BOSTON – The 2023 America East Men’s Lacrosse Championship begins on Thursday and all four participating teams took home an #AEMLAX major award, which were announced on Wednesday afternoon along with All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic honorees.
Binghamton’s Thomas Greenblatt earned Offensive Player of the Year accolades while UAlbany’s Jake Piseno was named Defensive of the Year. Bryant’s Johnny Hackett claimed Rookie of the Year recognition and Vermont’s Chris Feifs took home Coach of the Year honors.
The majority of award winners were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The All-Academic selections were chosen by a committee of athletic administrators.
2023 #AEMLAX Major Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year
Thomas Greenblatt, Jr., Midfielder, Binghamton
- League leader in assists (33).
- Third in points (55) and points per game (4.2 ppg).
- First Bearcat to ever earn Offensive Player of the Year honors.
- Three-time #AEMLAX Offensive Player of the Week this season.
- He was also selected to the All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team.
Defensive Player of the Year
Jake Piseno, Sr., Defender, UAlbany
- Leads the conference and ranks second in the country averaging 3.0 caused turnovers per game.
- Ranks fifth in the conference and in the top 50 nationally with 5.0 ground balls per contest.
- Also handed out seven assists.
- Third Great Dane to be named Defensive Player of the Year joining TD Ierlan (2018) and Blaze Riorden (2016).
- Also a first-team All-Conference selection.
Rookie of the Year
Johnny Hackett, Fr., Attack, Bryant
- Was a unanimous Rookie of the year selection.
- Tied for second in the conference in goals (39) and goals per game (2.8).
- Ranks eighth in the league in points per game (3.5) and ninth in points (49).
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Rookie choice.
Coach of the Year
Chris Feifs, Vermont
- Led Vermont to its third-straight America East Championship after an unbeaten #AEMLAX regular season.
- The Catamounts are 10-4 overall and have won seven-straight games.
- This is Feifs first-ever America East Coach of the Year honors and just the second-ever Catamount coach to receive the award (Ryan Curtis, 2014).
In addition to the major awards, the All-Conference teams were also named. Vermont led the way with five first-team selections and 10 overall. Binghamton had five while UAlbany had four, Bryant three, UMBC two and NJIT one.
Hackett highlighted the All-Rookie team, which consisted of 10 players whose first year of collegiate lacrosse.
The All-Academic squad features 10 impressive student-athletes, four of which were also All-Conference honorees.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for ticket information, streaming and live stats links. After the game, visit for box scores, highlights and recaps following the semifinals in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEGameDay on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEMLAX hashtags to join the conversation.
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