Last month, we did an extensive player profile on Cienna McNamara who has set all kind of records for her school on the East Coast and has excelled in multiple sports.  

She had just been named to the Line Drive Media 1^st Team High School All-American Team and we got to learn about her amazing array of successes not just in softball, but in field hockey and basketball too.

So what, we wondered, makes an athlete like Cienna so accomplished?

Read on to find out the attributes she has that have led to her being a future ACC softball player…

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Basic Info

First Name: Cienna
Last Name: McNamara
City/ST: New Milford, CT
Grad Year: 2027
Position(s): Infielder
School: New Milford High School
High School Head Coach: Rob Farmer
Club Team: Top Gun National 18u Turner
Club Head Coach: Bob Turner
Division (for club ball): 18U
GPA: 4.3

Top Softball Stats (2026 Jr. Season at New Milford High): 

• .617 Batting Average
• .690 On-Base Percentage
• 370 Slugging Percentage
• 060 OPS 50
• 15 home runs
• Four triples
• Eight doubles
• 36 RBIs
• 50 runs scored
• 23 steals
• 19 walks
• only one strikeout in 101 plate appearances
• .978 Fielding Percentage

Record Holder

• Cienna currently holds New Milford High School career records for hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, and slugging percentage, with her senior season still ahead of her.

Top Players Honors & Accomplishments:

• Line Drive Media 1^st Team High School All-American
• University of North Carolina Softball Commit
• 2026 Alliance Fastpitch Nationals Tier 1 — 3rd Place w/ Empire State Huskies 16U National Porcelli/Roberts
• 2026 Connecticut Sports Blog Player of the Year
• 2025 & 2026 GameTimeCT 1st Team All-State
• 2025 & 2026 CHSCA Class L All-State
• 2024, 2025 & 2026 All South-West Conference
• 2024 Clearwater Fall Classic 16U All-Tournament Team
• South-West Conference Colonial Division Champion
• CIAC Class L State Runner-Up
• 2026 Junior All-Star Game Participant
• NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
• National Honor Society
• Multi-sport captain in softball, field hockey, and basketball
• On track to earn 12 varsity letters across three sports

Quote from Club Coach Bob Turner

Cienna is a true utility infielder, who can play all four positions.

Offensively, she’s an intelligent hitter with pop to all fields. Cienna is a multi-sport athlete, which lends itself to her plus athleticism and agility.

We expect big things from Cienna in the coming year as she prepares for her Chapel Hill career with the Tarheels!

Scouting Report

By Rob Farmer, Head Softball Coach at New Milford High School

Cienna is a versatile middle/corner infielder whose impact goes well beyond a traditional stat line. She combines power, speed, athleticism, defensive ability, softball IQ, and leadership, but perhaps the quality that best defines her is her work ethic.

Cienna flies under the radar. She isn’t flashy. She doesn’t seek attention, doesn’t need to be the loudest player on the field, and has never needed recognition to motivate her.

She simply works. She shows up, puts in the time, listens, competes, and continues looking for ways to improve.

Cienna lets her performance speak for her.

Her production comes from more than raw ability. She has developed an advanced approach at the plate, understands the strike zone, competes in every at-bat, and has the power and speed to change a game in multiple ways.

Defensively, Cienna’s versatility is a significant asset. She can handle both middle and corner infield responsibilities and brings dependable hands, athleticism, instincts, and awareness to each position.

She anticipates situations rather than simply reacting to them and has the softball IQ to understand not only where the ball is going, but what needs to happen next. Her ability has also translated to the highest levels of travel softball.

This summer, she helped her travel team compete against elite national competition and helped the team finish third at the 2026 Alliance Fastpitch Nationals in Tier 1.

Her bat and dependable defense were important contributors throughout the team’s run.

Competing successfully on that stage against some of the country’s strongest programs further demonstrates that her success is not simply a product of the high school level.  What makes Cienna especially valuable is that her competitiveness never comes at the expense of her teammates.

She has served as a captain in softball, field hockey, and basketball and has helped lead New Milford to conference championships and state championship appearances.

She holds herself accountable, embraces difficult moments, and is the type of teammate who will do whatever is needed without needing credit for it.

That same humility carries over into everything she does. Despite being a Line Drive Media 1st High School All-American, Division I commit, Connecticut Sports Blog Player of the Year, multiple-time 1st Team All-State selection, nationally recognized infielder, and New Milford career record holder in five major offensive categories, Cienna remains humble to the core.

She doesn’t walk onto a field expecting recognition. She walks onto it expecting to work.

That is part of what makes Cienna so easy to overlook at first—and so difficult to overlook once you watch her play. She may not be the most visibly flashy player on the field, but she consistently finds a way to influence the outcome.

She earns trust through preparation, consistency, and the way she competes. Her résumé demands attention; her personality never does.

Cienna’s greatest strength may be the combination of confidence and humility she brings to the game. She knows what she is capable of, but she also understands there is always more to learn.

She doesn’t need to be told she is good; she would rather be shown what she can improve.

For that reason, her trajectory is particularly exciting. The recognition is beginning to catch up to a player who has quietly been putting in the work for years.

She has already established herself as one of the standout student-athletes in the Class of 2027, and her combination of production, versatility, character, and leadership makes her a legitimate national-level player.

Cienna works. She competes. She leads. She stays humble.

And then, almost quietly, you look at the numbers and realize just how much she has accomplished.

Anything Unusual or Different About Cienna Off the Field?

More from Coach Rob Farmer…

What makes Cienna unusual is the combination of high-level athletic versatility, a deep family connection to softball, and an almost uncommon level of humility.

Cienna is a three-sport athlete competing in softball, field hockey, and basketball.

She is on track to earn 12 varsity letters and has served as a captain across all three programs while continuing to compete nationally in travel softball. She genuinely enjoys being part of a team and has never been interested in taking the easiest path simply because it is easier.

Softball has always been part of Cienna’s family story.

Her parents met while playing on a travel co-ed team. Her mother played college softball, is a member of her school’s Hall of Fame, and has spent decades coaching at every level, including Division I.

Cienna grew up around the game and learned from someone who understood both the demands of high-level competition and the importance of developing the person behind the athlete.

But what may truly set Cienna apart is how little she needs the spotlight. She remains remarkably grounded, isn’t flashy and doesn’t seek attention.

She doesn’t walk into a room expecting people to know what she has accomplished.

She just works.

Cienna is the type of athlete who would rather be recognized by her teammates than talked about by everyone else.

She is humble to the core, listens, learns, and consistently looks for ways to contribute. Her accomplishments are significant, but she doesn’t carry herself as though she is entitled to any of them.

She also has a genuine desire to use athletics to help others.

Cienna volunteers with younger athletes and community organizations and is launching The Teammate Promise, a student-athlete-led initiative inspired by her best friend and teammate’s battle with a brain tumor.

The initiative is built on the belief that no athlete should have to face adversity alone and will use athletics to create awareness, provide support, and give back to families facing similar challenges.

Cienna’s story is unusual because the résumé and the person don’t seem to match at first glance.

The résumé is impressive and increasingly difficult to ignore. The person behind it is quiet, grounded, hardworking, and genuinely more interested in helping her team succeed than receiving credit for her own accomplishments.

That is the part of Cienna that I think a Line Drive evaluator will remember. It’s not just that she’s accomplished a lot. It’s that she has accomplished a lot without ever becoming consumed by the recognition.

That is the part of Cienna that I think a Line Drive evaluator will remember. It’s not just that she’s accomplished a lot. It’s that she has accomplished a lot without ever becoming consumed by the recognition.