Two Monks on national watchlist, including forward Markham
STANDISH, Maine — Saint Joseph’s College of Maine placed two players on the 2026 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Watchlist, the association announced Tuesday. Junior midfielder Katie Yeaton and sophomore forward Ava Markham were named among 204 student-athletes nationwide recognised for their performance and potential heading into the new season.
The NFHCA watchlist is a preseason roll call of returning and emerging players who have demonstrated a high level of achievement and are considered strong candidates for postseason NFHCA honours such as All-Region and All-America recognition. Selection to the list is based on nominations from NFHCA member coaches and prior qualifying honours, and it does not guarantee postseason awards.
Season review and individual numbers
Both Monks were acknowledged for standout 2025 campaigns. Yeaton, who earned Second Team All-GNAC honours last season, made a marked two-way contribution from midfield. She recorded four assists and logged 1,051 minutes, a tally that speaks to her durability and central role in Saint Joseph’s game plan.
Markham made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season, taking home GNAC Rookie of the Year while also being named to the conference’s Second Team. The sophomore forward finished 2025 with seven goals and 15 assists for a total of 29 points, putting her among the GNAC’s leading offensive performers.
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Yeaton | — | 4 | — | 1,051 |
| Ava Markham | 7 | 15 | 29 | — |
Conference context and team outlook
The Monks were one of nine players from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) named to the watchlist. GNAC representatives include players from Colby-Sawyer, Dean College, New England College and Rivier University. Saint Joseph’s finished the 2025 season with a 12-8 overall record and a 9-1 conference mark, earning the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Tournament.
Under head coach Theresa Arsenault ’14, the Monks advanced past the quarterfinals with a 5-0 victory over Simmons University before being eliminated in the semifinal by Colby-Sawyer, 2-0. The coaching staff will now lean on experienced contributors such as Yeaton and high-upside talents like Markham as the team prepares for a demanding 2026 slate.
What the NFHCA watchlist means
Selection to the NFHCA Watchlist is a recognition of recent performance and projected impact. To be eligible, players had to have garnered qualifying honours in the previous two years — for example, NFHCA All-Region or All-America selections, All-Conference recognition, NCAA All-Tournament team slots, or senior national or international team rosters. The list functions as a preliminary indicator of players who may appear on postseason ballots but does not itself determine postseason awards.
- 204 NCAA Division III players named to the 2026 NFHCA Watchlist
- Saint Joseph’s has two representatives: Yeaton and Markham
- GNAC had nine total players on the list
From a local-sports perspective, attention on a player with the surname Markham will naturally draw some curiosity in the city of Markham. The selection is a reminder that Canadian and international readers follow NCAA Division III athletics closely, tracking rising talents and the pathways that bring student-athletes into national consideration.
Selection to the NFHCA Watchlist recognises players who demonstrated a high level of achievement and possess strong potential for postseason NFHCA consideration.
Saint Joseph’s opens the 2026 season with a challenging early schedule that will test the Monks’ depth and readiness. Returning key contributors and emerging sophomores on the NFHCA list will be central to the program’s hopes of repeating a deep GNAC run and vying for national recognition later in the year.
