Football | 8/19/2025 8:17:45 AM
Four Empire 8 standouts, three from defending E8 Champion SUNY Cortland and one from SUNY Brockport were named 2025 D3football.com Preseason All-America selections. Cortland running back Ethan Gallo and defensive back Nazair Jean-Lubin, along with SUNY Brockport offensive tackle Adam Montalvo were second team picks. Cortland wide receiver Joe Iadevaio was a third team selection. Iadevaio is a repeat preseason All-America selection.
Gallo, a junior from Slate Hill, NY, was a second team D3football.com All-Region 2 honoree and All-Empire 8 first team selection in 2024. He rushed 226 times for 1,159 yards (5.1 YPA) and 22 touchdowns, and caught 14 passes for 112 yards, while tying Cortland's single-season record with 22 touchdowns and 132 points scored. Gallo had four 100-yard rushing games during the season and scored at least one touchdown in 11-of-12 games. He carried the ball 23 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns in a road victory over Alfred and registered a season-high 183 yards on 32 attempts with a touchdown in a win over Ithaca in the 65th Cortaca Jug Game. Gallo was selected as the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week two times during the season, on Oct. 21 and Nov. 19.
Jean-Lubin, a junior from Freeport, NY, was a third team D3football.com All-American in 2024, in addition to earning D3football.com All-Region 2 and All-Empire 8 first team honors. He played in and started all 12 games during the season, recording 18 total tackles and had four interceptions, six pass breakups, and one fumble recovery. Jean-Lubin intercepted two passes, including the game-sealing interception with 11 seconds remaining, in a road win at Brockport that clinched the E8 title for Cortland on Nov. 9. In addition, he recorded the game-clinching interception with 1:14 remaining in a home victory over Endicott in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Montalvo, who hails from Mahopac, NY, enters his senior season having earned All-Empire 8 first team accolades and D3football.com Region II third team accolades. Montalvo led a stout Brockport offensive line that averaged 195.7 rushing yards per game, 29th in all of Division III and just over 400 yards of offense per game. The Golden Eagles also averaged 31.5 points per game in 2024.
Iadevaio, a junior from Plainedge, NY, missed all of the 2024 season due to injury but became a valuable weapon as the 2023 season progressed, ending the year with 37 catches for 462 yards and six touchdowns. He saved his best for last with 19 catches, 230 yards and five touchdowns in Cortland's last three games, including seven catches and three TDs vs. Alma in the NCAA Quarterfinal win and eight catches for 95 yards and two scores in the 2023 Stagg Bowl victory over North Central. He was a D3football.com preseason All-America selection prior to the 2024 season.
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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