Youngstown, Ohio — Four Youngstown State women's basketball student-athletes earned postseason honors from the Horizon League as the conference announced its all-league awards for the 2025-26 season on Monday.
The Penguins claimed two of the top seven individual awards as Sophia Gregory was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and Paulina Hernandez was named the Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year in a vote of the conference's 11 head coaches. Additionally, Gregory and Casey Santoro were named to the All-League Second Team, Sarah Baker was voted to the All-Freshman Team, and Gregory earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team.
Gregory, a sophomore forward from Alliance, Ohio, follows last season's Horizon League Freshman of the Year award by joining Lilly Ritz (2022-23) as one of only two Penguins to be named the conference Defensive Player of the Year. Gregory leads the Horizon League with 9.0 rebounds per game and 6.7 defensive rebounds per game, and she is the anchor for YSU's defense that leads the conference in scoring defense, opponent field-goal percentage, opponent 3-point field-goal percentage and blocks. In addition to her rebounding prowess, Gregory ranks second in the Horizon League with 1.5 blocks per game, and she is sixth with 1.8 steals per game.
Gregory's highlights haven't just been on the defensive end. A second-team all-conference selection, she averages 10.5 points and 3.0 assists while shooting 57.1% from the field. She is the only player in the league to rank among the top eight in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks during the regular season, and her versatility is notable at a national level. She is one of five players in the country averaging at least 10 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a block per game.
Hernandez, a native of Oak Creek, Wis., has played a significant role in YSU's success in her first season as a transfer from Cleveland State. The junior forward has been a true sixth player for the Penguins, coming off the bench in every game and averaging 15.9 minutes per game. The Horizon League's top rim protector with 1.8 blocks per game, she ranks among the top 30 players in the country in both total blocks and blocks per game. Hernandez has blocked at least one shot in 23 different games this season and has multiple blocks 18 times. Her 54 total blocks are the third-most in a single season in school history. Offensively, Hernandez is averaging 7.3 points per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Hernandez is the third YSU player to be named the Horizon League's Sixth Player of the Year, joining Monica Touvelle (2013-14) and Mary Dunn (2018-19).
Santoro has greatly impacted the program both statistically and through her leadership in her first and only season as a Penguin. A sixth-year senior point guard from Bellevue, Ohio, who transferred from FGCU, she is averaging a career-best 12.3 points per game in 2025-26. YSU's lone senior leads the Horizon League and ranks 22nd nationally with 35.6 minutes per game and has played at least 40 minutes eight times this season. She is the 18th different YSU player to reach 1,000 minutes in a season, and her minutes-per-game average is the highest by a Penguin since 1986-87. Additionally, Santoro ranks among the top 10 players in the conference in scoring, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, 3s per game, and free throws and free-throw percentage.
Baker, a redshirt freshman forward from Florence, Ky., is YSU's second-leading scorer with 11.8 points per game. She is shooting 53.2% from the field, which ranks third in the Horizon League, while adding 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.8 blocks per game. A starter in every game, Baker has scored in double figures a team-high 20 times, including 15 contests in Horizon League play. Last week, she broke YSU's single-season freshman scoring record with 354 points. Among league freshmen, Baker ranks first in field-goal percentage, second in blocks, third in scoring, and fourth in assists. She was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week twice this season.
Youngstown State will host Wright State on Wednesday in the first round of the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. Tickets are available online through YSUsports.com, over the phone by calling (330) 941-1978, or in person during normal business hours at the YSU Athletic Ticket Office in Stambaugh Stadium. All reserved and general admission tickets are $15 in advance and $17 on game day. Youngstown State students will be admitted free with a valid ID.
