Men's Basketball | 2/26/2026 2:00:00 PM
Senior guard Anthony Rose of SUNY Poly was named Player of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2025-26 Men’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Thursday, February 26. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Regular season co-champion and No. 1 seed Russell Sage College, led by head coach Brian Barnes earned Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor, while Russell Sage junior forward Khalel Noteman was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year and SUNY Brockport guard Pharell Aybar garnered E8 Rookie of the Year honors.
Rose enjoyed a tremendous season for the Wildcats, second in the Empire 8 players in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game, shooting 85 percent from the foul line to go along with 5.2 boards, 1.4 steals and just under a block per game. He averaged 20 per game on 47 percent shooting from the floor in league play this season. Rose scored at least 20 points in 13 different games this season, including three different 30-point outings. He earned All-E8 first team honors for the second straight season.
Aybar, a native of Washington Heights, NY earned E8 Rookie of the Year honors, averaging 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game, and 1.6 steals per game. He averaged 12.9 points and nearly five boards per game in league play. Aybar, a six-time Empire 8 Rookie of the Week, has saved his best for the stretch run, averaging 21.3 points over a four-game burst to end the regular season, while shooting 57 percent from the floor.
Noteman, a native of Brooklyn, NY, enjoyed a tremendous junior season for the Gators, snagging 8.3 rebounds per game in league play. He also emerged as a threat offensively, averaging 15.3 points, while shooting 58 percent from the floor. He is the second straight E8 Defensive Player of the Year from Russell Sage.
Russell Sage head coach Brian Barnes and assistant coaches Brian Eastman, Kevin Blanchet, Andrew Zibro, and Todd Williamson were named the 2025-26 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Gators won the Empire 8 regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament, finishing 13-3 in league play and 21-5 overall. Russell Sage is the highest scoring team in the E8, averaging 85.8 points per game. The Gators had feature four players average 11 points per game this season and eight who played at least 18 minutes per game.
Nazareth senior Jaylen Savage, the 2024-25 Empire 8 Player of the Year and NABC All-American, garnered All-Empire 8 first team accolades for the third straight season. He finished his remarkable career with 1,736 points, tied for eighth most all-time in the E8. Dayion Thompson of Utica in addition to Rose were repeat first team selections. Brandon Harris of Russell Sage, Keuka College standout Lamar Lovelace, SUNY Geneseo junior Josh Garelle and Nazareth sophomore center Merritt Holly were also E8 First Team selections. Lovelace leads the E8 in scoring, averaging 21.7 points per game, while Holly is the league’s leading rebounder at 10.8 caroms per contest.
No. 5 SUNY Brockport will host No. 7 seed Keuka in the 2026 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. The Empire 8 Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025-26 Men’s Basketball 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 sportsmen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2025-26 Empire 8 Men’s Basketball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Anthony Rose, Sr., G, SUNY Poly
Defensive Player of the Year: Khalel Noteman, Jr., F, Russell Sage
Rookie of the Year: Pharell Aybar, Fr., G, SUNY Brockport
Coaching Staff of the Year: Russell Sage, led by Head Coach Brian Barnes
Empire 8 First Team
Josh Garelle, Jr., G/F, SUNY Geneseo (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side)
Lamar Lovelace, Sr., G, Keuka (Rochester, NY/Northeast College Prep)
Merritt Holly, So., F/C, Nazareth (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy)
Jaylen Savage, Sr., G, Nazareth (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton)
Anthony Rose, Sr., F, SUNY Poly (Bronx, NY/Fannie Lou Hammer Freedom)
Brandon Harris, Sr., G, Russell Sage (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton)
Dayion Thompson, Sr., G, Utica (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy)
Empire 8 Second Team
Jacob Oka, Sr., G, SUNY Brockport (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin)
Robert Pericolosi, Jr., G/F, SUNY Geneseo (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side)
Lou Bellamy, Jr., F, Houghton (Tampa, FL/Johnson University)
Luke Insley, Gr., G, Nazareth (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Khalel Noteman, Jr., F/C, Russell Sage (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie)
Pape Tunkara, Jr., G, Russell Sage (Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep)
Maximus Michalski, So., F/C, St. John Fisher (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland)
Empire 8 Third Team
Pharell Aybar, Fr., G, SUNY Brockport (Washington Heights, NY/A. Phillip Randolph)
Camron Dyer, Jr., G/F, SUNY Brockport (Rochester, NY/Dixie)
Trevor Hofer, So., G, SUNY Geneseo (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Akinlana Popoola, Sr., G, Keuka (Cleveland, OH/Padua Franciscan)
Kamryn Comstock, Jr., F/C, SUNY Poly (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville)
Keyaton Parks, Jr., F/C, Utica (Albany, NY/Green Tech Charter)
Liam Teague, Sr., F, Utica (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Zion Baitey, Jr., G, Alfred (Morristown, NJ/Morristown)
Cameron Pownall, Jr., F, SUNY Brockport (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore)
Carter Seeberger, Sr., G, Elmira (Rexford, NY/Shenendehowa)
Josh Garelle, Jr., F, SUNY Geneseo (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side)
Kesean Leonard, Fr., G, Hartwick (Rochester, NY/East)
Hudson Idzi, Jr., F, Houghton (Oriskany Falls, NY/Hamilton)
Connor Chapman, Fr., G, Keuka (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua)
Tyler Putney, Sr., G, Nazareth (Fredonia, NY/Fredonia)
Alex Schmidt, Jr., G, SUNY Poly (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane)
Ben Aprilante, Sr., F, Russell Sage (Fort Montgomery, NY/James O’Neill)
Jonathan McCaffrey, Jr., F, St. John Fisher (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder)
Isaiah Smith, So., G, Utica (Amsterdam, NY/Schalmont)