Baseball | 3/2/2026 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on March 2, 2026, for games played from February 23-March 1, 2026. It is the 27th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s volleyball, and men’s wrestling.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Paolucci, Utica, So., IF, Toronto, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute
Paolucci was massive in his debut series for the Pioneers, stuffing the stat sheet in nearly every offensive category to help the team get out to a 4-0 start to the season. He excelled across the four-game spread, grabbing eight hits and 10 RBI while also displaying power to the tune of two home runs. Paolucci also showcased his small ball skills, drawing three walks and scoring eight runs in the four-game set. He finished with a .667 average and slugged 1.250 in his 12 at bats.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Conner Benitez, Houghton, Jr., P, Livonia, NY/Livonia
Benitez allowed just one run on two hits over six innings to get the game two win over New England College on Saturday. He struck out 11 of the 27 batters he faced.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Evan Grimes, Russell Sage, Sr., P, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Grimes struck out 11 Mount Saint Vincent batters across 5 2/3 shutout innings of Saturday's season-opening 2-0 victory.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Blake Fortunato, SUNY Brockport, Fr., SS, Deposit, NY/Deposit-Hancock
Fortunato batted .500 with a 1.181 OPS over three games for the Golden Eagles. He began the week by going 3-for-4 against Alfred State and went 1-for-3 with a run scored versus Virginia Wesleyan. Fortunato walked and scored twice in an 11-5 win over Alfred State on Sunday.
MEN’S LACROSSE
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Cole Loewke, Alfred, Sr., A, Holton, NY/Hilton
Loewke led the Saxons to two big wins on the road during the week, scoring 14 goals dishing out four assists for 18 points against Alfred State and SUNY Morrisville. He began the week with 10 points on six goals and four assists in a win over Alfred State. Loewke’s eight goals against the Mustangs on Saturday was a career high and earned him a spot in the history books as one of six players to score eight or more goals in a single game in Saxon history. Loewke’s offensive production started with double-digit shots and shots on goal in each game.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hunter Cupp, Alfred, Sr., FO, Bath, NY/Haverling
Cupp was sensational on face-offs in two road wins for Alfred University. He went 23-for-25 against Alfred State, leading to a goal and assist of his own right from the get-go. In addition, he recorded 12 ground balls against the Pioneers. On Saturday at SUNY Morrisville, he was 20-for-26 on face-offs, keeping the opposing offense off the field while picking up a whopping 19 ground balls. His 19 ground balls made him the new record holder for most ground balls in a career. He broke the record set by Garrette Briggs ‘21 with 463. Cupp’s ground ball efforts this week saw him surpass Briggs with 466 and counting in his senior season.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Manning, St. John Fisher, Sr., G, Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Manning made 12 saves, several on point-blank shots, as part of a fantastic performance between the pipes in the No. 18 Cardinals' 12-8 win over No. 11 St. Lawrence on Saturday at Growney Stadium. Manning also matched his career high with six ground ball recoveries in the contest.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dharma Makarowsky, St. John Fisher, Sr., A, Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna
Makarowsky set career highs with four goals and six total points to lead the No. 15 St. John Fisher women's lacrosse team to its first win of the season on Wednesday evening at Growney Stadium, 18-7 over Clarkson University. Makarowsky has 10 total points on six goals and four assists through two games this season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maddie Lowney, St. John Fisher, Sr., D, Baldwin, MD/McDonough
Lowney caused five turnovers, picked up five ground balls and controlled six draws in the No. 15 St. John Fisher women's lacrosse team's 18-7 victory over Clarkson on Wednesday. Since her sophomore season in 2024, Lowney has caused five or more turnovers in six games.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Greg Meder, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Diving, Plainview, NY/Plainview Old-Bethpage John F. Kennedy
Meder qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships after top performances at the NCAA Region 4 Championship, hosted by RIT and held at the Judson Pool over the weekend. Meder finished first overall in the 3-meter dive event, scoring 567.50, automatically qualifying him for NCAA competitions. In the 1-meter dive event, Meder finished second overall at 529.65. It is Meder’s eighth E8 weekly honor of the season.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Morgan Davey, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., Diving, Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa
Davey qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships after top performances at the NCAA Region 4 Championship, hosted by RIT and held at the Judson Pool over the weekend. Davey finished second in the one-meter dive to qualify for NCAAs with a score of 446.85 and took fourth at in the 3-meters with a score of 443.90. It is Davey’s fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hagan, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Distance, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Hagan set Empire 8 Championship records in both the mile and 800-meter run to earn 2026 Empire 8 Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet honors at the league championship from the Golisano Training Center on the campus of Nazareth University on Feb. 27-28. On Friday night, Hagan won the mile by just under a second in a time of 4:08.04. Hagan also won the 800-meter run on Saturday in an E8 Championship and overall league record time of 1:52.00. Hagan is currently ranked fourth nationally in both the 800-meters and mile this season. It is Hagan’s fifth E8 weekly honor of 2025-26.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Dennis Bobbitt, SUNY Brockport, So., Jumps, Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph’s
Bobbitt was named the 2026 Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Indoor Track Championship from the Golisano Training Center on the campus of Nazareth University on Feb. 27-28. On. Bobbitt swept both the long jump and triple jump events over the weekend. Bobbitt won the long jump on Friday with an Empire 8 record leap of 7.38 meters (24’ 2.5”), which is currently the sixth best in Division III to date this season. He also annexed the triple jump with a leap of 14.69 meters (48’ 2.5”). Bobbitt is ranked 11th nationally in Division III in the triple jump. It is Bobbitt’s second E8 weekly accolade of the season.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ari Reback, SUNY Geneseo, So., Distance, Fairport, NY/Fairport
Reback was named the 2026 Empire 8 Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Championship from the Golisano Training Center on the campus of Nazareth University on Feb. 27-28. She won both long-distance events, crushing the field by nearly 35 seconds in the 5,000-meter run on Friday night and coming back to win the 3,000-meters by 24 seconds in an Empire 8 Championship meet record time of 9:50.52 on Saturday, which moved her into the top 25 nationally in the event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jillian Ambler, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., Jumps/Sprints, Fairport, NY/Fairport
Ambler earned 2026 Empire 8 Indoor Championship Field Athlete of the Meet honors from the Golisano Training Center on the campus of Nazareth University on Feb. 27-28 after setting a championship and overall league record in the long jump, becoming the first student-athlete in E8 history to break six meters and 20 feet in the event. She moved into second nationally with a jump of 6.11 meters (20’0.5”) Friday. In addition, Ambler broke an E8 record in winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.49 in the preliminaries before winning the finals in 8.53 seconds. Ambler also won the 200-meters in 25.01 seconds was part of the 4 x 400-meter relay that set an E8 Championship record with a time of 3:49.99 It is Ambler ’s fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Guillermo Perez, St. John Fisher, So., S, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Perez slammed 15 kills while hitting .455 and had 10 total blocks, including three solo, for 21.5 total points over two matches last week. He had nine kills and two blocks in a sweep of Houghton on Tuesday and six kills with eight total blocks (three solo) in a four-set loss to Hobart on Saturday. Perez hit .400 against Houghton and .500 against Hobart.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jordan Prusky, SUNY Poly, Fr., MB, Cohoes, NY/Shaker
Prusky helped the Wildcats to a perfect 4-0 weekend. Prusky hit a combined .449 on the weekend with 21 kills on 42 attempts. He contributed three aces, eight blocks, and four total digs. It is Prusky’s fourth E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Mike Welsh, SUNY Brockport, Sr., 197 lbs., Bedford Hills, NY/Fox Lane
Welsh earned a spot at the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship after placing second and contributing 18.5 points to the team at 285 lbs. at the NCAA Division III Regional hosted by Ithaca College over the weekend. Welsh, seeded second, started his bout strong with an 18-2 technical fall win over Nathan Coon of St. John Fisher, moving to the quarterfinal round where he won by an 8-0 major decision over Matthew Caldwell of Penn State Behrend. In the semifinal round, Welsh won by an exciting 2-1 score in overtime over third-seeded Kamdyn Dorchester of Ithaca. Welsh would fall in title match, 3-0 to top-seed Josh Harkless of RIT, who is ranked third nationally at 285 lbs.