Magazu and Wilkes Earn American Player of the Year Recognition

IRVING, Texas – East Carolina lacrosse's Emma Magazu and Kayla Wilkes have been named the American Athletic Conference's 2025 Defensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, leading six Pirates in earning All-Conference honors, the league announced Wednesday. Magazu and Wilkes are the program's first ever conference player of the year awardees.

In addition to their player of the year nods, Magazu and Wilkes were both named unanimously to the All-Conference First Team. The pair was far from alone in earning postseason recognition, however, as Jaime Behar, Leah Bestany, Erin Gulden and Caroline Meininger all earned Second Team honors.

For Magazu, it was an historic debutant campaign in Greenville, toppling the program record with 27 caused turnovers in the regular season—a record she claims from assistant coach Alexandra Giacolone and one she will look to extend in postseason play. Magazu has also nabbed 41 ground balls, tied for second most in a season in program history and just five adrift of Giacolone's still-standing—for now—record.

Serving as the Pirates' primary defender, taking on each opponent's top offensive player, the Newtown, Conn. native did a little bit of everything with a season effort which goes far beyond the stat sheet. On eight occasions on the season, Magazu recorded multiple caused turnovers and her debut effort of three caused turnovers and five ground balls against Queens earned her American Defensive Player of the Week recognition.

Magazu ranks 44th in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game.

Wilkes put her fingerprints all over the ECU record book as well this season, becoming the first player in program history to record 30+ goals, 25+ ground balls, 25+ draw controls and 15+ caused turnovers. The Sinking Spring, Pa. native was dominant on both ends of the field with a final regular season stat line of 37 goals, 11 assists, 30 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers and 53 draw controls.

Wilkes recorded a hat trick in eight games, scoring multiple goals in 12. Her seven points and five goals against William & Mary are both just one shy of the program single-game records. She's also recorded three-or-more draw controls in 10 games with five-or-more in four games, including a high of nine against Duke on March 25. On the other end, Wilkes has recorded a caused turnover in 11 of the Pirates' 16 games on the season with a high of four in the finale against James Madison, proving to be a player who rises to meet the biggest moments. Her efforts against JMU and William & Mary helped her to earn the league's final Midfielder of the Week recognition on Tuesday.

Always a threat to score, Wilkes ranks 29th in the NCAA in free position percentage and 33rd in free position goals per game with 0.81, nearly a goal per game from the eight meter.

For their parts, Behar, Bestany, Gulden and Meininger all had magnificent seasons for the Pirates as the team played to a program record 4-2 conference record.

Behar made 148 saves during the regular season, the most in the conference. She made double-figure saves on seven occasions, including in each of the last three games of the season. A career high 16 saves against JMU helped her to earn Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the second time in 2025 on Tuesday. Her seven wins are also third most in a season in program history.

Bestany has continued to show her offensive skill this season with 41 points on 28 goals and 13 assists as she has gone back-and-forth with Wilkes for the team high in points and goals. Scoring multiple goals on seven occasions, Bestany also scored five goals in consecutive games against Quinnipiac and South Florida. During the season, she recorded both her 100th career point and goal, ranking in the top five in program history in both categories.

Gulden has been an ever-versatile member of the Pirates' attack, leading the team with 20 assists while also tallying a quarter century in goals. She's recorded multiple assists in six games and has moved into second in program history with her now 54 career helpers. Her 95 career goals put her just five shy of becoming the second Pirate ever with 100 goals and 50 assists in a career (Frances Kimel).

Meininger has quietly put together a brilliant defensive campaign in tandem with Magazu. She's recorded 30 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers, her second 30/20 season in a row. Her 22 caused turnovers now rank fifth in a season in program history and with 68 in her Pirate career she now ranks second in the program record book behind only Giacolone.

This record-breaking group of Pirates will look to continue their success on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. as they do battle with second-seeded South Florida in the American Athletic Conference Semifinal at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex in Norfolk, Va.

Magazu and Wilkes Earn American Player of the Year Recognition

Players Mentioned

Jaime Behar

Leah Bestany

Erin Gulden

Frances Kimel

Emma Magazu

Caroline Meininger

Kayla Wilkes

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