PITMAN, N.J. (3/31/26) – Braelyn Wilson has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year, while Head Coach Chris Swenson and his staff (Stephanie Judge, David Kessel, Louis Petrozziello, Steve Swenson and Laney Fenton) have been tabbed the NJAC Coaching Staff of the Year as the Kean University women's swimming team earned 15 All-NJAC selections as announced by the conference office today.

Wilson becomes the second swimmer in program history to take home the conference's top honor, joining Naomee Miller (2022-23). The sophomore also becomes the first in program history to capture both major awards in the Swimmer and Rookie of the Year honors. Wilson earned a total of eight selections, including four first team selections (50 Free, 100 Back, 200 Free Relay and 400 Medley Relay). The New Hampshire native also picked up three second team honors (100 Free, 200 Free Relay and 200 Medley Relay).
Swenson and his staff picked up the top honor on the coaches' side as the program had five selected to Nationals. The program saw a 17th-place finish, three podium finishes and five All-American selections.  Swenson was also named NJAC Coach of the Year in 2022-23.
Individually, the second team honors were Olivia Chow (100 Back, 200 Back and 200 IM). The honorable mention honorees were Ashley Konz (200 Back), Abby Burns (100 Breast, 200 Breast) and Emma Bellars (200 IM).

The Cougars also collected honorees with the relay teams as well. The 200 Free Relay team (Wilson, Bellars, Sydney Stemley and Chow), and 400 Medley Relay team (Wilson, Burns, Chow and Bellars) were first team selections. The 400 Free Relay team (Chow, Bellars, Stemley and Wilson) and 200 Medley Relay Team (Wilson, Burns, Chow, and Bellars) were second team selections. The 800 Free Relay team (Taylor Jacobson, Stemley, Burns and Konz) were selected to the honorable mention.