Newtown, Pa. (Conference News) - The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announces that Ethan Hagen (Stevens, men's soccer) and Lauren Sullivan (Stevens, women's lacrosse) have been named the Region IV winners of the Division III Commissioner's Association (DIIICA) Student-Athlete of the Year award. Hagen and Sullivan were among the MAC Freedom's nominees for the 2026 DIIICA Student Athlete of the Year award announced earlier this month.
With their regional honors, Hagen and Sullivan now advance to the national ballot for consideration for the DIIICA Men's and Women's Student-Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced in early September.
On the field, Hagen anchored the Stevens defense throughout his career, earning MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2025 and back-to-back First Team All-Region selections. He was a two-time All-MAC Freedom First Team selection after opening his career with a Second Team nod as a rookie, and those performances led to Second Team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American recognition. Hagen served as captain of the Stevens men's soccer team and a member of its Leadership Group, while also captaining FC Motown in the NPSL. In the classroom, the Mechanical Engineering major has posted a 3.904 GPA, earning College Sports Communicators Second Team Academic All-American and three-time Academic All-District honors. Beyond athletics, Hagen conducted undergraduate research in the Stevens Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, tutored engineering students, and this summer represented Team USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, where his team won gold and volunteered in communities near the Gaza border.
Sullivan closed out her career on the Stevens women's lacrosse team as a Second Team IWLCA All-American and three-time IWLCA All-Region First Team honoree. A three-time MAC Freedom Defender of the Year, she helped the Ducks capture four conference championships and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history during her two seasons as team captain. The Bridgewater, New Jersey native paired her athletic success with academic excellence, graduating as valedictorian with a perfect 4.000 GPA as a Chemical Engineering major. Sullivan earned First Team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and Academic All-MAC recognition, and co-developed a soft-robotic exoglove for stroke and arthritis patients that took first place in a senior design competition and was published in an academic journal. She also completed four internships with medical device companies and coached youth and developmental lacrosse clinics in the Hoboken community.
Hagen and Sullivan join a growing list of MAC student-athletes to earn DIIICA regional recognition. The DIIICA Student Athlete of the Year Award honors graduating seniors and graduate students who have exhausted their athletic eligibility and exhibit excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and community service.