General | 11/24/2025 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 24, 2025, for games played from November 17 – November 23. It is the 13th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s wrestling.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kelton Brown, Elmira, So., G, Olive Branch, MS, Olive Branch
Brown helped pave the way for the Soaring Eagles to earn a pair of overtime wins this past week, 101-97 over SUNY Fredonia and 90-84 over Penn State Brandywine. He averaged 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals, while shooting 58 percent from the floor (25-for-43). Against Fredonia, Brown tallied 30 points and nine rebounds with four assists and four steals. Against Penn State Brandywine, Brown recorded a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds. He also tallied three steals, one block, and four assists, while shooing 12-of-17 from the floor.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Anthony Rose, SUNY Poly, Sr., F, Bronx, NY/Fannie Lou Hammer Freedom
Rose scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line to go along with nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal at Clarkson on Saturday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Jaiyden Jones, SUNY Geneseo, Fr., F, Rochester, NY/McQuaid
Jones had an impressive three-game week for the Knights, scoring 12, 14, and 21 points to average 15.7 points per game over the three-game week on 69.2 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-26) to go along with 5.3 boards per contest. In the Knights 80-76 win over RIT, Jones dropped 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting including 2-from-3 from deep. At the Wooster tournament, Jones combined for 35 points over two games, going 13-from-19 from the field, including a season-high 21 points at Wooster Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Grace Galgano, SUNY Geneseo, Sr., F, Brewster, NY/Brewster
Galgano was dominant for the Knights in a 2-0 week, scoring 19 points against William Smith, and then 22 against RIT. Against the Tigers, Galgano drained the game-winning bucket with seven seconds left to secure the 64-63 win, while also chipping in nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Against the Herons, Galgano tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team to an 82-53 win. Over both games, the Brewster, NY native shot 17-27 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Stephanie Jean-Baptiste, SUNY Brockport, Sr., G, Jersey City, NY/John Jay
Jean-Baptiste posted an excellent stat line on both sides of the court in a 2-1 week for SUNYY Brockport, averaging 19.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game. In Brockport's win over William Smith on Friday, SJB posted a double-double, posting game highs in points (21) and rebounds (10). Jean-Baptiste was instrumental in Brockport's win over Ithaca, scoring 25 points with nine rebounds and four steals. It is her second straight E8 weekly accolade.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Natalie Mai, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon
Mai led the Cardinals with 23 points while shooting 7-of-15 overall, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. She also led the Cardinals with seven assists in St. John Fisher's first win of the season, 60-51, over Morrisville on Tuesday.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sam Ciappa, St. John Fisher, Fr., F, Baldwinsville, NY/Canterbury Prep
Ciappa scored three goals and was plus-2 in a weekend split against Albertus Magnus. On Friday, Ciappa scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning shorthanded tally just 10 seconds into the third period that broke a 1-1 tie and St. John Fisher’s third goal just over six minutes later in a 4-1 win. On Saturday, Ciappa gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead early in the second period with his sixth goal of the season before Albertus Magnus scored four unanswered goals. It is Ciappa’s second E8 weekly honor of 2025-26.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Kyle Curtin, Utica, Sr., G, St. George, Ontario/Paris District
Curtin was perfect over the weekend, stopping all 62 shots he faced in a pair of identical 3-0 road shutouts at Manhattanville, as Utica improved to 4-0 in UCHC play. Curtin kept out 62 shots, 33 on Friday and 29 on Saturday, making a number of key saves to keep the Valiants off the scoreboard. Thanks to his impressive weekend, Curtin boosted his season save percentage to .929 and lowered his season GAA to 2.01.
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Amy Laskowski, Nazareth, So., F, Clarendon Hills, IL/Hinsdale Central
Laskowski led the No. 5 Golden Flyers to a pair of conference wins over St. John Fisher, lighting the lamp five times in two games, tallying the game-winner in both contests, as Nazareth is now 8-0-0 on the season. On Friday, Laskowski broke a 2-2 tie, scoring on a nifty move in front of the net with 10:03 left in regulation to lead the Golden Flyers to a 3-2 win. On Saturday, Laskowski scored Nazareth’s first four goals, all in the first 29:48 of game play, in an eventual 6-0 win. She tied the Nazareth single-game mark with four goals. Laskowski leads the UCHC with 12 goals and 18 points in eight games this season. It is her third E8 weekly honor of the season.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Sara Sevcikova, Elmira, So., G, Český Krumlov, Czech Republic/Stanstead
Sevcikova has now improved to a 5-1-1 record on the year after helping lead the Soaring Eagles to a 2-0 record on the week and UCHC play against Utica. She was a force to be reckoned with between the pipes, recording six saves in Friday's 3-1 win and 24 saves in Saturday's 2-1 victory for a total of 30 saves on the week (.938 save percentage). She made 14 saves in the third period Saturday to keep the Pioneers off the scoreboard, as Elmira rallied for the win.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – Alex Palmer, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Fairport, NY/Fairport
Palmer put up another dominant performance for the Knights, competing in six events over three days at the Kenyon Total Performance Invite, where he was a part of two program and conference record breaking performances. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Palmer won the event with a time of 1:58.78, in the preliminaries, he touched the wall in 1:58.37. Palmer was also on the 200-yard medley relay team, which took third place and set a new program and conference record at 1:28.93. Palmer also competed in the 200-yard individual medley and took fourth at 1:50.12, the 400-yard medley relay where the team took sixth at 3:19.97, the 100-yard breaststroke where he finished second at 54.58, and the 400-yard freestyle relay. It is Palmer’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Brenden Jardin-Reed, SUNY Brockport, Fr., Diver, Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post
Jardin-Reed had a pair of strong finishes for the Golden Eagles on the diving boards to help the team place second at the Blue Devil Invitational, hosted by SUNY Fredonia. In the 3-meter board competition he took second place overall with a score of 490.10. He then took second once again with his score of 512.60 to garner his second straight E8 weekly accolade.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK – Alex Sotek, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., Butterfly/Freestyle, New Lebanon, NY/New Lebanon
Sotek put up an impressive performance in the Knights three-day invite at Kenyon, highlighted by finishing first overall in the 50-yard freestyle at 23.08, out-touching second place by one, one-hundredth of a second. Sotek also competed in the 100-yard butterfly and took third at 55.36 seconds. In relay events she competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay (4th - 1:34.55), 400-yard medley relay (6th - 3:49.83), 200-yard medley relay (3rd - 1:43.37), and the 400-yard freestyle relay (7th - 3:29.57). It is Sotek’s third E8 weekly honor of the season.
DIVER OF THE WEEK – Brylee Weisenburg, SUNY Brockport, Fr., Diver, Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Weisenburg had a big weekend on the diving boards to help the Golden Eagles claim first place on the women's side of the action at the Blue Devil Invite, hosted by SUNY Fredonia. On the 3-meter board she scored a 402.95 in the finals to win the event. She also took first place in the 1-meter diving event with her score of 416.25 to earn her second straight E8 weekly honor.
MEN’S WRESTLING
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK – Mason Mangialino, SUNY Brockport, Sr., 149 lbs., Port Jefferson Station, NY/Port Jefferson
Mangialino was the individual champion at 149 lbs. at the 2025 New York State Collegiate Championships and contributing 20.5 points to SUNY Brockport’s third place team finish (166.5 points). Mangialino started the day with a win by fall (6:01), a tech fall win (15-0) and a major decision win (22-8). Mangialino took the 4-0 decision win in the semifinals and fought for a 6-4 decision win over Darik Soucia of Onondaga Community College in the first-place match.