ALBANY, N.Y. – More than 20 student-athletes inlcuding nine SUNYAC student-athletes are being honored with the SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards for combining academic achievement with success in the arena of athletic competition during the 2023-24 winter season.
The SUNY Winter Scholar Athlete Awards recognized 21 student-athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four- and two-year levels who were nominated and voted upon by representatives of their respective institutions.
Nominating information includes cumulative grade point average, current and career statistics, and athletic and academic honors.
More than 14,000 student-athletes compete at SUNY institutions representing 53 different colleges and universities at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division III/USCAA and NJCAA levels and are eligible for the awards.
The four NCAA Division I member institutions that comprise the NCAA Division I Category for the SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards include University at Albany, Binghamton, University at Buffalo and Stony Brook, while 19 institutions make up the NCAA Division III/USCAA Category and include Alfred State, Brockport, Buffalo State, Canton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, Maritime, Morrisville, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and SUNY Poly.
ESF, the lone four-year SUNY institution sponsoring intercollegiate athletics that is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) instead of the NCAA, participates in the program with the 19 NCAA Division III members for a total of 20 colleges and universities.
The NJCAA Category features the 29 two-year community colleges spread out across the state of New York: Adirondack, Broome, Cayuga, Clinton, Columbia Greene, Corning, Dutchess, Erie, FIT, Finger Lakes, Fulton Montgomery, Genesee, Herkimer, Hudson Valley, Jamestown, Jefferson, Mohawk Valley, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, North Country, Onondaga, Orange, Rockland, Schenectady, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tompkins and Ulster.
The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognize outstanding academic and athletic success in 29 different sports and are presented three times a year to coincide with the specific sports contested in the fall, winter and spring seasons. The Scholar Athletes of the Year in each sport will then be nominated for an overall Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's sports and women's sports in each category that will be announced in mid-July.
The Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year were announced in January, while the Spring Scholar Athletes of the Year will be presented in June. Student-athletes will receive photo plaques commemorating their accomplishments.
Because sport sponsorship varies among institutions, a minimum sponsorship formula has been developed for award selections. At least three (3) institutions must sponsor the sport in the Division I category, while at least five (5) institutions must sponsor the sport in the SUNY Division III/USCAA and SUNY NJCAA categories. For sports that do not meet the minimum threshold to be a viable award, an at-large category has been developed for each level and each season.
The following SUNYAC student-athletes have been selected the Winter SUNY Scholar Athlete Award winners:
Men's Basketball – Rylan Blondo, New Paltz
Blondo is a 4.0 student majoring in management/analytics. He is a three-time All-SUNYAC recipient and was named to the 2024 SUNYAC All-Tournament team after helping his team clinch its first-ever men's basketball league title. Blondo was the 2024 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year, the SUNYAC Men's Basketball Elite 20 awardee, he is a three-time SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll recipient, he earned a spot on the Hawks Academic Honor Roll for three-straight semesters, and he is a Chi Alpha Sigma inductee. In 2024 Blondo joined the Hawks 1,000-point club and finished his career 13th all-time in scoring at New Paltz with 1,233 points. Throughout his career he also accumulated 522 rebounds, 244 assists and 171 steals.
Women's Basketball - Logan Streety, Cortland
Streety is a senior exercise science major with a 3.87 overall GPA. In 2024, she was a second team D3hoops.com All-Region 3 forward and was named to the first team All-SUNYAC. Streety was also the SUNYAC Women's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year and a College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree. During the 2023-24 season, Streety led Cortland with 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She shot 56 percent from the field and 71 percent from the foul line. Streety scored in double figures 20 times and had 10 double-figure rebound games.
Men's Ice Hockey - Adam Harris, Geneseo
Harris, the SUNYAC Men's Ice Hockey Scholar Athlete of the Year, posted a 4.0 fall semester GPA and holds a 3.97 cumulative GPA with a major in finance. The Burlington, Ont. native was named the SUNYAC Goaltender of the Year and earned first-team All-SUNYAC after being a force in goal all year for Geneseo, starting 16 games and finishing the regular season with a record of 12-3. Harris tallied 425 saves on the season with a save percentage of .928 and a goals allowed average of 2.28. In conference games, he played 10 games and tallied 287 saves with a GAA of 1.99. Harris also had a save percentage of .938, the best of any goaltender that played at least 10 games.
Women's Ice Hockey - Julia Masotta, Plattsburgh
This season, Masotta was a CCM/AHCA first team All-American, the SUNYAC Player of the Year and an All-Conference honoree. She ranked atop the SUNYAC in points (37) and assists (24). She also tallied 13 goals this year, notched four power-play goals, and had three game-winning scores, with her season highlighted by a four-goal outburst against Morrisville in the SUNYAC semifinals. She had nine multi-point games this year including a season high of four assists on Feb. 24. The graduate student also found herself in the NCAA rankings, as she averaged 1.32 points per game and .86 assists per game, which ranked tenth and sixth, respectively, in all of Division III. Combined with her three seasons at Norwich, Masotta surpassed the 100-point mark early in the season, finishing with 133 in her career. At Plattsburgh, she had 68 points, with 28 goals and 40 assists, while scoring five game-winning goals. Masotta finished the fall with a 3.83 GPA and maintains a cumulative GPA of 3.79 as an elementary education major.
Men's Swimming and Diving - Griffin Merkling, Geneseo
Merkling recorded a 3.67 fall semester grade point average with a 3.66 cumulative GPA as a geology major. He was recently named the SUNYAC Men's Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year. Merkling earned second-team All-American status after helping the 200-yard medley relay team finish 16th at the NCAA championships. He also led off the 400-yard medley relay team and his backstroke split set a new program and conference record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 49.27. Merkling was also a first-team All-SUNYAC honoree from his performance at the SUNYAC championship meet, finishing first in the 200 medley relay, 100 backstroke, 400 medley relay, and 200 backstroke.
Women's Swimming and Diving - Leah Bernhardt, Cortland
Bernhardt holds a 3.92 cumulative grade point average as a graphic design and digital media major. She was the 2024 SUNYAC champion in the 500-yard freestyle, the runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle and placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle (set school record in 1,000 freestyle during that race). Bernhardt was also part of the second place 800-yard freestyle relay team at the conference championship meet. In her first year with the Red Dragons, Bernhardt set the school record in the 500 freestyle and was the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year.
Men's Indoor Track and Field - Isaiah Brunache, Cortland
This season Brunache was an NCAA qualifier and All-Niagara Region in both the weight throw and shot put (did not compete at nationals due to injury). Brunache was All-AARTFC (2nd place) in the weight throw with a school-record distance of 18.51 meters (60' 8.75"). He was the 2024 SUNYAC champion in the weight throw and the runner-up in the shot put. This season, Brunache set the school record in the shot put (55' 1") at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational. In 2023 he was also an NCAA indoor qualifier in the shot put. Brunache holds a 3.99 GPA as an exercise science major.
Women's Indoor Track and Field - Janelle Eckl, Geneseo
Eckl recorded a 3.94 fall semester GPA in her junior year. She holds a 3.84 cumulative GPA as an early childhood education major and was recently named the 2024 SUNYAC Women's Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the year. Eckl earned second-team All-American status in the pentathlon at the 2024 NCAA Division III indoor track and field championship meet, placing ninth with a personal best score of 3,395 points. Eckl also earned first-team All-SUNYAC status by finishing first in the pentathlon and the 4x400 meter relay at the conference championship meet.
Men's Wrestling - Anderson Klosner, Oneonta
Junior Klosner has a 3.89 cumulative GPA as an adolescent education major. He was named the SUNYAC Men's Wrestling Elite 20 winner this season for being the individual with the highest GPA at the conference championship. Klosner placed fifth in the 149-weight class at the 2024 league championship meet. He finished the 2023-24 season with ten wins overall. Klosner was also named to the ECWC All-Academic team and the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll at the completion of the 2022-23 season.
