Pittsburgh, Pa. – Junior Maribeth Baker of the Duquesne University bowling team was named the 2025-26 Northeast Conference (NEC) Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Friday. A digital media arts major, Baker has maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.85.

The honor for Baker marks the third consecutive year a student-athlete from Duquesne has garnered the award, following Kiearra Saldi (2023-24) and Shannon Small (2024-25). It also adds to the plethora of postseason honors that Baker has collected this season, as she was also named to the 2025-26 National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-America Second Team, the 2026 International Bowling Media Association (IMBA) All-America First Team, presented by Storm Bowling, and the 2025-26 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) All-America Second Team.

Baker helped guide Duquesne to an overall record of 63-47 (.573) in 2025-26, with the Dukes claiming a share of the 2026 NEC regular-season championship with a 17-7 (.708) ledger in league play. Duquesne would go on to win its first NEC Tournament championship, winning three consecutive mega matches by a 2-0 score to earn the program's first automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and fourth appearance overall in 10 years as an NCAA Division I program.

Named to both the 2026 All-NEC First Team as well as the All-NEC Tournament Team, Baker posted an average frame of 20.73 as well as an average of 9.10 on her first ball. She also posted an overall fill percentage of 84.3 as well as a strike percentage of 54.8 percent (709-for,1293).

Among NCAA Division I leaders, Baker led the country in traditional average according to the United States Bowling Congress. In seven events, she averaged 212.0 per game, claiming four finishes in the top five of a competition. Included among those performance was her second career individual crown, when she averaged 242.80 in five traditional games (1,214 total pins) in claiming MVP honors of the Mount Shootout in February.

In addition to the NEC Winter Scholar-Athlete of the Year nod, Baker was one of five student-athletes for the Dukes to be named to the NEC Winter Academic Honor Roll. Joining Baker is senior Emma Siekierski, junior Ivanna Fraticelli, sophomore Anna Clark and freshman Jazmyn Scott.
To be eligible for the NEC Winter Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must be an active member of an officially recognized varsity team and own a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher. Freshman are eligible for the honor roll.

Clark, a finance major who owns a 3.81 cumulative GPA, and Scott, an undeclared business major who recorded a 3.78 GPA in her first year as an undergraduate student, join Baker on the NEC Winter Commissioner's Honor Roll. That honor recognizes student-athletes that have accrued a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher.

Led by Jody Fetterhoff, the only head coach in Duquesne's 10-year NCAA Division I history, the Dukes closed the season ranked 19th in the final NTCA Top 25 poll for the 2025-26 campaign. It marks the 44th consecutive poll dating back to 2018 that Duquesne has been ranked in the NTCA Top 25. Overall in program history, the Dukes have amassed a record of 602-373 (.617).

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