The 1998 University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team posted an overall record of 29-3 on its way to winning the Little East Conference regular season and tournament championships, and making a run to the 1998 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament Final. 

The Huskies lost just two regular season games while going undefeated in LEC play. USM cruised to a 78-26 win over UMass Boston and a 51-38 victory over Eastern Connecticut to advance to the LEC Championship Tournament Final, where it defeated Western Connecticut by a final count of 61-51 to repeat as conference champion and punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament. 

The Huskies opened their national tournament run with their second win over WestConn in as many games, 79-62 after earning an opening round bye. USM then downed Scranton (76-72) and Johns Hopkins (81-72) to head back to the Final Four, and defeated Mount Union (79-66) to advance to the national title game for the first time in program history. The Huskies came up just short of claiming the national championship, falling to Washington (Mo.) by a final score of 77-69.

Joanna Brown and Julie Plant were named to the NCAA Division III Championship All-Tournament Team. Brown was additionally named a WBCA First Team All-American and Third Team D3Hoops.com All-American. She was named the 1997-98 LEC Player of the Year, and was one of three USM players named First Team All-LEC along with Tracy Libby and Plant. 

Brown, Plant and former head coach Gary Fifield were each individually inducted into the Little East Conference Hall of Fame. Fifield in 2012, Brown in 2013 and Plant in 2014.

David Nicholson was among the premier 400 meter runners in NCAA Division III while attending Eastern Connecticut State University from 2002-06, where he owns the distinction of being the first male student-athlete in the track & field program’s storied history to earn All-America honors in a running event.  

He accomplished that feat with his sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor championships. To this day, Nicholson is the only Little East Conference men’s competitor to earn All-America honors in that event. 

Nicholson was a 27-time Little East Conference and New England Alliance champion indoors and outdoors in the 200 and 400, and as anchor on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. His indoor 400 meter time of 49.63 set in 2006 was the LEC Championship record until 2023, while his outdoor time of 48.35 in 2006 was the LEC Championship record until 2016. 

The Warriors won the LEC outdoor championships in each of his four seasons. Eastern Connecticut also took home the indoor team title in 2006, marking the second time in program history it swept the indoor and outdoor championships. 

Nicholson earned All-New England recognition a total of 38 times indoors and outdoors at 200 and 400 meters and with the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays between the Division III, Open and ECAC championships. As a senior, he won New England Division III championships at 400 meters at the indoor and outdoor championships. 

Nicholson earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Eastern Connecticut in 2006 and was inducted into the Eastern Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. He returned to his alma mater to serve as the head cross country and track & field coach in 2022 after holding similar roles at Barton College and Lindenwood University. 

Katie Bradford starred as a forward on the soccer pitch and at shortstop on the softball diamond at Keene State College from 2007-2012. 

Bradford was a two-time major award recipient and a three-time First Team All-Little East Conference selection as a member of the women’s soccer program. She was named the LEC Rookie of the Year in 2007, and LEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 after scoring 19 goals with a program-record 16 assists, a total that still tops the program’s single-season leader list. Her 19 goals that season were the third-most in program history, while her 54 points placed her second - she remains in those positions to this day. 

Bradford finished her soccer career as still is the program’s all-time leader in goals (67) and points (164), while also topping the Owls’ single-season (six) and career (19) lists for game-winning goals. She finished her career ranked third in the program’s career assists list with 30.

Bradford led Keene State to the 2009 LEC regular season title and a runner-up finish in that season’s conference tournament. KSC captured back-to-back ECAC Division III Championships in 2009 and 2010.  

On the softball field, Bradford was a hard hitting shortstop who batted .331 with 147 hits, 110 runs scored and 98 RBI in 146 games played. She earned Second Team All-LEC honors in 2012 after batting a team-best .421 with 53 hits, 30 runs scored and 22 RBI. Her hit total and batting average from that campaign place her 12th and 15th respectively on the program’s single-season leader list. 

Bradford led Keene State on a magical run to the NCAA tournament in 2012 after earning an at-large selection.The Owls defeated No. 14 Cortland State twice at the NCAA Regionals before falling one game short of the programs' first ever trip to the Division III World Series. 

Bradford appears on a host of Keene State all-time lists for softball, including runs scored (sixth), RBI (eighth), home runs (14, ninth) hits (15th) and batting average (19th). Her 41 RBI (second) and 40 runs scored (eighth) in 2010 rank her in the top-10 in a single-season in program history. 

Bradford earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Keene State in 2012, and was inducted into the KSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022. 

Charles Lai was an eight-time All-Little East Conference selection as a member of the men’s tennis program at UMass Boston from 2011-15. He was named First Team All-LEC three times in singles play and two times in doubles action. 

Lai helped lead the Beacons to their first LEC Championship Tournament crown in 2013, defeating UMass Dartmouth by a final count of 5-4. UMass Boston posted an overall record of 14-4 that season as it made its first-ever NCAA Division III Championship Tournament appearance.

To this day, Lai holds multiple program records, including total career matches won (97), doubles matches won (50), total matches played in a career (143) and in a season (41), doubles matches played in a career (74) and in a season (23), and singles matches played in a career (69).

Lai earned his bachelor’s degree from UMass Boston in 2015, and was inducted into the UMass Boston Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023. Following graduation, Lai stayed on as a member of the coaching staff, helping lead the men’s tennis team to its second championship in four years in 2017. 

Lai took the reins of both the men’s and women’s programs in 2019. After leading the men’s team to a perfect 7-0 conference record, the Beacons claimed the program’s third LEC tournament title win in a decade. On the women’s side, he led the program to their first-ever appearance in the LEC title match after recording a program record 14 wins during the regular season. 

Kevin Cutler was a standout in the high jump at UMass Dartmouth from 2013-16. To-date, he is the first and only Little East Conference men’s track & field athlete to earn All-America in the high jump for both the indoor and outdoor seasons, and is the only one to earn multiple indoor All-America citations. 

Cutler's all-time mark in the high jump came on April 30, 2016 at UMass Dartmouth when he soared 2.17 meters to claim the LEC title on his way to being named the LEC Field Athlete of the Year. That jump remains the highest in Little East outdoor championship history, and is tied for 16th all-time in NCAA Division III history. He was twice the LEC indoor high jump champion, posting winning marks of 2.05 meters in 2014 and 2.03 meters in 2016. 

Cutler earned his indoor high jump All-America honors in 2014 (2.04m, seventh) and 2016 (2.08m, third), while claiming outdoor national honors in 2015 (2.08m, third). Cutler's three All-America honors place him seventh among All-America honorees in the history of UMass Dartmouth athletics, and was the second Corsair to earn All-America honors in the high jump.

The Corsairs swept the LEC indoor and outdoor team titles in 2014. In addition to his LEC and national honors, Cutler was a two-time New England Division III Champion and an ECAC Division III Championship.

Cutler earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from UMass Dartmouth in 2016, and was inducted into the Corsair Hall of Fame in 2021. 

Paul Andrew was a standout midfielder as a member of the Plymouth State University men’s soccer team from 1992-95, helping re-establish the Panther men's soccer program as one of the best in New England. He served as captain for three seasons while earning a pair of Little East Conference major awards and three consecutive First Team All-LEC selections his sophomore through senior years

A native of Paisley, Scotland, Andrew made an immediate impact at PSU and within the LEC in 1992 as a freshman, earning the Little East Rookie of the Year honors after scoring five goals with a league-best 18 assists for 28 points. 

Andrew’s sophomore season was his most decorated, as he was named the LEC Co-Player of the Year, alongside teammate and 2016 LEC Hall of Fame inductee Brett Scaccia, and earned the first of two consecutive NSCAA Second Team All-Region honors. Despite missing the first half of his senior season with an injury, Andrew was named First Team All-LEC for the third straight year and was selected to participate in the New England Senior All-Star game.

Andrew helped lead the Panthers to a four-year record of 44-24-3, with three consecutive postseason appearances in an era prior to the establishment of LEC tournaments. Plymouth State went 13-5-0 in both 1993 and 1994 while qualifying for the ECAC Division III New England Championship Tournament. PSU went 12-6-1 in Andrew’s final season in 1995, and made its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1989 campaign, falling 2-0 to eventual national champion Williams. 

Andrew earned Academic All-America and Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a junior and a senior. He earned Third Team Academic All-America in 1993 and First Team Academic All-America in 1994. He finished his career and remains second in program history for career assists (34), and his single-season mark of 18 assists in 1993 stood as the standard until 1997.

Andrew earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Plymouth State in 1996, and was inducted into the Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Shawn Griffin’s association with the Plymouth State University men's soccer team spanned nearly two decades as a player and coach from 1983-99. He began his storied coaching career as an assistant coach in 1987, then enjoyed an eight-year span of incredible success as the program's head coach from 1992-99. He was part of seven NCAA Tournament teams and four ECAC Tournaments at PSU, earning induction into the Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. 

Over his eight years as head coach, Griffin led the Panthers to a 92-45-9 mark, including a 41-8-1 record in the Little East Conference. PSU topped the LEC standings in five of his eight years as head coach with three undefeated league seasons, going 6-0-0 in 1993 and 7-0-0 in 1997 and 1998. His teams made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1995, 97, 98), three ECAC Tournament appearances (1993, 94, 99) and competed in the first-ever Little East Conference Championship Tournament in his final season in 1999, advancing to the title match. 

Griffin mentored five National Soccer Coaches Association of America (now United Soccer Coaches) All-Americans, 18 NSCAA All-Region selections, five LEC Player of the Year winners and five LEC Rookie of the Year recipients. Under his guidance a total of 45 Panthers garnered All-LEC honors, while he was LEC Coach of the Year four times (1993, 1995, 1997, 1998).

The 1998 campaign was one of the most impressive seasons in program history. Griffin's Panthers posted 11 shutouts during an unbeaten regular season (16-0-2), just the second in the then 42-year history of the program, which resulted in the team earning the No. 3 national ranking. Plymouth State hosted that year’s NCAA Division III Championship New England Regional, which saw the Panthers post a 1-0 victory over Amherst before being edged by Williams in the regional final, 3-2. PSU concluded the year with a 17-1-2 overall record, matching the program-record for wins in a season. At the conclusion of the season, Griffin was named NSCAA New England Region Coach of the Year.

Griffin’s success has continued at Hobart College, where he's posted a 263-148-63 record in 25 seasons. His teams have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and captured five Liberty League tournament titles (2009, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025). Griffin and his assistants have been named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year five times (2003, 2006, 2017, 2023 and 2025) and earned the United Soccer Coaches Region III Coaching Staff of the Year Award in 2025. Griffin was named the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2008. Griffin has mentored 122 All-Liberty League selections, including four Player of the Year honorees and four Rookie of the Year recipients. 

In total, Griffin has compiled a career record of 355-193-72 (.631) in 33 years as a head coach. He has mentored 67 United Soccer Coaches All-Region recipients and 166 all-conference selections.

During his four years as a student-athlete, Griffin helped the Panthers to a 52-14-16 record (.732) with three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was a member of perhaps the best Plymouth State team ever – the 1983 team that was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2000. After dropping the first game of the season the team ran off a 20-game unbeaten streak, which included winning the New England Regional and national quarterfinal games. PSU was nipped in the national semifinals by North Carolina-Greensboro, 1-0, on a game decided by penalty kicks. Three years later the Panthers were again New England Regional champions before losing in the national quarterfinal.

Dayna (Reilly) Kitterick was a two-time Little East Conference Player of the Year and six-time All-LEC selection in her three seasons as member of the Rhode Island College women’s tennis team from 2015-17, playing every match at the No. 1 positions. She led the Anchorwomen to three LEC regular season titles and one LEC tournament championship

The Swansea, Mass. native closed out her career as an Anchorwoman with a 41-5 (.891) career singles record and a 39-7 (.848) career doubles mark for 60.5 career points. At the conclusion of her career, Reilly was ninth in career singles wins and 10th in both career doubles wins and points.

She was named the LEC Player of the Year for the first time as a junior in 2016, in addition to earning First Team All-Little East in singles and in doubles. Reilly was 14-1 in both singles and doubles for 21.0 points on the season. RIC won the LEC regular season title that year, and was runner-up in the LEC Championship Tournament. 

Reilly repeated as the Little East Player of the Year as a senior in 2017 while once again garnering First Team All-LEC singles and netting Second Team All-LEC honors in doubles honors as she went 17-0 in singles and 15-3 in doubles for 24.5 points. Her 17-0 record in singles tied Julie Bannon’s effort (2006) for the most wins and highest winning percentage in a season. 

Reilly was additionally named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 LEC Championship Tournament after leading the Anchorwomen to their first-ever team tournament title, and in doing so qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the first time in program history. RIC went on to win its NCAA tournament debut with a 5-2 victory over Nazareth. 

Reilly transferred to RIC as a sophomore in 2015 and made an immediate impact on the program. She was named First Team All-Little East after posting a 10-4 singles record and 10-3 doubles record for 15.0 points on the season. 

Reilly earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from Rhode Island College in 2018, and was inducted into the RIC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.

Jamie Ruginski is the most decorated student-athlete in the history of the storied University of Southern Maine men's track & field program, as he finished his career as a four-time NCAA Division III National Champion and an eight-time NCAA Division III All-American in the long jump and triple jump events from 2014-15.

Ruginski claimed his first national championship in the indoor triple jump in 2014 (15.28m) and made it a sweep of the event by winning the outdoor national championship (15.13m). He won his third consecutive triple jump (14.94m) national championship at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, and capped his career by winning the long jump (7.47m) at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Over the course of his career, Ruginski was named the Little East Conference Field Athlete of the Year three times, including a sweep of the indoor and outdoor awards in 2014, and helped lead the Huskies to the 2015 LEC indoor and outdoor team titles. He was twice named the USTFCCCA Men's Division III Field Athlete of the Year, and was named the USTFCCCA Men's Outstanding Field Performer of the Year at the 2015 Division III Outdoor Championships.

Ruginski remains the program's indoor and outdoor record holder in the long jump (indoor: 7.31m, outdoor: 7.47m) and triple jump (indoor: 7.31m, outdoor: 15.61m), and is still the LEC Championship record holder in the indoor (14.99m) and outdoor (15.37m) triple jump. 

Ruginski earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Maine in 2025, and was inducted into USM’s Husky Hall of Fame in 2025.

Jess Williamson was a two-time Little East Conference major award winner and four-time All-LEC selection as member of the University of Southern Maine women’s volleyball team from 2014-17. She earned three consecutive First Team All-LEC honors her sophomore through senior seasons. 

Williamson made an immediate impact as an outside hitter for the Huskies in her first collegiate season, as she was named the 2014 LEC Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-LEC selections after tallying 456 kills (4.83 per set) and 339 digs (3.23 per set). That season also saw her named the ECAC Division III New England Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-ECAC Division III New England. 

Williamson continued to lead USM on the court with a pair of First Team All-LEC selections before being named the 2017 LEC Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. She once again led the Huskies with 442 kills (4.38 per set) while notching 269 digs (2.66 per set) in her final collegiate season. She led the team in kills all four seasons, while finishing second in digs three times and leading the squad in that category as junior with 270 (2.87 per set).

Williamson led the LEC in kills in each of her four seasons, and topped the conference in kills per set in three of her four years. She ranked in the top-25 in NCAA Division III in kills per set four times, and ranked in the top-25 in the country in kills three times.

Williamson still ranks first in career kills (1,849), kills per set (4.423) and attack attempts (4,499) in program history. She is fourth all-time in digs (1,310), fifth in hitting percentage (.254), sixth in digs per set (3.134), ninth in block assists (61), and ninth in service aces (155). She is the only player in school history to compile 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.

Williamson earned her bachelor’s degree from Southern Maine in biology 2018, and was inducted into USM’s Husky Hall of Fame in 2023. 

Lauren (Post) Manzi was a five-time All-Little East Conference selection as a member of the Western Connecticut State University women’s tennis team from 2007-11. 

Manzi’s 2010 campaign saw her record an overall record of 23-3 on her way to being named the LEC Player of the Year while earning First Team All-LEC honors at No. 1 Singles and No. 1 Doubles. She was 12-1 in singles play and 11-2 in doubles action that season. 

Manzi led WestConn to the 2009 LEC regular season and tournament championships. The team registered a 13-3 overall record that included a perfect 7-0 mark in LEC play during the regular season, and qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the first time in program history. 

Manzzi concluded her collegiate career with an overall record of 78-24 that included a 44-7 singles record (34-6 at No. 1, 10-1 at No. 2) and 34-17 doubles record that was all contested at the No. 1 position. She was additionally named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete in each of her four seasons at WestConn.

Manzi earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Western Connecticut in 2011 and was inducted into the WestConn Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.