Jackson, Mich. - On Wednesday, July 15, the Crossroads League announced its 2025-26 Co-Female Athletes of the Year, honoring Marian women's basketball senior Abbey McNally and Indiana Wesleyan women's volleyball senior Eva Joldersma as the recipients of the prestigious honor. Abbey McNally is just the second Marian student-athlete to earn the honor, joining three-time winner Erin Oleksak. 

It was a banner year in many ways for the Marian women's basketball team, who see one more honor come to campus after Abbey McNally was named as the Crossroads League Co-Female Athlete of the Year. McNally, who statistically had the best individual season in Marian women's basketball history, set multiple records on her journey through the season, while leading a resilient team that overcame countless stages of adversity on their path to becoming national champions. 

"Every accolade Abbey has earned is a testament to her hard work, dedication, and character," said Marian women's basketball head coach Suntana Anderson. "I'm so glad to see her receiving the recognition she truly deserves. Abbey is an exceptional player, but what makes her even more special is who she is beyond her talent on the court. She is an amazing person with a humble heart, strong work ethic, and unwavering determination."

McNally was the heartbeat of the Knights roster in 2025-26, leading the team in nearly every statistical category as she was the captain of Marian's Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament Championships, while also leading the Knights to the program's third NAIA National Championship. 

In her final season, Abbey McNally averaged 19.5 points per game, scoring a new single-season record with her 721 points scored in 37 games. Starting every contest of the year, she grabbed 409 rebounds, increasing her already-owned school record to 1442 career rebounds. The senior would add 59 steals, 52 blocks, and 28 assists to her season stat totals, and finished the year shooting .591 from the floor, ending her career with the school's record for career field goal percentage. 

Abbey McNally began the season at a slow rate for her standards, scoring just eight points in the opener against Pikeville, but quickly heated up, dropping a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double in game two against Saint Xavier. The 20 points sparked a run of 36 consecutive games to end her career scoring 10 or more points, a path that would become nearly unguardable as play progressed into Crossroads League play. 

In early January, Abbey McNally took her game to another level, increasing her points per game average while playing with a heavy heart, as her mother passed away from a sudden heart attack on January 1. In the first game following her mother's passing, McNally pieced together an inspiring 29-point, 17-rebound effort against Taylor University, setting a string of scoring 20 points or more in three of the team's next four games.

On January 24, she broke her own single-game school record by scoring 39 points against Bethel University, shooting 17-24 from the field with five made free throws. The senior would turn in another 20-point outing against Taylor on February 7 with 28 points and 23 rebounds, and on her senior day, she scored 23 points and had 21 boards in a win over Huntington, helping the Knights complete a Crossroads League regular season title. 

Anderson continued, "This is an incredible honor for someone so deserving. I couldn't be prouder to have been her coach. Congratulations, Abbey! I know Mrs. Kathy is smiling down from heaven, saying, "That's my girl!"

Abbey would go on to average just shy of 23 points per game in the Crossroads League Tournament, scoring 30 in the quarterfinals against Grace and 26 in the championship against Saint Francis, helping the Knights win the CL Tournament. The senior then helped Marian win the NAIA First and Second Rounds, averaging 19 points per game as the Knights reached the round of 16 for the seventh consecutive year. McNally broke the record for games started at Marian with her start against Grace in the CL Tournament. 

In her final trip to the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, McNally saved her best basketball for last, scoring 16 or more points in four consecutive games, while recording a double-double in each outing. She scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the NAIA Quarterfinals against Campbellsville, advancing the Knights to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 with her eighth career 20-20 double-double. After defeating Dakota Wesleyan in the semifinals, the senior scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the NAIA Championship game, earning the NAIA Tournament Most Valuable Player following Marian's 73-61 win against Dordt, bringing home the red banner for the third time in school history. 

The historic season for Abbey McNally ended with a plethora of awards, as she was named both the Crossroads League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, earning a spot on the First Team and Defensive Team for a third consecutive season. The senior was named the WBCA NAIA Player of the Year, and was a member of the NAIA All-America First Team and NAIA Tournament First Team. 

The record book was rewritten by the senior as her season concluded, as she closed her final season with career records for starts, double-doubles, 20-rebound games, field goal percentage, rebounds, field goals made, and free throws made and attempted, while her senior numbers of 292 field goals made and 721 points were both single-season records.

On February 11, McNally became the third player in school history to score 2000 career points, joining Lakan Hasser-Smith ('16) and Ella Baxter (Collier) ('24) as the only Marian women to accomplish the feat. McNally finished her career with 2244 career points, 16 shy of Baxter's school record. At the time of her graduation, McNally finished her career seventh all-time on the Crossroads League scoring list. 

In her final slate of awards, McNally won six Crossroads League Player of the Week awards during the 2025-26 season, ending her career with a program-record 10 total honors. The senior earned NAIA National Player of the Week twice in her final campaign. 

The Crossroads League Female Student-Athlete of the Year award is nominated and voted on by the 10 Athletic Directors from the Crossroads League and announced each summer.

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