General | 4/6/2026 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on April 6, 2026, for games played from March 30-April 5, 2026. It is the 32nd Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include baseball, softball, women’s flag football, men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s tennis, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field and men’s volleyball.
BASEBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Coon, SUNY Brockport, Gr., 1B, Elmira, NY/Elmira
Riding a 13-game hitting streak, Coon posted a tremendous week at the plate for Brockport, going 9-for-17 (0.529) with 11 runs scored, six extra base hits (including three homers), and 8 runs batted in during a 4-0 week. His best outing came in Brockport's 19-13 win over Elmira on Friday, collecting three hits, including two home runs and five RBI. In a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Elmira, Coon would finish 4-for-7 with six runs scored, two RBI, and another home run.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Evan Grimes, Russell Sage, Sr., OF/P, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Grimes hit .385 with 17 RBI and 12 runs scored in the 6-0 week for the Gators. The outfielder/pitcher slugged .731, reached base at a .528 percent rate, and stole six bases. He totaled 19 bases, two homers, a triple, and a double. He began the week with two homers and nine RBI in a doubleheader sweep over Houghton on Monday and four more RBI in an 11-4 win over Utica Wednesday. On the mound, the righty threw seven strong innings, allowing just four hits and two runs with six strikeouts in a 14-5 win over Keuka Friday. It is his third E8 weekly honor of the season.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Pohlman, SUNY Brockport, Jr., P, Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park
In a Saturday win over Elmira, Pohlman would provide an excellent outing in game one, finishing six innings with seven strikeouts and no earned runs. He has found his groove on the bump, allowing just four earned runs across his last 19.1 innings pitched (1.86 earned run average) and collecting 15 strikeouts.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Hunter Fales, St. John Fisher, Fr., C, Galway, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic
Fales hit .500, slugged 1.000 and recorded an OPS of 1.654, with two home runs, a double, five runs scored, and five runs batted in, while also throwing out a pair of would-be base stealers on the week as the Cardinals enjoyed an unbeaten week. He went 3-for-3 with a homer, three runs scored and three RBI in an 18-5 win over Keuka Monday and homered and drove in a pair of runs in a 9-5 win over SUNY Poly Wednesday.
SOFTBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Taylor Shackleton, St. John Fisher, Jr., IF, Placentia, CA/El Dorado
Shackleton led the Cardinals’ offense to a 6-0 week with conference sweeps over Houghton, Russell Sage, and Hartwick. Over the six games, she hit .619 (13-for-21) with 18 RBIs, six doubles, and four home runs. On Monday against Houghton, she went 4-for-7 with five RBIs, two doubles, and a home run across the doubleheader. On Friday against Russell Sage, she finished 5-for-6 with seven RBIs, hitting two home runs in game one and adding two doubles in game two. She closed out the week against Hartwick, going 4-for-8 with six RBIs, two doubles, and a home run. It is Shackleton’s second E8 weekly honor of 2026.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Molly Kuhn, St. John Fisher, Jr., P, Lancaster, NY/Sacred Heart
Kuhn led the Cardinals in the circle to a perfect week with conference sweeps over Houghton, Russell Sage, and Hartwick. Overall, Kuhn was 4-0 with a 0.37 earned run average, 0.48 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 19 innings. On Monday against Houghton, Kuhn pitched a complete game in a 6-0 win, allowing three hits while striking out eight and walking none over seven innings. On Friday against Russell Sage, she threw all five innings in a 9-1 run-rule victory, giving up four hits and one walk while striking out five. She returned on Saturday against Hartwick and pitched a complete game in a 10-1 run-rule win, allowing two hits with no walks, and eight strikeouts over six innings. In game two against Hartwick, Kuhn entered in the top of the seventh with the Cardinals trailing by two runs and retired the side, striking out two of the three batters she faced to secure the win.
WOMEN’S FLAG FOOTBALL
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Ella Koopman, SUNY Geneseo, So., QB, Fredonia, NY/Fredonia
Koopman led Geneseo to a 4-0 week, picking up Empire 8 wins over Brockport and Sage, then traveling to Long Island where they swept St. Joseph's LI and Old Westbury on Saturday. In the 20-13 win over the Golden Eagles, Koopman went 16-29 for 186 yards and two TDs, then followed it up against Sage at 23-32 for 205 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 30 yards and another touchdown. Koopman went on to run for three touchdowns and throw for another as the Knights handed St. Joseph's their first loss of the season, 26-19. She then threw for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 34-0 win over Old Westbury.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Aniyah Kelley, Sr., DB/WR, Newcastle, DE/William Penn
Kelley tallied 19 tackles, eight of which were for loss, and five sacks across three games. She hauled in seven passes for 100 yards and three TDs in the win vs. Hartwick on Tuesday. The TDs included the game-winning points with 37 seconds left in regulation.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Karina Rozhevenko, SUNY Brockport, So., RB/R, Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili
Rozhevenko provided a big week defensively for Brockport, racking up 19 flag pulls, eight TFL, and six sacks. Her best outing came against Elmira, Rozhevenko turned in a dominant performance, finishing with a team-high 15 tackles (14 solo), six tackles for loss, and six sacks
MEN’S GOLF
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sam Ligas, SUNY Oswego, Fr., Binghamton, NY/Binghamton
Ligas was the top finisher among Empire 8 student-athletes at the Spring Thaw Tournament at Shawnee on the Delaware Golf & Resort on Friday and Saturday. He shot a 159 (plus-15) over the two rounds with an 80 on Friday and 79 Saturday. Ligas recorded one birdie on Friday and two Saturday.
MEN’S LACROSSE
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Matthew Farrington, Nazareth, Sr., A, Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley
Farrington recorded 23 points on six goals and 17 assists in two dominant wins over SUNY Poly and Hartwick. He notched a career-high 13 points on three goals and career-best 10 assists in 26-5 win over SUNY Poly. Farrington posted 10 points on three goals and seven assists in 30-7 victory over Poly. He tallied four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jake Vernieri, St. John Fisher, Fr., D, Whitehouse Station, NJ/Voorhees
Vernieri recovered nine ground balls, caused three turnovers and tallied an assist as St. John Fisher dominated Utica and Alfred for a pair of wins last week. He caused two turnovers and had an assist against Utica on Wednesday. On Saturday, he caused a turnover and picked up six ground balls.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Adelyn Esce, Hartwick, Fr., M, Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse
Esce made her presence felt in two contests, collecting 13 points on five goals and eight assists, as the Hawks earned two victories. Esce opened her stellar week with five goals and four assists against Elmira. She then added four assists in Hartwick's 8-5 win over Nazareth, its first program victory over the Golden Flyers in 25 years.
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Chelsea Lopata, St. John Fisher, Jr., A, Clinton, NY/Clinton
Lopata tallied 14 points on six goals and eight assists as St. John Fisher defeated Utica and Alfred last week. Lopata tallied a career-high 10 points on four goals and six assists, tied for the second-most in a game in program history, as the No. 24 Cardinals defeated Alfred 23-1 on Saturday at Yunevich Stadium. With the performance, she joined Jordan Johnson (10 in two games) and Sydney Carpenter (nine in two games) as the third player in program history to have two career games with nine points or more. Lopata's first such offensive outburst came last season in a victory over Hartwick, when she scored two goals and added seven assists for nine points. Lopata had two goals and two assists in a win over Utica on Wednesday.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brooke Lynett, Hartwick, Jr., GK, LaFayette, NY/East Syracuse Minoa
Lynett was tremendous in between the pipes, blanking Elmira during her time in the cage after collecting one save. On Saturday, Lynett was exceptional in the historic win over Nazareth, collecting nine saves at a .640 clip, holding Nazareth to under 10 goals for the first time in program history.
MEN’S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jaxson Redmond, Norwich, So., Kennebunkport, ME/Kennebunk
Redmond led Norwich to a 2-0 week with a pair of 4-3 victories over SUNY Delhi, going undefeated across both singles and doubles play. Competing at No. 1 singles, Redmond delivered two dominant straight-set victories, opening with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Benjamin Andersen in Empire 8 action before following with a 6-1, 6-0 decision against Nicholas VanHouten in the non-conference match. He also teamed with Terrance Bayly-Henshaw at No. 1 doubles to secure wins in both contests, helping Norwich claim the doubles point in the conference opener and stay within striking distance in the afternoon rematch. Redmond’s consistent, high-level play at the top of the lineup was instrumental in both narrow team victories as the Cadets improved to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. It is Redmond’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK – Rune Camps, Houghton, Fr., Limburg, Belgium/Campus Max
Eben Schilke, Houghton, Fr., Houghton, NY/Fillmore
Camps and Schilke, a pair of first-year standouts, defeated two No. 1 doubles teams this past week. They earned 6-3 win over Anlun Zwerver and Ricardo Alvarez of Alfred and garnered a 6-4 win over Pierre Ntonga and Max Funiciello, Nazareth’s No. 1 doubles team as the Highlanders earned a 5-2 team victory.
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Timothy Smith, SUNY Brockport, Jr., Middle Distance/Hurdles, Vestal, NY/Vestal
Smith had a notable performance in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second with an AARTFC qualifying time of 52.85, which moves him into sixth nationally this season at the Division III level.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Graeden Heichberger, Nazareth, So., Throws, Springville, NY/Springville
Heichberger brought home two wins for the Golden Flyers at the Geneseo Early Season Invite in shot put and hammer throw. He earned a first-place mark of 56.72 meters (186' 1" feet) in the hammer throw. In addition, Heichberger threw 16.64 meters (54 '7" ¼ ft) for another first-place finish in shot put, posting a regional qualification mark. He moved into the top 15 nationally with both performances.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Hayden Penna, St. John Fisher, Jr., Pole Vault, Hilton, NY/Hilton Penna, in the Geneseo Early Season Invite on Saturday, once again bested his school pole vault record with a mark of 5.10 meters, which currently stands second in Division III. The performance also qualified Penna, who placed second out of 15 competitors, for the regional meet. Penna broke his outdoor pole vault record last week in the Fisher Tri-Meet and did so multiple times last spring. It is his second straight E8 weekly honor.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Juliana Riemersma, St. John Fisher, Fr., Sprints, Mineville, NY/Moriah
Riemersma placed first and qualified for regionals in the 400-meter run with a time of 57.53 seconds in the Geneseo Early Season Invite on Saturday, good for second on Fisher's top five list for the event, which is also 35th in Division III to date this season. She also placed fourth in the 200-meter run, clocking a time of 25.81.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Allie Cary, Utica, Jr., Throws, Liverpool, NY/Liverpool
Cary opened a dominant weekend at the Red Dragon Open with standout performances in the hammer and discus. She placed fourth in the hammer (47.57 meters), a mark that landed her third on the program’s all-time leaderboard, before winning the discus with a 44.30 meters throw, taking first place by more than six meters, breaking the program record, and ranking 11th nationally in NCAA Division III at the time. Cary carried that momentum into Saturday in Utica, continuing her impressive run with three more event titles. She won the hammer with a 47.34-meter toss, added a victory in the shot put at 12.85 meter, and secured the discus title with a 36.90-meter mark. Cary finished the weekend with four total wins, showcasing her dominance across all throwing events. It is her second straight E8 weekly honor.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Evan Devine, Russell Sage, So., MH, Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa
Devine registered 33 kills on .588 hitting, five aces, nine total blocks, three digs, and an assist in the 3-0 week. He began the week by hitting with .474 with 10 kills and three blocks in a five-set win over Nichols. On Saturday, Devine was tremendous, hitting .800 with 12 kills in 15 attempts with four blocks and three service aces in a four-set win over Fisher College and hit .529 with 11 kills in a five-set victory over Curry College.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Avery Kielbasinski, St. John Fisher, Fr., OH, Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt
Kielbasinski totaled 18 points on 16 kills and two service aces to lead St. John Fisher to a four-set win over SUNY Potsdam on Saturday. The match marked Kielbasinski's fourth this season with 15 or