General | 12/22/2025 11:00:00 AM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on December 22, 2025, for games played from December 15 – December 21. It is the 18th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Merritt Holly, Nazareth, So., C, Le Roy, NY/Le Roy
Holly averaged 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest, while shooting 68.8 percent from the floor (22-for-32) in three games for the Golden Flyers. He began the week with 13 points, eight boards and a block in a win over Keystone. On Friday, Holly poured in a career-high equaling 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with 10 boards in an 80-78 loss at No. 19 York (PA). He finished the week with 15 points and seven rebounds at Scranton.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Pharell Aybar, SUNY Brockport, Fr., G, Washington Heights, NY/A. Phillip Randolph
Aybar poured in 17 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds in a 91-82 loss to Piedmont University in the Mauro Panaggio Tournament from Daytona, Florida on Monday. He shot 7-of-12 from the floor and added a pair of steals.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Natalee Collins, Alfred, Sr., F, Waterville, NY/Waterville
Collins averaged 13.5 rebounds 8.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, as the Saxons went 1-1 in Puerto Rico over the week. She started the week with nine boards and seven points against Johnson and Wales and ended the week with her fifth double-double of the season, scoring 10 points, while pulling down a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals, as Alfred earned a 60-50 win over Mt. St. Mary College on Thursday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Ashaya Wallace, Alfred, Fr., G, Elmira, NY/Elmira
Wallace scored a career-best 12 points to go along with three rebounds as Alfred defeated Mt. St. Mary College, 60-50 on Thursday in Puerto Rico. She went 4-for-6 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. She also added five points in Alfred’s first game of the week in Puerto Rico on Tuesday against Johnson and Wales University.