General | 10/12/2026 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on October 12, 2026, for games played from October 5 - October 11 It is the sixth Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2026-27 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Jace Stuart, SUNY Brockport, Gr., Apalachin, NY/Owego Free Academy
Stuart and the Golden Eagles competed at the 2026 Houghton Highlander Invitational. In his 8,000-meter race, he earned a second-place finish among student-athletes with a time of 25:01.3. Stuart was integral in the team’s fourth place finish.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Ethne Degan, SUNY Brockport, Jr., Bainbridge, NY/Bainbridge Guildford
Degan led Brockport to a first-place team finish at the Houghton Highlander Invitational on Saturday. She was the third overall finisher in the 6,000-meter race. She was the first Golden Eagle to cross the finish line with a time of 22:17.4.
FIELD HOCKEY
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ella Greico, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., F, New Hartford, NY/New Hartford
Greico set her second program record in as many weeks, surpassing the career points mark for the Knights by posting four goals and three assists for 11 points this week. Greico reached the 135-career point mark in Wednesday's win over Nazareth by posting two goals, then added two more goals and three assists in the 7-0 win over Russell Sage Saturday. This is her second consecutive E8 Offensive Player of the Week honor of 2026.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gianna Marcantonio, Utica, Fr., D, Queensbury, NY/Queensbury
Marcantonio was integral to a Pioneer team that only allowed three goals and scored 12 in a pair of Empire 8 wins against Russell Sage and Keuka. She was all over the field, generating stops on defense while also powering the offense to the tune of two goals and three assists, racking up seven points despite playing from the back of the formation. Marcantonio now has points in her last five games, and goals in four of her last five outings.
FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Szalkowski, Utica, Sr., QB, Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute
Szalkowski excelled in Saturday’s 33-7 win over Morrisville. He completed 22 passes for 349 yards and found the endzone twice. Szalkowski was extremely effective at spreading the ball around, along with finding the deep ball, as he found five different receivers and averaged 15.9 yards per completion. Notably, Szalkowski also boomed a punt to help flip field position, booting the ball 45 yards and pinning Morrisville at its own three-yard line.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ryan Whitney, St. John Fisher, Sr., QB, Geneseo, NY/Geneseo
Whitney delivered one of the best rushing performances by a quarterback in program history to lead the Cardinals to a 27-13 victory over Hartwick on Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium. Whitney carried the ball 15 times for a career-high 186 yards – the second most in a game by a quarterback in program history – with touchdowns of 71 and 80 yards in the second half. He became the first player in program history to record two touchdown runs of 70-plus yards in a game. Whitney also completed 22-of-34 passes (64.7 percent) for 273 yards and a touchdown, a 35-yard connection Jackson Cusack, who set career highs with 11 catches for 148 yards. The Cardinals amassed a season-high 456 total yards. Whitney now has 15 career rushing touchdowns, two shy of the program record for a quarterback. Kramer (17 TDs as a QB) holds the top mark. This is his third E8 Offensive Player of the Week honor of 2026.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jordyn Davis., Utica, Sr., DL, Hempstead, NY/Uniondale
Davis had an outstanding day on the interior defensive line for a Pioneer team that held the Morrisville rushing attack to just 59 yards on 28 attempts in a 33-7 win. Davis was at the forefront of the Pioneers' bruising run-stop, as he racked up nine tackles (three solo), a quarterback hurry, and a big third-down sack that helped stall the Mustangs early in the matchup. Davis was the main culprit behind Morrisville’s 2.1 rushing yards per attempt on Saturday.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Logan Laratta, St. John Fisher, Sr., K/P, Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown
Laratta made field goals of 31 and 37 yards as St. John Fisher improved to 5-1 on Saturday with a 27-13 win over Hartwick. Since the end of last season, Laratta has made all eight of his field goal attempts, the longest streak of successful attempts in program history.
MEN’S SOCCER
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Michael Ruggiero, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., M, Holtsville, NY/Sachem East
Ruggiero led Geneseo to a 2-0 week with wins over Keuka and Russell Sage. Ruggiero recorded three goals and an assist for seven points on the week. He scored two in the Knights 6-2 win at Keuka and tallied his third goal of the week, along with one assist a 4-0 win at Russell Sage Saturday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Zachary Accetta, Utica, Sr., GK, Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point
Accetta and the Pioneers hosted two strong Empire 8 opponents in St. John Fisher University and SUNY Brockport, defeating both in 2-0 battles. He played a pivotal role in both results, saving all 21 shots on target he was tasked with. While a five-save shutout of the Cardinals started the week strong, it was his 16-save clean sheet against the Golden Eagles that stole the show. It was the most saves in a game by a Utica goalkeeper in almost exactly a decade. Accetta has now played 272:33 consecutive shutout minutes, raising his 2026 save percentage to a .931, the best in the nation across all three NCAA divisions.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amelia Breton, SUNY Brockport, Sr., M, Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili
Breton delivered an outstanding offensive performance for the Golden Eagles this week, recording two goals and two assists for six points across Brockport's two Empire 8 victories. Breton scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 shutout against Elmira, finishing with 11 shots and five shots on goal, before adding a goal and two assists in Brockport's 4-0 Senior Day victory over Utica. Her impressive offensive production helped the Golden Eagles remain undefeated in conference play, while moving Breton into third place in program history with 83 career points.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ella Yartym, SUNY Geneseo, So., F, Bath, NY/Haverling
Yartym scored three goals, while leading Geneseo to a pair of conference wins this past week, defeating Keuka and Russell Sage. She posted a pair of goals inside the first 11 minutes of action against Keuka, then scored the first goal of the game inside the first three minutes against Sage. Yartym now leads the Knights with 10 goals on the season. This is her second E8 Offensive Player of the Week honor of 2026.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brianna Marino, SUNY Brockport, Sr., D, Wingdale, NY/Dover
Marino delivered a standout performance on both ends of the field in Brockport's 4-0 shutout victory over Utica. The senior defender recorded one goal and one assist for three points, while contributing three shots and two shots on goal in 79 minutes of action. Marino's contributions and presence along the back line helped the Golden Eagles secure another Empire 8 shutout victory.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Natalie Pipes, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Victor, NY/Victor
Pipes helped Geneseo cap off their unbeaten regular season by defeating Nazareth, 7-0. Pipes won her match at first singles by a score of 6-3, 6-0, while also picking up the 6-1 win at first doubles. The Knights will host the semifinal and final round of the Empire 8 championships on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17. This is her second E8 Player of the Week honor.
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Gianna Leggieri, Hartwick, Sr., Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Autumn Millington, Hartwick, Sr., Rome, NY/Westmoreland
Leggieri and Millington took a victory at No. 2 doubles in a thrilling match against Alfred in Saturday's regular season Empire 8 finale. The pair won 7-6 (7-4) and finished the season 4-1 as a pair. Their win helped secure the number three seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Championships.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cory Elder, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., MB, Rochester, NY/Brighton
Elder was dominant out of the middle as she kept the Knights perfect record in conference play intact, defeating Keuka and Elmira. Elder hit an impressive .686 on 35 swings this week, posting 25 kills and just one error. Against Elmira, Elder hit a perfect 1.000 out of the middle, putting down 10 kills on 10 swings. Elder also led the team in blocks for the week with seven.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Lydia Fraser, St. John Fisher, Jr., OH, Plymouth, MI/Fr. Gabriel Richard
Fraser helped lead the Cardinals to a 3-0 week, recording 39 kills while hitting .300, seven service aces, and 46.0 points. She averaged 3.90 kills and 4.60 points per set. On Wednesday, in a three-set sweep of William Smith, which received votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 and was No. 12 in the NCAA National Power Index, Fraser tallied 11 kills, two aces, and 13.0 points. In a four-set win over Russell Sage on Friday, she recorded 17 kills while hitting .333, added two aces and 17 digs, and totaled 19.0 points. Fraser closed out the week with 11 kills on 19 attempts while hitting .368, three service aces, and 14.0 points in a three-set sweep of Hartwick. This is her third E8 Player of the Week honor of the season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Gillian Dickerson, Alfred, Fr., S, Frisco, TX/Wakeland
Dickerson started the weekend with 37 set assists, 17 digs, three kills and three aces in a five-set loss to Poly. She ended her weekend with 45 set assists, 13 digs and three kills in a win over Utica University, handing the Pioneers their first Empire 8 loss of the season. In Empire 8 action, Dickerson totaled 82 set assists, 30 digs and 9.0 points from six kills and three aces. This is her second consecutive E8 Rookie of the Week honor.