Cortland senior men's outdoor track and field athlete Isaiah Brunache (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union), junior men's lacrosse player Sean Kavanagh (North Canton, OH/Hoover) and sophomore women's golfer Gina Milazzo (Greenwood Lake/Warwick Valley) have been honored as State University of New York (SUNY) Spring Scholar Athletes of the Year, while Brunache, junior baseball player Nolan Smith (Hamburg) and senior women's outdoor track and field athlete Reilly Quinn (Morrisonville/Beekmantown) have been selected as State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Spring Scholar Athletes of the Year, in their respective sports for the 2026 season.
 
Brunache earned both the SUNY and SUNYAC men's outdoor track and field awards for the third straight year. An exercise science major with a 3.91 overall GPA, Brunache earned first-team All-America honors in the discus with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also qualified for nationals in the shot put, placing 18th nationally. Brunache earned USTFCCCA All-Niagara Region honors in the discus, shot put and hammer throw, and at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) championships he was the discus champion, the shot put runner-up and sixth-place finisher in the hammer to earn Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. He also was the SUNYAC Field Athlete of the Year and league champion in the shot put and discus, and he was recently named to the CSC Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Academic All-District team.
 
Kavanagh is a repeat winner of the SUNY award. A physical education major with a 3.49 overall GPA, Kavanagh earned honorable mention All-America honors on attack from both the USILA and USA Lacrosse. The SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year, 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. He also recorded 23 ground balls. Cortland won the SUNYAC title and an NCAA tournament opening-round game to tie for 17th place nationally.
 
Milazzo is a sport management major with a 3.81 overall GPA. She earned Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) Golfer of the Year honors after finishing first at the conference championship. Milazzo helped Cortland repeat as league champion and qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. During the combined fall/spring season, she recorded eight rounds of 79 or better, including a 78 during Day 2 of the NCAA Division III Championships. Milazzo was recently named to the CSC Women's At-Large Academic All-District Team.
 
Smith is a psychology major with a 3.63 overall GPA. The designated hitter/infielder earned second-team All-Region 3 honors from both the ABCA and D3baseball.com, and he was chosen to the All-SUNYAC first team, after batting .336 with five homers, 14 doubles, 28 walks, 47 RBI and 32 runs scored despite starting in only 31 of 43 games due to injury. He helped Cortland repeat as SUNYAC champion and make the program's 33rd straight NCAA tournament appearance. Smith was recently selected to the CSC Baseball Academic All-District Team.
 
Quinn was previously the SUNYAC Women's Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year this past winter. A sport management major with a 3.95 overall GPA, Quinn earned first-team All-America honors after tying for seventh place in the high jump at the NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also won the high jump at the AARTFC Championships and was SUNYAC runner-up in the event, and she was named to the USTFCCCA All-Niagara Region Team. Quinn recently earned a spot on the CSC Women's Track and Field/Cross country Academic All-District Team.

The SUNYAC Scholar Athlete Award winners are selected from each of the SUNYAC's sponsored sports. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have a minimum overall grade point average of 3.30, be a starter or significant reserve on his or her team and have an academic class standing of sophomore or higher.
 
The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards recognized student athletes from SUNY colleges and universities sponsoring intercollegiate athletics at the four-year 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 19 Division III institutions in the SUNY system are: Alfred State, Brockport, Buffalo State, Canton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Geneseo, Maritime, Morrisville, New Paltz, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and SUNY Poly. SUNY-ESF, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), participates in the program with the 19 NCAA Division III members for a total of 20 colleges and universities.
 
The SUNY Scholar Athlete Awards, which originated in the fall of 2022, recognized outstanding academic and athletic success in 29 different sports and are presented three times a year to coincide with the specific sports contested in the fall, winter and spring seasons. The Scholar Athletes of the Year in each sport will then be nominated for an overall Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's sports and women's sports in each category that will be announced in mid-July. Because sport sponsorship varies among institutions, a minimum sponsorship formula has been developed for award selections. At least three (3) institutions must sponsor the sport in the Division I category, while at least five (5) institutions must sponsor the sport in the SUNY Division III/USCAA and SUNY NJCAA categories. For sports that do not meet the minimum threshold to be a viable award, an At-Large Category has been developed for each level and each season.