BOSTON, Mass. (May 13, 2026) – Emerson College junior infielder Braeden O'Connell has earned a spot in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference baseball second team as selected by the Conference's nine head coaches the league announced today.
O'Connell earns All-Conference honors for the first time in his career with his second team selection. He Emerson's first All-NEWMAC selection since Jake Hatch, '23 (INF) and Matt Nachamie, '23 (C) were both first team honorees in 2023 and O'Connell is the Lions fourth All-Conference pick since the College joined the NEWMAC in 2013. He is the Lions 13th All-Conference selection since 2009 when they competed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).
O'Connell collects Emerson's first baseball All-NEWMAC selection in three years (PHOTO BY Andrew Monson) |
O'Connell is the lone Emerson player to start all 31 games for the Lions this spring, batting a team-high .381 (43-for-113), to rank fifth among NEWMAC leaders, with 20 runs scored, a NEWMAC leading 15 doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI with six stolen bases. He finished with a team-best .566 slugging percentage and .471 on-base percentage for a team-high 1.040 OPS%. He ranks 22nd nationally in Division III for doubles and was held hitless in just four games, recording multiple hits in 12 games and finishing the season with a seven game hit streak, batting .438 (14-for-32) over that span, including a career-high matching four hits in the season finale against No. 4 Salve Regina University.
O'Connell saw time at both corner infield positions over the course of the season for Emerson, committing just four errors on a combined 148 chances for a .973 fielding percentage. He was error free at third base for the Lions final 11 games (39 chances) after playing error free at first base for the first 13 games of the season (91 chances).
O'Connell has appeared in 90 games over his first three seasons at Emerson, recording his 100th career hit in the Lions season finale against No. 4-ranked Salve Regina. He is a career .316 hitter with multiple hits in 26 games, 50 runs scored, 24 doubles, seven home runs and 48 RBI with 13 stolen bases on 14 attempts. O'Connell has been named to the NEWMAC Academic All-Conference team and earned Academic All-District® honors from College Sports Communicators.
Emerson finished its 2026 season with a 6-25 record overall, including 2-14 in NEWMAC play that was highlighted by a 7-6 win over Conference champions Babson College, while also taking then No. 4 and NEWMAC regular season champions Salve Regina to 14 innings on the final day of the regular season.
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