Men's Lacrosse | 5/21/2025 11:31:37 AM
Ten Empire 8 student-athletes were named 2025 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III Men's Lacrosse All-Americans. Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher University led the way with six All-American selections, while Nazareth University had two All-Americans and SUNY Geneseo and Russell Sage each had one player honored.
Players selected for All-American were nominated by their coach and then received votes from the All-American Committee. A total of 52 players were named first, second and third team All-Americans, while 166 more earned honorable mention accolades.
St. John Fisher senior defender Jack Cornell earned Second Team All-American honors for the second consecutive season, while teammate Jordan Leuze, a senior midfielder earned Third Team All-American accolades. St. John Fisher goalkeeper Tyler Manning, short-stick defensive midfielder Connor Mesh and attack standouts Brady Mason and Timmy Salit, along with Nazareth graduate student attack Quinn McKercher and face-off specialist Jakob Denkenberger, along with senior long stick midfielder Joe Johnson of Russell Sage College and senior defender Josh Knapp of SUNY Geneseo earned Honorable Mention All-American honors.
McKercher and Mesh both earned their third All-American accolades, while Cornell, Leuze, Salit and Johnson were repeat selections. All 10 student-athletes earned Empire 8 First Team honors earlier this month.
Cornell, the 2024 and 2025 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year, led a St. John Fisher defense that allowed just 47 goals in nine conference games in 2025. He played in all 21 games for the Cardinals in 2025 and led the league with 37 caused turnovers to go along with 85 ground balls. A native of Levittown, NY, Cornell has appeared in 71 career games for the Cardinals, recording 117 caused turnovers and adding 198 ground balls.
Denkenberger, a senior from Tully, NY, excelled at the face-off "X" for Nazareth in 2025, winning 70 percent of his face-offs taken, seventh-best in Division III, including 285 wins in 406 attempts, while leading the league with 173 ground balls. His 9.11 ground balls per game ranked 15th in Division III this season. Denkenberger has won 610 career face-offs and has 332 career ground balls at Nazareth.
Leuze, a fifth-year midfielder from Jamesville, NY, enjoyed an excellent 2025 season, tallying 42 points on 24 goals and 18 assists in 21 games. He recorded 69 goals and 69 assists for 138 points in 68 career contests.
Mason was tremendous for the Cardinals in 2025, leading the way with 85 points with 59 goals and 26 assists. A native of Silver Spring, MD, Mason was named the 2025 Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Championship Most Valuable Player after recording 12 goals and 15 points in two tournament games. He has 138 career goals, 68 assists and 206 points in 63 career contests for the Cardinals.
Johnson, a long stick midfielder from Gansevoort, NY, caused 32 turnovers, and gathered 86 groundballs in 2025, the second-highest total in a season by an RSC player. The co-captain, the first Gator ever to earn All-American honors a season ago, added more offense to his game this spring, tallying 26 points on 23 goals and three assists. He finished his spring with program career records of 112 caused turnovers and 1.84 caused turnovers per-game. The senior, who occupies the top-three spots in the RSC record book for caused turnovers in a season, ranks second all-time with 254 groundballs. He averaged a school record 4.16 groundballs per-game and has three of the top-five marks for groundballs in a season by a Gator.
Knapp, a junior defender from Fairport, NY, led the Knights defense with 27 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers for Geneseo during the 2025 season.
Manning was named the Empire 8 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025. He finished 16-4 in net on the season with an 8.97 goals against average and a .556 save percentage for the Cardinals. He recorded a miniscule 4.42 goals against average and recorded a .682 save percentage in league play. Manning had seven games with at least 10 saves, including a career-best 19 against Colorado College on March 8.
McKercher, a native of Lake Mary, FL, was named the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in 2025 after recording 75 points on 45 goals and 30 assists in 19 games played. He excelled in league play with 53 points on 27 goals and 26 assists in nine contests, leading all players with 5.9 points per contest. He recorded 10 games with at least four points this season and finished his career with 329 points on 210 goals and 119 assists in 85 contests. McKercher was also the 2021 E8 Rookie of the Year and 2023 E8 Player of the Year.
Mesh, a junior defensive midfielder, excelled for the Cardinals in 2025, grabbing 18 ground balls to go along with four caused turnovers in 20 games played. He also added three points. Mesh, a native of Spencerport, NY, has 88 career ground balls, 30 caused turnovers and 15 points in 77 career contests.
Salit, a native of Johns Creek, GA, enjoyed a tremendous final season for the Cardinals, recording 71 points on 20 goals and 51 assists in 21 games in 2025. He added 33 ground balls. Salit surpassed 200 career points in the Empire 8 Semifinal win over Hartwick on May 1 and finished his illustrious career at St. John Fisher with 213 points on 92 goals and 121 assists in 82 contests.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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