2025 SUNYAC Baseball All-Conference and Individual Awards Posted
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC recognizes its 2025 baseball league award winners including the Bob Wallace Player of the Year, Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year, Walter Nitardy Coach of the Year and the All-Conference teams as voted on by the conference coaches.
Bob Wallace Player of the Year - Tommy Kreider, New Paltz
Kreider led the league finishing with a .521 batting average and a .602 on base percentage in conference play. He also was No. 1 in runs (28), hits (38) and doubles (8) across 18 conference games. Kreider was second with 16 stolen bases and third with a .740 slugging percentage. He also led the SUNYAC overall with a .439 batting average in 42 games totaling 63 runs, 72 hits and 19 doubles. In his senior year, Kreider had season highs of eight putouts, five RBI, four runs, four hits, four stolen bases and two doubles. The Hawks were the No. 2 seed in the conference after regular season play and finished the season 27-15 overall.
Bob "Sparky" Wallace Player of the Year - Bob "Sparky" Wallace graduated from Cortland in 1953 and began coaching the Red Dragons in 1958. In his 24 seasons as head coach, his team compiled a 366-207-3 record, winning 10 SUNYAC titles and making an NCAA appearance in 1981. Wallace was inducted into Cortland's C-Club Hall of Fame in 1979, and Cortland's baseball field is named in his honor.
Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year - Luis Misla, Cortland
Misla repeats as the SUNYAC Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year. He led the league with a 1.29 ERA and 75 strikeouts in six conference appearances. He finished league play with a 6-0 record. Overall he also leads the conference with a 1.39 ERA collecting nine wins and throwing 107 strikeouts (14.89/game) so far this season. Misla had a season high of 19 strikeouts against Plattsburgh on May 25. He was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after helping his team win the 2025 SUNYAC baseball championship crown. Misla and his team will continue their season in a four-team, double-elimination regional, May 16-18 at Kean University.
Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year - Don Axtell was the baseball coach at Oneonta for 30 years, leading the Red Dragons to many successful seasons. His teams won or shared 10 SUNYAC titles, made the school's only visit to the ECAC Championships (1974 and 1975), and was selected as the SUNYAC Coach of the Year four times. His last Coach of the Year Award came in 1989. He also was inducted into the SUNY Oneonta Hall Of Fame in 2001 and the Waverly High School Hall of Fame.
Defensive Player of the Year - Nolan Smith, Cortland
Smith was perfect in the field for Cortland with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 17 conference games. He had 104 putouts as the first baseman for the Red Dragons. Overall he totaled 229 putouts with no errors in 39 games so far this season. Smith also added 46 hits, 33 RBI and maintains a .346 batting average for the Red Dragons. He was named to the 2025 SUNYAC All-Tournament team after helping his team win the conference championship. Smith will continue his sophomore season in the NCAA regional, Friday-Sunday at Kean University.
Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year - Talon Elkins, Cortland
Elkins was second in the league with a .490 batting average in conference competition. He totaled 25 hits and 25 runs with five doubles, six RBI and three stolen bases in 16 conference games. Overall he maintains a .430 batting average with a .515 on base percentage so far this season. In his rookie season he was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after he helped his team win the conference crown and earn the right to play in his first NCAA regional, May 16-18.
Clark V. Whited Co-Rookie of the Year - Kiran Paingankar, New Paltz
Paingankar recorded four conference wins on the mound for the Hawks. He threw 34 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched in conference competition to help lead his team to the No. 2 seed. Paingankar had a season high of eight strikeouts in a win against Fredonia on April 27. New Paltz ened the 2025 season with a 27-15 overall record.
Clark V. Whited Rookie of the Year - Clark Whited coached the Brockport Golden Eagles for 22 years (1947-68), amassing a 128-93-1 overall record during his tenure. His 128 wins were the most of any baseball coach at the school until 2003. Whited was inducted into the inaugural class of the SUNY Brockport Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, and the current baseball/softball complex at Brockport is named in his honor. Whited passed away on October 29, 2005.
Walter Nitardy Coach of the Year - Joe Brown, Cortland
This is Joe Brown's 10th SUNYAC Coach of the Year honor as the head coach of the Cortland Red Dragons. He led his team to the program's 37th SUNYAC baseball championship title this season. Eight student-athletes were named to the 2025 All-Conference team including the the Pitcher of the Year Luis Misla, the Defensive Player of the Year Nolan Smith and the Co-Rookie of the Year Talon Elkins. This year, the team earned the program's 32nd straight NCAA berth. Cortland will travel to Kean University as the second seed to play in a four-team, double-elimination regional, May 16-18.
Walt "Doc" Nitardy Coach of the Year - Walter Nitardy coached the Oswego baseball team to 503 career wins in his 29 seasons. Along with being named SUNYAC Coach of the Year seven times, Nitardy compiled nine conference titles and was named the 1966 NCAA College Division East Coast Coach of the Year.
2025 SUNYAC Baseball All-Conference Teams (PDF)
| First Team | ||||
| Name | Pos. | School | Yr. | Hometown/High School |
| Tishawn Featherstone | 1B | Oswego | Sr. | Port Jervis / Port Jervis |
| Tommy Kreider | 2B | New Paltz | Sr. | New City / Clarkstown South |
| Dylan Rosenberg | SS | Oswego | So. | Roslyn Heights / The Wheatley School |
| Daniel Winchester | 3B | Oswego | So. | New City / Clarkstown South |
| Marc Stockhausen | OF | Cortland | Jr. | Bronx / St. Raymond |
| Michael Ascanio | OF | New Paltz | Sr. | Armonk / Byram Hills |
| Anthony Pericolosi | OF | New Paltz | Sr. | Rockville Centre / South Side |
| Zachary Kringdon | C | Cortland | Sr. | Larchmont / Mamaroneck |
| Luis Misla | P | Cortland | Sr. | Tampa, FL / Riverview |
| Matthew Nochowitz | P | Cortland | So. | Glen Head / North Shore |
| Jacob Sanders | P | Oswego | Gr. | Auburn / Auburn |
| Nick Hanson | RP | Cortland | Gr. | Ladera Ranch, CA / Aliso Niguel |
| Wallace Kirkpatrick | DH | New Paltz | So. | Cornwall / Cornwall |
| Matt Sarni | U | New Paltz | Jr. | Levittown / Gen Douglas Macarthur Senior |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | Pos. | School | Yr. | Hometown/High School |
| Anthony Foglia | 1B | Oneonta | Sr. | Somers / North Salem |
| Trey McGowan | 2B | Oswego | Jr. | Bluepoint / Bayport-Bluepoint |
| Nick Marola | SS | Cortland | Sr. | Saratoga / Scotia-Glenville |
| ick Jacoby | 3B | Oneonta | Jr. | Yorktown Heights / Yorktown |
| Chris Bonacci | OF | Cortland | Sr. | Syracuse / West Genesee |
| Christan Cabrera | OF | Fredonia | Jr. | Buffalo / Canisius |
| Joey Dwyer | OF | Oneonta | Sr. | Shoreham / Shoreham Wading River |
| Emil Sander | OF | Oswego | Jr. | Skaneateles / Skaneateles |
| Sal Diaz | C | Canton | Jr. | Norwalk, CA / Gallaudet University |
| Logan Hutter | C | Oneonta | Sr. | Smithtown / SUNY Cobleskill |
| Kiran Paingankar | P | New Paltz | Fr. | Bellmore / Wellington C Mepham |
| Michael Weed | P | New Paltz | So. | Pine Bush / Pine Bush |
| Kyle Roper | P | Oneonta | Sr. | Tappan / Tappan |
| Tommy Lynch | RP | Cortland | JR. | West Seneca / Canisius |
| Brendan Duffy | DH | Oneonta | Jr. | Southold / Southold Jr./Sr. |
| Lance Phillips Jr. | U | Canton | Jr. | Liverpool / Wells College |
