LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena softball senior
Madysen Cossack was given
the final Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month award for the 2018-19 academic year, Siena athletics announced Friday morning. The first baseman received the accolade for the month of May after taking home both regional and national acclaim.
Cossack received her second award in two days after being named a First Team All-ECAC All-Star on Thursday. The Agoura Hills, California native is a NFCA Third Team Great Lakes All-Region selection, as well as the 2019 MAAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-MAAC honoree.
A 2018 First Team All-MAAC and Second Team All-ECAC honoree, Miller holds a 3.34 cumulative GPA, and is set to graduate this month with a degree in accounting. He is a three-time MAAC Academic Honor Roll and two-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection and is a member of Siena's Student Athlete Mentors (SAM) chapter.
Becoming the first player in program history to take home two conference Player of the Year awards, The Agoura Hills, California native finished the 2019 regular season ranked sixth in the nation and tops in the conference in batting average (.456), while placing 10th in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.553), 43
rd in slugging percentage (.767) and 49th in walks (30). Aside from total offense, Cossack led the league in slugging percentage, while ranking second in on-base percentage, hits (59), RBI (44) and bases on balls, and third in home runs (9) and total bases (99). Additionally, the co-captain reached base in the final 58 contests of her collegiate career, a record that may prove to be long-standing in Siena Softball history.
Cossack wrapped 2019 as the holder of four program records, as well as tied for one more and inside the top-2 in eight total career offensive categories. Entering the 2019 season having already set the single-season mark in doubles (23) during her junior season, Cossack used the month of April to break the career records for two-baggers and walks and capped the season with the program's highest career on-base percentage (.475).
A two-time MAAC Player of the Week honoree in 2019 and a six-time winner of the award during her career, Cossack became just the second player in program history and the 21st Saint overall to be named a semifinalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. She graduated earlier this month with a 3.06 cumulative GPA in english.
The Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award is presented nine times annually (September-May) throughout the academic year. The award recognizes exemplary achievements in both academics and athletics. The late Leo Dufort received a B.S. in marketing and management from Siena in August of 1977. His entire academic career was completed on a part-time basis beginning in the spring of 1961, as a married adult while at the same time raising five children. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack while cross country skiing in February of 1993. His wife Jeanine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the department began the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award to help carry out his legacy. Dufort graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1954 and was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.
