Men's Basketball | 7/17/2026 10:30:00 AM
Fourty-two student-athletes from seven Empire 8 men's basketball programs earned National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court accolades for the 2025-26 season. The NABC Honors Court highlights the talents and gifts that these men possess on the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.
Over 2,300 men’s collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season were honored. In addition, nearly 400 teams were honored as well. In order to be named to the Honors Court, a student-athlete must meet a high standard of academic criteria. The qualifications are as follows:
1. Academically, a junior, senior, or graduate student and a varsity player.
2. Cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2022-23 academic year.
3. Students must have matriculated at least one year at their current institution.
4. Member of a NCAA Division I, II, III, or NAIA Division I or II institution with a NABC member coach.
The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize men’s basketball programs that completed the 2025-26 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Alfred University, SUNY Geneseo, Houghton University, Keuka College, Nazareth University, SUNY Poly, Russell Sage College and St John Fisher University earned the team honor.
Russell Sage led all Empire 8 programs with eight student-athletes honored on the NABC Honors Court. Alfred had seven student-athletes earn the honor, Keuka and St. John Fisher had six, Nazareth had five, SUNY Geneseo had four, while Houghton and SUNY Poly had three student-athletes honored.
2025-26 NABC Honors Court Recipients (from Empire 8)
ALFRED UNIVERSITY
Zion Baitey, Jr. - Renewable Energy Engineering
Chris Coyle, Jr. - Finance
Tyler Curran, Sr. - Finance
Nolan Gilbert, Jr. - Renewable Energy Engineering
Robby Hicks, Sr. - Business Administration
Gennaro Picco, So. - Biology
Franlys Valenzuela, Sr. - Computer Science/Finance
SUNY GENESEO
Josh Garelle, Jr. - Business Administration
Ethan Meisel, Jr. - Finance
Robert Pericolosi, Jr. - Sociomedical Sciences and Business Administration
Wallace Rahmaan Jr., Jr. - Finance
HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY
Jair Bialek, Jr. - History Education
Hudson Idzi, Jr. - Sport Recreation and Wellness Management
Jonathan Rosario, Sr. - Business Administration
KEUKA COLLEGE
Kevin Felasco, Gr. - Leadership
Brennan Hopkins, Jr. - Management: Sport Management
Ty LaBarge, Jr. - Management: Sport Management
Akinlana Popoola, Sr. - Marketing
Marcus Reed, Sr. - Management
Chase Welch, Jr. - Management: Sport Management
NAZARETH UNIVERSITY
Ryan Broderick, Gr. - Strategic Marketing
Luke Insley, Gr. - Physical Therapy
Zach McFarland, Sr. - Business
Tyler Putney Gr. - Strategic Marketing
Jaylen Savage, Sr. - Ethical Data Science
SUNY POLY
Marqiis Samuels, Jr. - Business Administration
Will Scanlon, Sr. - Business Administration
Elijah Smith, Jr. - Psychology
RUSSELL SAGE COLLEGE
Ben Aprilante, Sr. - Sport and Recreation Management
Brandon Harris, Sr. - Sport and Recreation Management
Kendall Lavender, Jr. - Business Administration/Sport Management
Sidney Lebonzo, Gr. - Sport Science: Coaching and Mental Performance
Michael McLaughlin, Sr. - Health Sciences
Khalel Noteman, Jr. - Sport and Recreation Management
Pape Tunkara, Jr. - Sport and Recreation Management
Tyre Williams, Jr. - Sport and Recreation Management
ST. JOHN FISHER UNIVERSITY
Christian Daley, Gr. - Sport Management
Louis Fay, Sr. - Finance
Jonathan McCaffrey, Jr. - Management
Shawn Minnehan, Sr. - Biology
Giovanni Schillaci, Jr. - Accounting/Finance
Max Schneider, Sr. - Marketing