NEWTOWN, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announces its nine nominees for the 2025 Division III Commissioner’s Association (DIIICA) Student Athlete of the Year award. There are two women's athletes and two men's athletes nominated from the MAC Freedom, one men's and one women's athlete nominated from the MAC Commonwealth, and one men's and two women's athletes nominated from the MAC with representation from Alvernia, Stevens, Misericordia, Lebanon Valley, Arcadia, and York. 

The DIIICA Student Athlete of the Year Award honors men and women student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility (graduating seniors or graduate students that have not been nominated in previous years are the only eligible student-athletes). These student-athletes exhibit excellence both in the classroom and on the track, field, court and mat while also serving their local communities. 

A conference may elect to submit up to two nominations for each award if at least one nomination is an international student/ethnic minority. The DIIICA regional selection committees will honor their selections based on the 10 predetermined NCAA regions. The MAC Freedom nominees are placed in Region IV and the MAC Commonwealth nominees are placed in Region V.

The Regional winners will be announced around the third week of August. Those individuals will be forwarded to the committee to be considered for the DIIICA Men and Women Student Athlete of the Year to be announced in early September. 

The MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom nominees were selected by the MAC Awards Committee. The committee reviewed the MAC Senior Scholar-Athletes from the previous year that competed in the 2024-25 season. The nine nominees are listed below. 
 

• Ryan Cogill, Alvernia (MAC Commonwealth Men)
• Bryan Creamer, Stevens (MAC Freedom Men)
• Vivek Harinarayan, Stevens (MAC Freedom Men)
• Julia Beck, Misericordia (MAC Freedom Women)
• Emma Wade (MAC Commonwealth Women)
• Cristina Fernandez, Lebanon Valley (MAC Freedom Women)
• Jared Piontkowski, Misericordia (MAC Men)
• Karah White, Arcadia (MAC Women)
• Gabby Nye, Widener (MAC Women)

MAC Commonwealth Men
Cogill had a standout senior season as he was named to the 2024 All-MAC Commonwealth First Team and was named the 2024 MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year. Cogill collected 18 goals and 2 assists for 38 points, with six game-winners and is the Alvernia Career leader in goals (42) and points (103). He was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) First-Team All-Region and named ECAC Player of the Year (2024). Cogill was also a NCAA statistical leader in penalty kick percentage (100%, 7-7). He is a Mechanical Engineering major and is anticipated to graduate in May 2025. Cogill holds a 3.65 grade-point average. Cogill was most recently named a First-Team USC Scholar All-American and named to the USC Scholar All-Region team. He is a five-time Dean's List honoree, a four-time MAC Academic Honor Roll honoree and named to the 2024 Academic All-MAC team. 

MAC Freedom Men
Creamer was a member of three MAC Freedom Championship teams at Stevens and helped the Ducks claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC Freedom Men’s Lacrosse Championship. He earned All-MAC Freedom honors in both 2023 and 2024, while also being named MAC Freedom Specialist of the Year during both campaigns. Those performances led to USILA All-America recognition, first as an Honorable Mention and then as a Second Team selection. Creamer also excelled in the classroom, earning a 3.94 GPA while working towards his degree in business and technology. His status as a true student-athlete was recognized by CSC in 2024 as both an Academic All-District and Academic All-America honoree.

Harinarayan has been one of the MAC Freedom’s top players since he arrived on the Stevens campus in the 2022 season. He has been a conference champion in each of his first three seasons and earned major awards in 2022 and 2024. In first-year season he was named MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year and was then selected as the MAC Freedom Player of the Year in 2024. Harinarayan is expected to complete his degree in biology this May and currently holds a 3.67 GPA. He was an Academic All-MAC selection and was also recognized as a CSC Academic All-District Team member and an ITA Scholar-Athlete.

MAC Commonwealth Women
Wade was a serious slugger during her career with York, especially during the 2024 season. During her junior season, the Spartans catcher/infielder set new school single-season records in RBIs (72) and total bases (109). In addition to leading the MAC Commonwealth in those categories, she also bested the league in OPS, home runs, and slugging percentage. Her performance earned her All-MAC Commonwealth First Team honors and the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year award. Her RBI total also led all of NCAA Division III and she was named an NFCA Second Team All-American. Wade earned a conference title in 2023. Wade also crushed it in the classroom, compiling a 3.88 GPA as she worked towards her degree in civil engineering. She was a three-time MAC Academic Honor Roll member and a three-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete. She also earned a spot on the Academic All-MAC Team, the CSC Academic All-District Team, and the CSC Academic All-America First Team.

MAC Freedom Women
Beck claimed USC First-Team All-American honors and was named the MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Year in 2024. She totaled seven goals and two assists for 16 points.  In the season prior, Beck was named the MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year. Beck is a four-time first-team All-MAC Freedom selection. Beck, a Physical Therapy major holds a 3.99 grade-point average and is expected to graduate in 2026. She was tabbed as the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-American of the Year and claimed CSC Academic All-American honors in 2024. She is a seven-time member of the Dean's List and was named the 2023-24 Misericordia Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

Fernandez was a key contributor for Lebanon Valley during her four-year career with the Dutchmen. She was named to the All-MAC Freedom First Team in her senior year after earning Honorable Mention recognition the year before. During the 2024-25 campaign she led the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.24), which also placed her 13th on the NCAA Division III leaderboard. She also led the league in blocks (49) as a guard. Her performance garnered MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as a spot on the D3hoops.com All-Region Third Team. The LVC captain is an early childhood education major with a 3.75 GPA. She has earned a spot on the Dean’s List six times and is a two-time MAC Academic Honor Roll honoree. Fernandez was also a CSC Academic All-District selection in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. She is also a Mosaic Mentor.

MAC Men
Piontkowski is one of the most dangerous attackers in NCAA Division III men’s volleyball, ranking fifth in career kills among active DIII members. He was the conference leader in both kills and kills per set this season, helping him earn his second All-MAC First Team selection and fourth All-Conference selection overall. His talent also earned him an AVCA First Team All-America nod and the 2024 Misericordia Wendy’s Athlete of the Year. Piontkowski is a business administration major with 3.91 GPA expected to graduate this spring. While he hopes to earn a few more academic accolades before leaving Misericordia with his diploma, he has already earned MAC Academic Honor Roll four times and Dean’s List three times. He was also a 2024 Academic All-MAC selection and a 2024 CSC Academic All-American. Piontkowski was also named Misericordia Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2025.

MAC Women
White put an exclamation mark on a stellar career with Arcadia by becoming the program’s first CCM/AHCA All-American this year as she was named to the organization’s Third Team. The award was the latest honor for the Knights skater as she had been named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year a year before. White also displays leadership off the ice as the President of the Knights of Color Council. She is completing her degree in biology and has a 3.38 GPA. Her academic performance earned her Academic All-MAC recognition. The Akwesasne-native is also a member of Arcadia’s women’s golf team. 

Nye finishes her campaign as a three-time MAC Cross Country All-Conference First Team and Runner of the Year (2022, 2023, 2024). Her first year at Widener, Nye was named to the All-Conference First Team and collected Rookie of the Year. She was named to the USTFCCCA Metro All-Region (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and named the 2022 USTFCCCA Metro All-Region Runner of the Year. She was apart of the first NCAA Cross Country Championship team to appear in an NCAA Championship at Widener. Nye qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2023 and 2024. A Biology/Pre-Physical Therapy and Spanish major, Nye holds a 4.00 grade-point average. She will complete her graduate degree in May of 2026. Nye is a three-time PhillySIDA XC Performer of the Year, a four-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll, MAC Academic All-MAC (2023) and was named to the Dean's List and President's List all semesters.