GREENWOOD, IN – Five talented MAC student-athletes earn Academic All-America at-large recognition from the College Sports Communicators (CSC), as announced by the organization on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.
Student-athletes who own a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or above and are significant contributors to their teams are eligible to earn the prestigious academic honor.
York's Jeff Mueller earned First-Team honors. The MAC Commonwealth Defenseman of the Year posted a career-best 22 caused turnovers and picked up 19 ground balls on the season with three games of three caused turnovers. The junior will return to the Spartans for his senior season with 59 ground balls and 36 caused turnovers.
Stevens' Lauren Sullivan, Stefanie Sellitto and Luke Lesizza received recognition. Sullivan earned First Team Academic All-America honors for the second consecutive season, while Sellitto collected the first Academic All-America recognition of her career in being named Third Team. The duo was also recognized on the IWLCA All-America Team in May, with Sellitto earning First Team honors and Sullivan being named to the Second Team.
Recently named the MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season, Sullivan also garnered her fourth straight All-Region First Team selection. The Bridgewater, N.J. native anchored a defensive unit that allowed just 6.62 goals per game this season, the 17th-best mark in Division III, while averaging nearly two ground balls, more than one caused turnover and nearly four draw controls per contest. Since the start of the 2023 season, Stevens has surrendered fewer than 6.6 goals per game.
The MAC Freedom Midfielder of the Year, Sellitto concluded her career on Castle Point with 215 goals and 45 assists while becoming the only student-athlete in program history to surpass 500 career draw controls. This season, she broke her own school record with 166 draw controls, eclipsing the 165 she recorded in each of the previous two seasons, while totaling a career-high 80 points on 63 goals and 17 assists. In Stevens' MAC Freedom Championship victory over DeSales, Sellitto set a program single-game record with 19 draw controls while adding three goals and three assists. She finished sixth nationally with 7.9 draw controls per game and helped the Ducks rank second in Division III with a 69.4% draw control percentage.
Lesizza earned Third-Team honors as he concluded his career as one of the most accomplished defenders in program history, finishing as Stevens' all-time leader in caused turnovers while establishing the program's single-season record this spring. He recorded his third career season with at least 40 caused turnovers and averaged better than 2.5 caused turnovers per game entering the MAC Freedom Tournament. He tied a career high with nine caused turnovers in the MAC Freedom Championship victory over Arcadia and posted his fourth consecutive season with at least 40 ground balls.
Messiah's men's volleyball standout athlete Jake Eby was named to the Second-Team. He was named an AVCA First Team All-American after a dominant season as one of the Falcons' middle hitters. Eby led the conference with a .426 hitting percentage, collecting 169 kills. He was fifth in the conference with 80 blocks and tied for second with .93 blocks per set. Eby's hitting percentage of .426 ranks ninth in the nation.