Four SUNYAC Student-Athletes Honored with Spring SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year
Four 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 2026 springseason.
The SUNY Spring Scholar Athlete Awards recognizes 25 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 Fall Scholar Athletes of the Year were announced in January and the winter winners were released in April. The overall male and female Scholar Athletes of the Year in each division will be announced in July. Student-athletes will receive photo plaques commemorating their accomplishments.
Men's Lacrosse - Sean Kavanagh, Cortland
In 2026, Kavanagh was USILA Honorable Mention All-American on attack and USA Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American. He was named the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year after he led Cortland with 51 assists and 98 total points and was third with 47 goals despite missing the last three games of the season due to injury. Kavanagh also recorded 23 ground balls. His team repeated as SUNYAC regular-season and tournament champion and won an NCAA first-round game to tie for 17th place nationally.
Kavanagh is a junior physcial education major maintaining a 3.49 overall GPA.
Women's Lacrosse - Alexis Atwater, SUNY New Paltz
Atwater was a major part of the Hawk's success this past season. The captain from Brighton, New York was named to the 2026 All-Empire Region Second Team, was 2026 SUNYAC Attacker of the Year and All-SUNYAC First Team. Atwater won SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week the week of February 23rd and started in 17 of the 18 games played. She leads the team with 73 goals, becoming the programs all-time single season goal leader and second in the program for all time goals with 209. Alexis is fourth in assists with 13 and first in points with 86, becoming second in the program for single season points and second in the program for all time points with 237. She leads the team in draw controls with 61, becoming sixth in the program's all time draw controls with 157. Alexis is third in ground balls with 38 and tallied 10 caused turnovers. She earned her season high of eight goals and 11 points, eight goals and three assists, against Plattsburgh on April 15. Alexis earned a spot on the Hawks Academic Honor Roll for the Fall 2025 semester and was named to the SUNY New Paltz 2026 Leadership Wall.
Atwater graduated with a degree in psychology and she had a disaster studies minor at New Paltz. She maintained a 3.97 overall GPA.
Softball – Kelsey O'Brien, SUNY New PaltzO' Brien was named to the 2026 All-SUNYAC First Team and All-Region III First Team. O'Brien started in 41 of the 41 games played. The captain from Monroe, NY finished among the teams' leaders, ranking third in at bats (125), second in runs (37) and second in hits (53). She added 11 extra base hits, three home runs, and 15 walks with 91 total bases. She is second in RBIs with 30. O'Brien batted .424 with a .497 on-base percentage, .616 slugging percentage and a 1.113 OPS. She earned her season high of four hits on April 23rd against Canton and her season high of most home runs (2) and doubles (2) on April 4th against Buffalo State. Defensively, she is third in catches with 86 and 85 putouts.
O'Brien graduated with a 3.83 overall GPA as a mathematics and MAT adolescent education major at New Paltz.
Men's Outdoor Track & Field - Isaiah Brunache, CortlanBrunache was First Team All-American in the discus with an eighth-place national finish in 2026. He was also a national qualifier in the shot put (18th place). Brunache was All-Niagara Region in the discus, shot put and hammer throw. He was also the AARTFC champion in the discus, runner-up in the shot put and sixth in the hammer to earn AARTFC Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. At the conference meet Brunache was the SUNYAC champion in the shot put and discus and was named the SUNYAC Field Athlete of the Year. He was also just recently named the 2026 Niagara Region Division III Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
Brunache graduated in May with a 3.91 overall GPA earning an exercise science degree from Cortland. He has been named to the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll the last three years and is being honored on the CSC Academic All-District list. Brunache was recently named the SUNYAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year.
