General | 4/13/2026 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 13, 2026, for games played from April 6-April 12, 2026. It is the 33rd Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, women’s flag football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
BASEBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joseph Karpierz, Russell Sage, Sr., IF, Cohoes, NY/Shaker
Karpierz batted .529 (9-for-17) with nine runs scored and 13 RBI in a 4-0 week for the Gators, all in E8 play. Karpierz, who totaled 20 bases, slugged 1.176 and registered a .600 on-base percentage. He tallied a pair of home runs, one triple and three doubles, while driving in at least two runs in each contest. On Sunday, Karpierz finished a triple short of the cycle, while scoring three times and driving in five in a win over Alfred. It is his second E8 weekly honor of the season.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Justin Christensen, St. John Fisher, Fr., P, South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls
Christensen enjoyed a dominant start on the mound, firing six shutout innings, while striking out 13 batters in an 8-1 win over Utica on Saturday. He allowed only three hits and two walks to pick up his fourth win of the 2026 season.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Nick Irizarry, Russell Sage, Fr., U, South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield
Irizarry batted .357 with five runs scored and ten RBI in a 4-0 week for the Gators, all in E8 play. Irizarry, who had two multi-hit performances, totaled six stolen bases, including three in game two Saturday against Alfred. He began the week by driving in four runs and posting two stolen bases in a win over SUNY Poly.
CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Brandon Wilson, Keuka, Fr., P, Victor, NY/Victor
Wilson posted a 1.29 earned run average, allowing just three hits in seven innings while striking out five and earning a pair of saves, appearing in three of Keuka's four victories, all in E8 play. Wilson opened the week with a perfect ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts to earn the save against Utica on Wednesday. He then threw three hitless innings with a strikeout to bridge an extra-innings victory for the Wolves at Houghton. Wilson came back and threw the final three innings to earn his second save of the week against Houghton on Saturday.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Molly Griffin, SUNY Geneseo, So., OF/DP, Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy
Griffin was dominant at the plate this week for the Knights, leading the team to a 5-1 record with sweeps over RIT and SUNY Poly. Griffin went 10-for-20, hitting .500 with an OPS of 1.813, while mashing four home runs, two coming in an 18-4 win over Utica, and a home run in each game against the Wildcats Sunday. Additionally, Griffin tallied 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, two doubles, and a triple.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Annabella Putnam, Russell Sage, Gr., P, Prattsburgh, NY/Prattsburgh
Putnam went 2-0 with a 1.75 earned run average and 13 strikeouts in wins over Houghton and Alfred. The right-hander no-hit the visiting Highlanders on Friday and allowed just three hits and two earned runs against the defending E8 champs Saturday.
CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Kendall Steward, Alfred, Jr., Kennedy, NY/Randolph
Steward went 3-0 inside of the pitcher’s circle during Empire 8 competition against St. John Fisher, Hartwick, and Russell Sage with a 3.29 earned run average including a combined no-hitter against Hartwick on the road. She totaled 19 strikeouts with a weekly-high of eight against the Gators and then seven against the Cardinals and four against the Hawks. In the batters’ box, Steward hit a .500 with 10 hits, three of them being home runs, one triple and one double. She drove in nine runs and scored nine herself and was 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
WOMEN’S FLAG FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Megan Garber, SUNY Brockport, Sr., QB/WR, Buffalo, NY/Fredonia
Starting at quarterback and leading Brockport to a 2-0 weekend, Gerber provided her best outing of the season on Friday against Hartwick, dashing for 318 yards on 22 attempts with six total touchdowns, also completing 13-of-22 passes for 124 yards and a passing TD. Gerber would provide another strong outing against Russell Sage on Saturday, throwing for 135 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters of action, adding 44 yards on five rushing attempts. It is her second E8 weekly honor.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ella Koopman, SUNY Geneseo, So., QB, Fredonia, NY/Fredonia
Koopman continued her impressive campaign, leading Geneseo to three more wins this past week as the Knights win streak improved to seven, defeating Villa Maria 32-18, Sage 49-0, and Hartwick 41-19. Against Villa Maria, Koopman threw for 107 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 158. Against the Gators, she went 17-for-22 through the air for 228 yards and four more touchdowns, while rushing for 105 and another touchdown. Koopman capped off the week going 17-for-24 for 216 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 141 and a touchdown. She finished the three games with 12 passing touchdowns, over 500 passing yards, and 400 rushing yards to earn her second straight E8 weekly honor.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Emily McLouth, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., DB, Clarence Center, NY/Clarence
McLouth was the leading defender for all three Geneseo wins this week, as the Knights improved their win streak to seven and hold a 10-3 overall record with 5-1 in the conference. McLouth tallied 27 flag pulls on the week, and two interceptions, with one being returned 38 yards for a touchdown against Sage.
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joshua Anstett, Nazareth, Fr., Rochester, NY/Hilton
Anstett led the Golden Flyers to a Keuka Invitational win, coming in at five over par with a score of 77 to claim his first individual event win. His day was highlighted by a stellar back nine that saw him come in at even par. Anstett managed to record an eagle on the sixth hole and a birdie on the 12th to go along with his nine pars. Anstett finished the first day of the Fisher Invitational tied for third place with a score of four over par and a total score of 76. He shot two birdies in the back nine along with 11 pars.
WOMEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bethany Wineburg, Nazareth, So., Homer, NY/Homer
Wineburg led the Golden Flyers to a Keuka Invitational win, finishing in a tie for first overall on the individual leaderboard with a score of 90 (plus-18). Her round was highlighted by pars on the final hole of both the front and back nines and an additional one on hole 12. Sank Nazareth's first and only birdie at SUNY Cortland's Martin and Wallace Spring Invitational on a par-5 hole number four. She added four pars to the mix to come in at 86 (+14) on the day, which, combined with her day-one performance, earned her a 10th place finish individually. Wineburg finished with a two-day total of 168 (+24) at Cortland, best among E8 finishers by 10 strokes. It is her second E8 weekly honor of the season.
MEN’S LACROSSE
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Colin August, Hartwick, Sr., A, Garrison, NY/James I. O’Neill
August was on an absolute tear in two conference contests, firing in 12 goals to lift the Hawks to their first two conference wins. August opened his week with a five-goal performance against Russell Sage on the road, adding two ground balls in the win. He followed that up by pouring in seven goals on eight shots, adding seven ground balls and four caused turnovers in an 18-14 triumph over Alfred, tying for fourth in program history with 127 career goals.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jake Bowen, Utica, Sr., GK, Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union
Bowen and the Pioneers faced SUNY Poly and SUNY Brockport in their E8 games last week, taking wins by scores of 17-10 and 12-8, while recording a .571 save percentage in the two victories. In a road matchup with the Wildcats, Bowen saved 13 of 23 shots before backstopping Utica with 11 saves on 19 shots at home against Brockport.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Manning, St. John Fisher, Sr., GK, Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Manning made 17 saves and posted a .586 save percentage as St. John Fisher beat SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Poly last week. He made 11 saves in a 12-10 win over Geneseo on Wednesday and six while allowing just two goals against Poly on Saturday.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ellie Leisen, St. John Fisher, Jr., A, Massapequa, NY/Massapequa
Leisen amassed 15 total points on nine goals and six assists in two games last week, a 13-10 win over Geneseo and a 25-2 win over SUNY Poly. She recorded five goals and two assists for five points against Geneseo on Wednesday and four goals and four assists for a career-high eight points against Poly on Saturday. Leisen reached 100 points for her career with the pair of offensive outbursts.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Maddie Lowney, St. John Fisher, Sr., D, Baldwin, NY/McDonough
Lowney caused seven turnovers, controlled seven draws, recovered six ground balls and scored a goal as No. 25 St. John Fisher earned wins over SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Poly last week. The two-time E8 Defensive Player of the Year made history in Fisher's 13-10 win over Geneseo on Wednesday, causing four turnovers to reach 136 for her career, passing St. John Fisher Athletics Hall of Famer inductee Laurie Quackenbush for the program and E8 record. Lowney also scored and recorded four ground balls. Lowney caused three turnovers to go with five draw controls and a pair of ground balls in Saturday’s win over SUNY Poly. Lowney is up to 36 caused turnovers on the year and needs to record just nine more to break the program single-season record (44) she set last season.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Hernandez, St. John Fisher, Jr., Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park
Hernandez won all three of his matches in first singles last week to improve to 7-3 on the season and move his winning streak to five. He beat Pierre Ntonga of Nazareth, 6-0, 6-0, Ricardo Alvarez of Alfred, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 and Rune Camps of Houghton, 6-3, 7-5, while the Cardinals won all three dual matches. Fisher has won six consecutive duals for the first time in program history.
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Will Chubb, St. John Fisher, Sr., Akron, NY/Akron
Tyler Hernandez, St. John Fisher, Jr., Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park
Chubb and Hernandez improved to 7-2 overall (5-0 E8) in first doubles with three victories last week. The Cardinals beat Nazareth and Houghton 7-0 and Alfred 5-2 to extend their winning streak to six duals. The pair defeated Pierre Ntonga and Noah Britton of Nazareth, 6-3, Alfred’s Ricardo Alvarez and Anlun Zwerver, 6-2 and ended the week with a 6-1 win over Rune Camps and Eben Schilke of Houghton. It is the duo’s second E8 weekly accolade of 2026.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ryan Hagan, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Middle Distance/Hurdles, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Hagan etched his name in the record books at the Bucknell Bison Invite, setting a new NCAA Division III record in the 1,500-meters, posting a time of 3:38.67. Hagan was dominant in the final lap of the race against Division I competition, outkicking a pair of runners from Penn State to earn himself the first-place finish and set the Division III record. Hagan's final lap came in at 55.40, becoming the first Division III athlete to go under 3:40 in a season, taking down the record of MIT's Ryan Wilson at 3:40.06. It is Hagan’s second E8 weekly honor during the 2026 outdoor season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Brandon Kaplan, St. John Fisher, Sr., Throws, Grahamsville, NY/Tri-Valley
Kaplan placed sixth in the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 59.26 meters (194’5”), the eighth-best toss in Division III this season, against Division I student-athletes at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic on Saturday.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Ann Brennan, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., Steeplechase, Pittsford, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima
Ann Brennan traveled to the Bucknell Bison Invite on Saturday and took home first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, posting a time of 10:39.70. That time is the second-best in Division III to date this season.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Sasha Schramm, SUNY Brockport, Sr., Jumps, Bergen, NY/Byron-Bergen
Schramm placed 23rd against primarily Division I competition at the Bison Invitational, hosted by Bucknell University in the triple jump with a mark of 10.58 meters. She also finished 19th overall in the long jump with a leap of 5.41 meters. She is currently the E8 leader in the long jump and is second in the triple jump this season.