Men's Lacrosse | 5/6/2026 10:00:00 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference awards on Wednesday, May 6. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Nazareth University attack Matthew Farrington was named the E8 Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Nicholas Hinck was named the Defensive Player of the Year and the Nazareth coaching staff, led by head coach Rob Randall was named the 2026 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior Tyler Manning of St. John Fisher was named E8 Goalkeeper of the Year for the second straight season while first-year face-off specialist Jonah Vormwald garnered Rookie of the Year honors.
Farrington, a native of Collegeville, PA, enjoyed a tremendous senior season in 2026 with 95 points on 48 goals and a league-leading 47 assists in 19 games played. He excelled in league play with 71 points on 33 goals and 38 assists in nine contests, leading all players with 8.9 points per contest. He recorded three different games with at least 10 points this season, including 13 against SUNY Poly on April 1 and finished his career with 263 points on 127 goals and 136 assists in 70 contests. Farrington was also the 2023 E8 Rookie of the Year. He is Nazareth’s eighth different Offensive Player of the Year.
Hinck, a sophomore from Massapequa, NY, garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors. He led a Nazareth defense that allowed just 45 goals in nine conference games in 2026. Hinck has played in all 19 games for the Golden Flyers in 2026 and caused 22 turnovers to go along with 62 ground balls. Hinck is the first E8 Defensive Player of the Year from Nazareth.
Manning enters the NCAA Tournament 17-2 on the season with an 8.03 goals against average and a .592 save percentage for the Cardinals in 2026. He recorded a 6.12 goals against average and a .624 save percentage in league play. A native of Glenville, NY, Manning has had 10 games with at least 10 saves, including a season-best 18 in the Empire 8 Championship game against Nazareth on May 2 en route to winning Empire 8 Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Vormwald, a native of Syracuse, NY, was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He has appeared in all 19 games for the Cardinals, winning 239-of-327 face-offs on the season, while grabbing 168 ground balls, both second in the league. Vormwald led the league by winning 78 percent of his draws in league play. He won 19-of-25 draws in the E8 Championship game. Vormwald is St. John Fisher’s fourth E8 Rookie of the Year in program history.
Randall and his staff of assistant coaches Jesse Elliott, Jeremy Vautour, Colin Perks, and Regan Endres led the Golden Flyers to a perfect 9-0 record in E8 league play and 12-7 overall record. The Golden Flyers won 12 straight games during the season and out-scored opponents, 220-45 in league play. The Golden Flyers won the regular season title and advanced to the Empire 8 Championship game for the sixth straight year. It is the eighth E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor for Randall and Nazareth and first since 2017.
St. John Fisher led the league with seven first team selections, while Nazareth had four picks, SUNY Geneseo had three and Alfred had one. Overall, Nazareth had a league-high 13 all-conference selections, while St. John Fisher was right behind with 12. Tyler Manning of St. John Fisher and defender Josh Knapp of SUNY Geneseo earned All-Empire 8 first team honors for the second straight season. Thirteen of the 15 E8 first team picks earned the honor for the first time.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025-26 Men’s Lacrosse 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.”
2026 Empire 8 Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections
Offensive Player of the Year: Matthew Farrington, Sr., A, Nazareth
Defensive Player of the Year: Nicholas Hinck, So., D, Nazareth
Goalkeeper of the Year: Tyler Manning, Sr., GK, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Jonah Vormwald, Fr., F/O, St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by Head Coach Rob Randall
Empire 8 First Team
Cole Loewke, Sr., A, Alfred (Hilton, NY/Hilton)
Matthew Farrington, Sr., A, Nazareth (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley)
Kyle Rosenberger, Sr., A, Nazareth (Syracuse, NY/Westhill)
Scott Bovard, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (Denver, CO/Denver East)
Aksel Stanat, So., M, SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Louis Cogliandro, Sr., M, Nazareth (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Sean Donaldson, Jr., M, St. John Fisher (Springfield, PA/Springfield)
Lane Edinger, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Tully, NY/Tully)
Josh Knapp, Sr., D, SUNY Geneseo (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Nicholas Hinck, So., D, Nazareth (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa)
Connor Gray, Fr., D, St. John Fisher (Mahtomedi, MN/Mahtomedi)
Jake Vernieri, Fr., LSM, St. John Fisher (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Voorhees)
Jack Helrigel, Sr., SSD, SUNY Geneseo (Northport, NY/Northport)
Jonah Vormwald, Fr., F/O, St. John Fisher (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
Tyler Manning, Sr., GK, St. John Fisher (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Empire 8 Second Team
Ronnie Trebing, Sr., A, SUNY Geneseo (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West)
Colin August, Jr., A, Hartwick (Garrison, NY/James I. O’Neill)
Grady Swidersky, Fr., A, St. John Fisher (Annapolis, MD/Archbishop Spalding)
Ryan Considine, Jr., A, Utica (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
Brendan Riley, Sr., M, Alfred (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Liam McManus, Sr., M, Hartwick (Skillman, NJ/Montgomery)
Joey Hathorn, Sr., M, Nazareth (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
George Monahan, So., M, Nazareth (Mendham, NJ/West Morris Mendham)
Benjamin Cunningham, Jr., D, Alfred (Dover, MD/The Gunston School)
Connor Fundis, Gr., D, Nazareth (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Ethan Hodge, Jr., D, St. John Fisher (Vienna, VA/James Madison)
Jack Schimmel, So., LSM, Nazareth (Hilton, NY/Aquinas)
Luke Suchyna, Sr., SSD, Nazareth (Buffalo, NY/Lancaster)
Hunter Cupp, Sr., F/O, Alfred (Bath, NY/Haverling)
Sven Habitzreuther, Fr., GK, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit)
Empire 8 Third Team
Ryan Trebing, Sr., A, SUNY Geneseo (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West)
William O’Neill, Sr., A, Nazareth (Cummington, MA/Wahconah Regional)
Kai Hew, Jr., A, SUNY Poly (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central)
Garrett Sutton, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker)
Ian Leahey, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse)
Jake Perinchief, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Oceanside, NY/Oceanside)
Hayden Lauer, Fr., M, St. John Fisher (Fallston, MD/St. Paul’s School)
Lucas Donohue, Jr., M, Utica (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Sam Myung, So., D, SUNY Geneseo (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park)
Cole Slimak, Sr., D, Nazareth (Georgetown, MA/Pingree School)
Aaron Bergquist, Jr., D, Utica (Brewerton, NY/Central Square)
Aidan Crane, Jr., LSM, SUNY Geneseo (Corning, NY/Corning)
Matt Slowinski, Sr., SSD, St. John Fisher (Akron, NY/Clarence)
Cole Doldo, Sr., F/O, Nazareth (Watertown, NY/South Jefferson)
Jared Kulik, Jr., GK, SUNY Brockport (Amherst, NY/Amherst)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Brady McGowan, Sr., M, Alfred (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Reagan Alexander, Sr., D, SUNY Brockport (Theresa, NY/Indian River)
Owen Ellick, Sr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West)
Colby Simonetti, Sr., A, Hartwick (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland)
Aiden Nice, Sr., M, Keuka (Palmyra, NY/Palmyra-Macedon)
Jack O’Leary, Sr., D, Nazareth (Oswego, NY/Oswego)
Zachary Christian, Sr., D, SUNY Poly (Kirkville, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa)
Carson Pesce, So., M, Russell Sage (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury)
Brett Seaman, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Churchville, NY/Churchville-Chili)
Noah Erickson, Sr., M, Utica (Auburn, NY/Auburn)