SCRANTON, Pa. -- The University of Scranton women's basketball team swept the D3Hoops.com Region 5 major awards and had two student athletes earn All-Region First Team honors, as announced by the organization today.
Kaci Kranson was named Region 5 Player of the Year for the second straight season,
Sophia Talutto earned Region 5 Rookie of the Year honors, and
Ben O'Brien was selected Region 5 Coach of the Year as the Lady Royals swept the major awards. Kranson and senior
Kaeli Romanowski also earned All-Region First Team honors.
D3Hoops.com Release
Kaci Kranson - Region 5 Player of the Year; First Team All-Region
- This marks the second straight season Kranson has been named Region Player of the Year and the fourth straight season she has earned First Team All-Region honors.
- Kranson is averaging a career-high 18.4 points per game with 171 rebounds and 40 steals this season while shooting a career-best .515 from the field and .438 from three-point range.
- The Scranton, Pa., native has reached double figures in 29 of 31 games this season and is 13 points away from the 2,000-point career milestone.
Sophia Talutto - Region 5 Rookie of the Year
- Talutto, after earning Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year honors, was named D3Hoops.com Region 5 Rookie of the Year following a strong first season with the Lady Royals.
- The Dunmore, Pa., native has appeared in every game this season, averaging 7.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team with 65 steals.
- Talutto scored a career-high 23 points in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament against Framingham State and followed that with 14 points and three steals in the second round against Otterbein.
Kaeli Romanowski - First Team All-Region
- Romanowski earned All-Region First Team honors for the first time in her career following a dominant defensive season in 2025–26.
- The Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Romanowski anchors the Scranton defense that leads the nation in points allowed per game. She has recorded a program-record and Landmark Conference single-season record 119 steals so far this season, along with a career-high 175 rebounds and 125 assists.
- Romanowski ranks third in the nation with a 3.91 assist-to-turnover ratio and fifth in the country with 119 steals, while averaging 5.2 points per game on offense.
Ben O'Brien - Region 5 Coach of the Year
- O'Brien earned Region 5 Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career at Scranton after leading the Royals to a 31-0 record and a Final Four appearance this season.
- The 31 wins tie a program record for single-season victories, marking the fourth time the Lady Royals have reached that total, while Scranton advanced to the Final Four for the 10th time in program history.
- O'Brien and his staff earned Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors this season, guiding the Lady Royals to their 11th straight conference title with a 40-point victory over Elizabethtown College, the largest margin of victory in Landmark Championship Game history.
