Frestyle, 200 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Rlay, 800 Freestyle Relay and 200 Medley Relay…2023-24 NE10 Co-Rookie of the Year.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Name: Sam Capobianco
School: Bentley
GPA: 3.88
Major: Finance
Notes: Won four medals at the 2025 NE10 Indoor Championship…Gold in the 4×800 and distance medley relays and silver in the 1 mile and 3000…USTFCCCA All-Region in four events: 3000m, 5000, 1 mile and distance medley relay.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Name: Caitlin Burmester
School: Bentley
GPA: 3.95
Major: Accounting and Liberal Studies
Notes: Named Women’s Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2025 NE10 Championship…Gold medalist in the 800m and 1 mile races at the 2025 NE10 Indoor Championship…USTFCCCA All-Region in the 800, 1 mile and 3000m…Has the East Region’s fastest indoor time this season in the 800 and 1 mile…Named to the 2023-24 NE10 Academic All-Conference team for indoor track…CSC Academic All-District team for track in 2023 and 2024
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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