Winter 2025 SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year Honorees Announced

ALBANY, N.Y. – More than 20 student-athletes including six 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 2024-25 winter season.

The winter 2025 SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognized 23 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 as the 2025 Winter SUNY Scholar Athlete Award winners for Division III:

Men's Basketball - Kendall Arcuri, Cortland
Arcuri was the SUNYAC Tournament MVP after totaling 51 points, 22 rebounds and six assists in three games to help Cortland win the conference title for the first time since 2016. The forward was named to the 2025 SUNYAC first team after averaging 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season. Arcuri was named to the D3hoops.com first team All-Region and the NABC second team All-District. 

Arcuri is a junior physical education major holding a 3.40 overall GPA. He was recently voted the 2025 SUNYAC Men's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year and he was named to the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll at the completion of the 2023-24 academic year.

Women's Ice Hockey - Mattie Norton, Plattsburgh
Norton was named to the 2024-25 CCM Hockey/AHCA Division III Women's All-American Hockey Team, earning East Second Team honors. She was also named First Team All-SUNYAC for the second year in a row. Norton was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after helping the Cardinals win their first SUNYAC championship crown since the inception of women's ice hockey in the conference in 2023-24. This season, she appeared in 28 games where she tallied 12 points with six goals and six assists, five of those goals on the power play. Norton also recorded +11 on the season, had 33 blocked shots and scored three game-winning goals. 

Norton is a senior accounting/business administration major with a 3.81 overall GPA. She is the 2025 SUNYAC Women's Ice Hockey Scholar Athlete of the Year and she is a three-time SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member. Last season she was a CSC Academic All-District team honoree and a Krampade/AHCA All-American Scholar.

Men's Swimming and Diving - Kellen Dickman, Cortland
Dickman was named the 2025 SUNYAC Men's Co-Swimmer of the Year. He won the 100-yard butterfly at the SUNYAC-AMCC championship and was the 200-yard butterfly runner up. Dickman was also a part of the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay teams that finished second at the conference championship.

Dickman is a junior biochemistry major with a 3.69 overall GPA. He was a CSC District 3 Academic All-District selection and was honored on the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll the last two years.

Women's Swimming and Diving - Leah Bernhardt, Cortland|
Bernhardt repeats as the SUNY Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was the 2025 SUNYAC Women's Swimmer of the Year after winning three event titles in the 200, 500 and 1,650-yard freestyle races at the SUNYAC-AMCC championships. Bernhardt was also a member of the second-place 800-yard freestyle relay team and the third-place 400-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays. She was voted the SUNYAC Grace Mowatt Award recipient which is presented to a senior swimming and diving student-athlete each year for their combined athletic and academic achievements.

Bernhardt is a senior graphic design and digital media major holding a 3.92 overall GPA. She is a CSC District 3 Academic All-District, the 2025 SUNYAC Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar Athlete of the Year and a two-time SUNYAC Commissioner's Honor Roll awardee.

Men's Indoor Track and Field - Isaiah Brunache, Cortland
In 2025 Brunache earned first team All-American in both the weight throw (7th place) and shot put (8th place) to earn SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year honors for the second straight year. He broke his own school record in the weight throw at the NCAA championships. Brunache is Cortland's record holder in the shot put. He was the AARTFC champion in weight throw and was third in the shot put to earn All-AARTFC. This season, Brunache was All-Niagara Region in both the weight throw and shot put. He was the SUNYAC champion in both events as well. Brunache helped the Red Dragons win the 2025 SUNYAC title and finish fifth nationally.

Brunache is a junior majoring in exercise science maintaining a 3.97 ovearll GPA. He was voted the SUNYAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year and he was named to the SUNYAC Commissioner's Honor Roll the last two years.

Men's Wrestling - Angelo Centrone, Cortland
Centron was the NCAA Division III runner-up at 149 pounds in 2025. He finished the season with a 30-1 record, with the lone loss in the national championship match. Centrone was the 149-pound champion and Most Outstanding Wrestler at NCAA Division III Region 2 championships. He was also the SUNYAC champion at 149 pounds and named the Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler. Centrone was voted the SUNYAC Co-Wrestler of the Year after he helped Cortland win its share of the SUNYAC team title. The squad tied with Oneonta, totaling 141 points each.

Centrone is a physical education major with a 3.38 overall GPA. He is a two-time SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member.