PHILADELPHIA – The 2025 Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area Softball Team boasts a program-best three Wildcats as Kat Gallant, Maranda Runco and Kelsey White were all named to the local team, as announced on Thursday.

The Villanova trio sits on an 11-player team selected through voting by the sports information offices of 30 institutions in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, with both academic and athletic accomplishments taken into consideration. To be eligible, student-athletes must be in at least their second year at their current institution and hold a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher.

This marks the fourth consecutive season that Villanova has at least two players named to the team. These three 'Cats bring the program's total number of honorees to 14 since the 2007-08 campaign.

Gallant picked up All-BIG EAST First Team status this season with a league-best 1.84 ERA in conference games, coming in third for wins (eight) and fewest walks allowed (13) during the conference slate. The junior from Monroe, Conn. paced Villanova's pitching staff in nearly every category, tossing 147 innings with a 3.43 ERA, 15 complete games, 101 strikeouts and a .294 batting average against. She earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week status on March 17 after tossing 13 innings against Creighton and picked up two BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll spots later in the season. This is her second academic nod of the postseason, also earning a spot on the CSC Academic All-District list.

Runco brought power to the plate during her sophomore campaign, earning NFCA All-East Region Third Team and All-BIG EAST First Team laurels. She set the Villanova single season home run record with a 20-homer season and led the BIG EAST in slugging percentage as the only player above 1.000 in conference play. The Olyphant, Pa. native paced the 'Cats to the tune of a .375 batting average, 48 RBI, 126 total bases and 27 walks. She started in 47 games as the designated player, totaling 15 multi-hit games with 12 two-knock outing a trio of three-hit efforts along the way. She also added 14 appearances in the circle, striking out nine batters in 23.2 innings with a pair of wins. She was BIG EAST Player of the Week in the opening conference honors and went on to add three Weekly Honor Roll spots.

White was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team as the league's top dual-threat option. She allowed the fewest hits and runs in conference games among qualified pitchers and was the only eligible pitcher not to allow a home run in BIG EAST play. The Taunton, Mass. native notched career bests across the board at the plate with 37 hits, nine doubles, eight homers and 30 runs scored. She hit in eight difference games for the 'Cats throughout the season. Much like Gallant, she also earned a spot on the CSC Academic All-District Team after the campaign.