Field Hockey | 11/9/2026 10:00:00 AM
Four of the five major individual award winners were repeat selections, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Field Hockey All-Conference awards on Monday, November 10. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
SUNY Geneseo senior forward Ella Greico was named Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year, while head coach Margaret McConnell and her staff was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Hartwick College senior Katelyn Klotz was named Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year, while junior Ava Reynolds, also of the Hawks, was named Goalkeeper of the Year. All four earned the prestigious honor for at least the second straight season, with the Geneseo coaching staff recognized for the third consecutive year. First-year standout Sadee Short of Russell Sage College was named the E8 Rookie of the Year.
Greico leads the league with 22 goals and 52 points in 19 games played this season, after setting Geneseo program records with 28 goals and 67 points in 2025. She excelled in league play this season, tallying 30 points on 12 goals and six assists in nine games versus E8 foes. Greico enters the NCAA Tournament having recorded at least one goal in 13 games, with two different hat-tricks and eight multiple-point efforts, including two in the E8 Championship game on Nov. 7. Greico, SUNY Geneseo’s all-time leading scorer, has 70 career goals, 24 assists and 164 points. Grieco is the fourth player in E8 history to earn back-to-back Player of the Year accolades.
Klotz enjoyed an excellent season for the Hawks in 2026, leading a stout Hartwick defense that allowed just eight goals in nine regular season games against Empire 8 opponents during the regular season. Klotz is also a tremendous weapon on penalty corners for Hartwick, as she recorded 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists. Klotz had 21 points on eight goals and five assists in nine E8 regular season contests. She is the first two-time Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year, since the award was introduced in 2021.
Reynolds recorded an impressive .865 save percentage, 0.93 goals against average and three shutouts in nine league games this season, finishing 8-1. She is 12-6 overall, with an .808 save percentage and four shutouts in 18 contests. Reynolds made at least 10 saves in a game five times, including a career-high 22 against SUNY Cortland. She is the first two-time Empire 8 Goalkeeper Player of the Year, since the award was introduced in 2021.
Short enjoyed an excellent rookie season for the Gators, tallying 38 points (fourth in the Empire 8) on 15 goals and eight assists. She excelled in league play this season with eight goals and 20 points in nine E8 contests. She scored two goals in a game four times this season and had a began her collegiate career by scoring at least one goal in each of her first six games. Short is Russell Sage’s first E8 Rookie of the Year.
McConnell and assistant coaches Kristin Gebhart and Meg Reitz led the Knights to a 9-0 league mark in 2026, earning Geneseo’s third straight E8 Championship in its second season as a league member. Geneseo out-scored opponents, 48-4 in nine league games this season and 79-18 overall in 19 contests entering the NCAA Tournament with a 16-3 overall record. Eight different Geneseo student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 honors, including four first team selections. Geneseo has won 34 straight games (regular season and postseason) against Empire 8 opponents since joining in 2024.
SUNY Geneseo and Hartwick both led the way with four first team selections each, while SUNY Brockport and St. John Fisher University each had a pair of first team picks. The Knights had eight All-Conference selections overall to lead the league. Greico and Hope Angioletti of Hartwick earned All-Empire 8 first team honors for the third consecutive season. Mary Kate McPhee of St. John Fisher, Campbell Bowers of Houghton in addition to Klotz and Reynolds picked up their second straight All-E8 first team accolade.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2026 Field Hockey Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2026 Empire 8 Field Hockey All-Conference Selections
Offensive Player of the Year: Ella Greico, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo
Defensive Player of the Year: Katelyn Klotz, Sr., D, Hartwick
Goalkeeper of the Year: Ava Reynolds, Jr., GK, Hartwick
Rookie of the Year: Sadee Short, Fr., M, Russell Sage
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by Head Coach Margaret McConnell
Empire 8 First Team
Ella Greico, Sr., F, SUNY Geneseo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford)
Halle Senfield, So., F, SUNY Geneseo (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Emily Nestor, So., M, SUNY Brockport (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool)
Ava Harman, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Putnam Valley, NY/Putnam Valley)
Sara O’Donnell, Sr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster)
Hope Angioletti, Sr., M, Hartwick (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay)
Makayla Bales, Jr., M, Hartwick (Sidney, NY/Sidney)
Olivia Ocker, Jr., M, Houghton (Carlisle, PA/Big Spring)
Sadee Short, Fr., M, Russell Sage (Whitney Point, NY/Whitney Point)
Mary Kate McPhee, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Salem, NY/Salem)
Sophia Jones, Sr., D, SUNY Brockport (Akron, NY/Akron)
Katelyn Klotz, Sr., D, Hartwick (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls)
Campbell Bowers, Sr., D, Houghton (Worthington, OH/Worthington)
Ava Reynolds, Jr., GK, Hartwick (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls)
Empire 8 Second Team
Penelope Schalck, Fr., M, SUNY Brockport (Medina, NY/Medina)
Aubree Wenner, Jr., F, SUNY Geneseo (Vestal, NY/Vestal)
Kylee Barshinger, Jr., F, Houghton (Denver, PA/Graden Spot)
Adria Hartzler, Jr., F, Houghton (Belleville, PA/Miffin County)
Jocelyn Spiezio, Sr., F, Utica (Greenwich, NY/Greenwich)
Terralyn McLaughlin, So., M, SUNY Brockport (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent)
Madison Fleming, Sr., M, Elmira (Harpursville, NY/Harpursville)
Danielle Hand, Sr., M, Hartwick (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury)
Kristina Fisher, So., M, Nazareth (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Avery McLaughlin, Jr., M, St. John Fisher (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls)
Mackenzie Hubbard, Sr., D, Hartwick (High Falls, NY/Rondout Valley)
Alison Taplin, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (London, United Kingdom/Kingsdale Foundation School)
Gianna Marcantonio, Fr., D, Utica (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury)
Amber Cribbs, Jr., G, Houghton (Carlise, PA/Big Spring)
Empire 8 Third Team
Elise Brady, So., F, SUNY Brockport (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Gabby Chase, Fr., F, Utica (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown)
Ava Kramp, Sr., M, Houghton (Claymont, DE/Wilmington Christian)
Catherine Newkirk, So., M, Russell Sage (Marathon, NY/Marathon)
Cheyanne Zobel, Sr., M, Russell Sage (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)
Peyton DeMaio, Jr., D, Elmira (Weedsport, NY/Weedsport)
Kyra Gianelli, Sr., D, SUNY Geneseo (East Setauket, NY/Ward Melville)
Grace Murphy, Jr., D, SUNY Geneseo (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)
Bella Raymond, Sr., D, Nazareth (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Jordan Kauffman, Jr., D, St. John Fisher (York Haven, PA/Red Land)
Evelyn Ryan, Fr., D, St. John Fisher (Vestal, NY/Vestal)
Bridget Schafer, Jr., G, SUNY Geneseo (Sterling, VA/Dominion)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Kaitlyn Malinkowski, So., SUNY Brockport (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool)
Talia Nash, Jr., F, Elmira (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro)
Molly Bathrick, Sr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Remsen, NY/Holland Patent)
Brianna Cottrell, Sr., D, Hartwick (Holland, NY/Holland)
Katie Berghorn, Sr., D, Houghton (Newark Valley, NY/Newark Valley)
Ashley Pospiech, Sr., F, Keuka (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Jenna Guzzo, Sr., D/M, Nazareth (Auburn, NY/Weedsport)
Mackenna Huestis, Sr., D/M, Russell Sage (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls)
Caitlyn Mahoney, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Westford, MA/Westford Academy)
Lauren Durfey, Jr., M, Utica (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls)