Shore Sports Insider 2025-26 Girls Basketball Freshman of the Year and All-Freshmen Team

Every year the Shore Conference seems to have a strong new group of freshmen who come in and make immediate an impact for their program. Sometimes they start on the bench and work their way into the starting lineup and other times they earn positions in the starting lineup immediately. A myriad of factors are considered while selecting postseason awards including statistics, strength of schedule, overall talent, and most importantly, impact to winning on their team.

Shore Sports Insider 2025-26 All-Freshmen Teams

Freshman of the Year

Sydney Tilton, Shore

It has been quite the freshman year for Sydney Tilton. In the fall, she earned the starting goalie position for the Shore girls soccer team. In her first season, she helped the Blue Devils win the Coaches Cup and Group 1 State Championship. Going into the season, she informed her girls soccer head coach George Moutis that basketball was her primary sport which made the fact that she was named the 2025 Shore Sports Insider Girls Soccer Freshman of the Year even more remarkable. If you saw how talented Tilton was on the soccer field, it made you wonder how good she was on the basketball court. This winter, the Shore Conference found out just how good Tilton was and she did not disappoint. Tilton’s all-around performance on both sides of the floor earned her the Shore Sports Insider Freshman of the Year for girls basketball, giving her the rare achievement of winning the award in two different sports.

“You almost never see an athlete winning player of the year in two sports at this level,” Shore head coach Ryan Kulat said. “She’s an absolute stud in every way. She has the physical tools needed to excel at the higher level, but it’s her IQ that makes her a next-level athlete. She plays like the game slows down in her mind and she can see plays, moves, positioning before they are even happening. She possesses all the intangibles that any program would want in a player, let alone a freshman.”

Tilton’s unique combination of length and athleticism at 5-foot-11 caused problems for opposing teams this year. Her height and strength allowed her to control the paint, but she also possesses the ability to stretch the defense and shoot from the outside. She averaged 14.9 points per game but her most impressive statistic might be her 4.6 steals per game which was the most of any player in the Shore Conference this season. Tilton also finished with 2.1 blocks per game which was good for sixth in the Shore Conference. Her combined 6.6 “stocks” per game led all players in the Shore Conference and displays just how versatile of a defender Tilton is by being able to pressure guards into turnovers on the perimeter and protect the rim inside.

“Sydney’s impact was felt immediately,” Kulat said. “She showed right away that she was a great competitor, player, and student of the game. She would constantly be right with or on the heels of our senior leader Ava Coyle during sprints or drills in practice. That internal competition pushed both girls to be their best throughout the season and was a big reason for the season we had.”

Tilton improved as the season moved on, having one her best games against Manchester on January 20th. She posted her first career triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. She also had six steals in that game. One week later she narrowly missed her second triple-double by one rebound, finishing with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 12 steals.

“It’s tough to quantify how much Sydney grew during the year because she came in at such a high level,” Kulat said. “That said, her biggest growth came in her confidence. Most freshmen are timid which holds them back from their potential. Sydney recognized early on that she could play with anyone on our schedule and once she did, her confidence grew every day for the rest of the season. Because of that, she often was asked to guard the most athletic or best player and she never backed down from the challenge.”  

The future is bright for the Blue Devils with only two seniors on the roster. Tilton and fellow freshman Emily Coyle have the potential to provide a dangerous one-two combination for the next three seasons.

“I honestly believe the sky’s the limit for Sydney,” Kulat said. “She had a great freshman season, but there is always room for growth. Sydney has some goals and parts to her game that she wants to work on and be better at in the 2026-27 season. She plays for the Jersey Gemz so she’ll have an AAU season, and a full summer to work on her game.”

 

First Team All-Freshmen

 

Julia Collins, Point Boro, 

The 5-foot-10 forward had a strong season for the Panthers averaging just under 9.0 PPG and 7.4 RPG. Collins has the potential to develop into a consistent double-double threat for Point Boro the next few years. She showed off that potential with a 24-point and 12-rebound performance against Marlboro.

Ella Krayl, Trinity Hall

Krayl, a 5-foot-9 guard who is the daughter of former Monmouth University and Christian Brothers Academy all-state wing Jason Krayl, has begun to make a name for herself at Trinity Hall. She emerged as one of the best three-point shooters in the Shore Conference, knocking down 58 treys, good for sixth overall. Krayl’s top performance came in a win against eventual sectional champion Colts Neck when she knocked down five three-pointers and finished with 19 points. The Monarchs graduate a strong senior class which leaves Krayl as the program’s building block of the future.

Montanna Knoeller, Toms River North

The 5-foot-3 guard was thrust into action in her first year with the Mariners and responded with an outstanding start to her career. Knoeller averaged 11.7 PPG and showed the ability to be a pest on defense with 2.4 SPG. Her top performance came in a loss against Southern when she poured in a game-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals. The Mariners graduate Knoeller’s backcourt mate in Cara Sarluca so she will be expected to take over as the focal point of the offense.

Mikaela Rivers, Brick Memorial

The Mustangs started the year slow but improved as the year went on in large part due to the emergence of Rivers, a 5-foot-5 guard. Rivers led Brick Memorial in scoring at over 12 PPG and showcased defensive potential with just under 2.3 SPG. Her top performance came in a victory against Toms River North when she scored a game-high 25 points in addition to finished with five steals, four rebounds, and three assists. The Mustangs graduate just two seniors and will lean on Rivers over the next several seasons.

Mackenzie Sims, Freehold Boro

Sims, a 5-foot-10 forward, is one half of a very promising future in the front court for the Colonials over the next few seasons alongside her twin sister. Sims was the second-leading rebounder in the Shore Conference grabbing 11.3 boards per game. She will be a double-threat for the next three seasons after averaging just under 10 points per game. Sims’ best game came in a win over North Brunswick when she poured in 22 points, pulled down 15 rebounds, and came away with nine steals as she narrowly missed a triple-double. Freehold Boro could be one of the most improved teams next season as they are projected to return their entire roster.

 

Second Team All-Freshmen

 

Mikayla Blahut, Southern

One of the key cogs on a young Rams team, Blahut led the team in rebounds at just under 7.0 RPG and in steals at 3.0 SPG. She was also the second-leading scorer at just under 10.5 PPG. The forward’s top game came against a strong Neptune team when she finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. With most of their key contributors projected to return, the Rams will be a team to watch next year.

Molly Hensle, Henry Hudson

A four-sport athlete who played field hockey in the fall and will play both softball and flag football in the spring, Hensle had a strong debut in her first season on the hardwood for the Admirals. Hensle led the team in scoring at 9.5 PPG and scored double-digits on 11 different occasions. Her top performance came in a win over Woodbridge Magnet when she scored 19 points, grabbed four rebounds, and came away with five steals. Hensle will be one of the leaders on an Admirals team that graduates two seniors.

Sumaiyah Lashley, Red Bank Catholic

Lashley’s numbers are not as high as others in large part since she came off the bench for the top team in New Jersey. The Caseys had seven senior college commits but Lashley was still able to carve out a role in the rotation. She was the only non-senior to see the court in the Caseys’ state championship win over Morris Catholic proving that she earned head coach Joe Montano’s trust. The 6-foot wing has as much potential as anyone on this list and projects as the top returning player for what will be a completely new-look Caseys team.

Carly Manna, Barnegat

Manna earned a large role for the Bengals early on as the team’s primary rebounder averaging just over 7 boards a game. Manna showed a ton of improvement in the latter stage of the season, recording two double-doubles against Middletown North and Toms River North and finishing with a career-high 22 points against Toms River South in the last two weeks of the season. She will be a mainstay for a Bengals team that also is projected to return leading scorer Jayla Duff.

Mia Pratola, Southern

Another one of the Rams stellar freshmen, Pratola was the team’s leading scorer in her first season averaging 11.7 PPG. Pratola was also an asset on defense where she averaged just under 3.0 SPG. One of her best games came against Toms River North when she finished with 22 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. The Rams will be an interesting team to keep an eye on next year as they will project to have a strong sophomore class led by Pratola and Blahut and a strong junior class led by Mackenzie Sininsky and Gabriella Lum.

Madison Sims, Freehold Boro

The other half of a very promising future front court for the Colonials, Sims a 5-foot-9 forward had a strong debut season alongside her twin sister Mackenzie. Sims was fifth in the Shore Conference in rebounding averaging over 10 rebounds a game. Her top game came against Brick Memorial late in the season when she went off for 21 points and 14 rebounds. Freehold Boro will be a team to keep an eye on as they are projected to return their entire roster.