New York High School Softball Player of the Year: How Voting Works & How to Win

What is the New York High School Softball Player of the Year?

The New York High School Softball Player of the Year is a family of annual fan-vote award polls published each spring by High School on SI — Sports Illustrated's dedicated prep sports platform, operating under the Arena Group and formerly known as SBLive Sports. The awards cover New York girls high school softball statewide, with separate polls recognising the top pitcher, top infielder, top outfielder, top catcher, and an overall player of the year, plus grade-level categories such as top freshmen and top sophomores.

• Run by High School on SI (Sports Illustrated / Arena Group) at si.com/high-school/new-york — the same editorial platform that runs statewide awards in football, basketball, and baseball.
• Covers all eleven NYSPHSAA geographic sections (Sections 1–11) plus CHSAA Catholic and independent schools — New York's full statewide competitive landscape.
• Polls are free to vote in with no per-vote cap; voters may cast unlimited votes before the stated Eastern-time deadline.
• Voting windows open following the close of the NYSPHSAA spring softball season — typically late May to early June — after sectional and state championship results are known.
• New York high school softball is competed under NYSPHSAA fast-pitch rules across four enrollment-based classes (AA, A, B, C/D) each spring.
• The parallel editorial authority for seasonal all-state honours is the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA), which names class-by-class Player of the Year honorees independently of the fan vote.

Which New York sections and schools are in the softball player of the year pool?

New York's eleven NYSPHSAA geographic sections each produce the state's strongest softball nominees, and several have consistent track records of placing players in the statewide si.com polls. Long Island (Sections 11 and 8), Section 2 (Capital Region), Section 3 (Central New York), and Section 1 (Westchester/Rockland) are historically the deepest talent pools for girls softball in New York State.

St. Anthony's High School (CHSAA, South Huntington, Long Island) is the single most decorated programme in New York's softball history — the Friars have captured multiple CHSAA state championships and regularly place pitchers and position players on both the NYSSWA all-state team and the High School on SI fan-vote polls. The 2024 NYSSWA Class AAA Player of the Year, Milana Fiordalisi, was a St. Anthony's pitcher — a typical pattern for a school with Division I commit pipelines in softball across multiple graduating classes.

Section 2 stands out for depth across all four classes: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake has produced multiple state championship teams and consistent all-state nominees, while Shenendehowa regularly places outfielders and infielders in statewide consideration. Section 3 — the Central New York corridor from Syracuse east through Oneida — features programmes like Cicero-North Syracuse and Sherrill-Oneida that compete at the Class AA and A level with strong pitching traditions.

How does the New York softball player of the year vote work at si.com?

The High School on SI fan-vote polls for New York girls softball are embedded directly in sport-specific articles published at si.com/high-school/new-york. Each poll covers one category — pitchers, infielders, outfielders, catchers, or an overall player of the year — and editors select the nominees based on season performance, all-state nominations, and stats submitted by coaches and reporters. For a plain-English overview of how unlimited-cap newspaper polls like these work in general, the buy-votes-online guide covers the mechanics.

There is no per-vote cap on High School on SI polls. Unlike hourly-cap newspaper polls, the si.com format allows a single voter to cast multiple votes consecutively, meaning total vote volume is limited only by time and effort before the stated deadline. Polls close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on a date specified within the article — this varies by category and year, so always verify the deadline in the current article rather than assuming it matches a prior year.

Results are displayed live throughout the voting window. Voters access the poll by navigating to the relevant article at si.com/high-school/new-york — the platform does not require an account, a subscription to Sports Illustrated, or any registration. The poll widget is embedded within each article and accessible from any standard browser on desktop or mobile.

How is the New York softball player of the year winner decided?

The winner of each High School on SI fan poll is determined by total vote count at the moment the poll closes. The SI editorial team controls nomination — choosing which players appear on each ballot — but exerts no influence over the final outcome. The athlete with the most votes when the stated deadline passes is named the winner and featured in the results article published on si.com/high-school/new-york.

Fan vote vs. NYSSWA editorial award — two parallel tracks

New York high school softball has two distinct end-of-season recognition systems that sometimes name different players:

1. High School on SI fan vote — decided entirely by public support volume; any nominated player can win regardless of statistical ranking if her community mobilises effectively.
2. NYSSWA all-state team (New York State Sportswriters Association) — selected by a panel of credentialed sportswriters by class (AA, A, B, C/D); includes a class-by-class Player of the Year designation that carries independent editorial credibility.

College recruiters and scout networks track both. The NYSSWA designation is harder to influence and carries statistical weight; the High School on SI win demonstrates community reach and digital visibility. A player who earns both — a NYSSWA class POY and a High School on SI fan-vote win — appears in multiple search contexts, amplifying her name recognition during the recruiting window.

What are recent NYSSWA New York softball Player of the Year honorees?

The NYSSWA (New York State Sportswriters Association) all-state softball team is the state's primary editorial authority for girls fast-pitch softball honours. Each spring following the NYSPHSAA state championships, NYSSWA names class-by-class all-state teams and Players of the Year. The table below documents confirmed recent NYSSWA Class AAA and representative all-state data — the same pool from which High School on SI constructs its fan-vote nominee slates.

The data above reflects confirmed NYSSWA editorial awards and named High School on SI poll nominees as reported. For the current year's awards — the 2026 spring season closes with NYSPHSAA state softball championships at Greenlight Networks GS Park on June 12–13, 2026 — the fan-vote polls will open at si.com/high-school/new-york following the conclusion of those state games. All nominees listed on the ballot will be real players who competed in the 2026 spring season.

Division I softball commits are consistently the most-nominated players on the High School on SI ballot. Texas State, St. Joseph's University, and other softball programs with Northeast recruiting pipelines have produced multiple New York high school nominees in recent cycles. A player's commit announcement often coincides with elevated visibility in local coverage, increasing her nomination likelihood.

How do you get more votes for New York softball player of the year?

Because the High School on SI format carries no per-vote cap, total votes are a direct function of how many people vote and how many times each voter returns to cast additional votes before the deadline. The strategic calculus is different from a once-per-hour newspaper poll — sustained volume across the full window matters more than a single coordinated push. For general tactics that apply across all online polls, see the how-to guide; the notes below are specific to this statewide New York format.

The no-cap format specifically rewards programmes with large, engaged adult networks. St. Anthony's CHSAA parent communities, Capital Region AAA powerhouses like Shenendehowa with 2,000+ enrollment student bodies, and suburban Long Island programmes with active booster infrastructure can generate thousands of votes from committed supporters alone. The single highest-leverage move is distributing the direct article link — not just the player's name — alongside a clear, one-sentence ask that names the specific category being voted on.

When organic networks reach their ceiling and a nominee is still trailing, some families use a paid real-voter promotion service to add genuine human votes before the deadline. For this format, cap-matched delivery isn't required — but paced delivery spread over hours still performs better than a single spike, which can attract platform scrutiny. See our sports fan poll service for options matched to this poll's no-cap structure.

Rules and the buy-votes question for New York softball player of the year

High School on SI fan polls are reader-engagement features with no cash prize, no formal contest-law framework, and no NYSPHSAA sanctions attached. The primary restriction is the platform's own terms, which typically prohibit automated scripts and bot traffic. For a full breakdown of the legality landscape for online poll voting, see the buy-votes guide; the points below are specific to this poll format.

Two distinct activities are relevant:

• Automated scripts or bots — software that fires repeated requests without human interaction. These typically violate SI platform terms, generate unusual traffic signatures, and can result in vote removal or article-level restriction.
• Paid outreach to real human voters — real people manually casting genuine votes from their own devices. Because there is no per-vote cap, this is structurally equivalent to a large booster club email converting many recipients into multi-session voters. The volume produced is legitimate engagement, not a circumvention of any technical limit.

Whether paid promotion satisfies the spirit of any specific poll's current terms is a decision each family should make after reading the active article at si.com. Since there is no prize, no athlete eligibility consequence, and no formal contest regulation, the practical risk is limited to vote removal — not legal consequence or NYSPHSAA sanction. Families and coaches should weigh that honestly against the recognition value.

New York softball season timeline and when voting opens

The High School on SI fan-vote polls for New York girls softball open after the spring season concludes — following NYSPHSAA sectional and state championships. The table below maps the full spring softball season timeline in New York to the voting window.

Some High School on SI positional polls — particularly the top freshmen and top sophomore polls — open mid-season in April or May while games are still being played. The overall Player of the Year and the top pitcher polls typically run later, after sectional performance is factored into nominations. Check si.com/high-school/new-york in mid-May to find active softball polls; some may already have significant vote leads that require early mobilisation to overcome.

For context on how New York softball fits into the state's broader contest and fan-vote landscape, see the New York fan-vote hub and the full USA contest guide index.