CLEVELAND -- The Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) has announced the regional winners for 2025-26 Scholar-Athletes of the Year awards and Daemen men’s basketball student-athlete, Zach Philipkoski, has earned East Region honors. Each of the winners advanced to the national ballot for consideration for the 2025-26 Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) was named both the ECC Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's basketball as well as the Athletic Solutions 2025-26 ECC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Philipkoski concluded his outstanding junior campaign becoming the first Daemen player to earn ECC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year since Andrew Sischo in 2020-21. In his third season with the Wildcats, Philipkoski earned All-American honors from both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Division II Commissioners Conference Association (D2CCA) as well as becoming the second player in program history to be named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) NCAA Division II Academic All-America Team. Philipkoski also was named the 2026 East Coast Conference Player of the Year, NABC First Team All-District, D2CCA First Team All-East Region, East Region Tournament Most Outstanding Player and ECC All-Tournament Team honors this season. Philipkoski led the Wildcats with 17.8 points per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 41.9 percent beyond the arc. He ranked fourth in the ECC in points (17.8), seventh in rebounds (7.1) and assists (3.8), and eighth in steals (1.5). He led the team with 623 total points, marking the first 600+ point season for a Daemen player since Sischo's 665 in 2021-22. He finished the 2025-26 campaign with 213 field goals, moving himself into 10th all-time in the Daemen record books for single-season field goals. His 91 triples ranks third all-time. Philipkoski also set the single-season program record for free throw percentage (.876). He became just the fourth player in program history to total at least 500 points and 250 rebounds in a season, as well as becoming the eighth player in program history with at least 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 200 assists. A Business Administration major, Philipkoski has maintained a 3.86 cumulative GPA. 
 
Conference offices were permitted to submit one male and one female nominee for the overall awards. Upon receipt of all nominees, voting was conducted by the commissioners within each of the following regions – Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, Southeast, South Central and West – to select the following regional winners.
 

Women’s Regional Winners
Name	Institution	Conference	Sport	Major	GPA
Anna Coulter	East Stroudsburg	PSAC	Volleyball	Sports Management	3.90
Bree Ehmer	Catawba	SAC	Soccer	Sports Medicine	3.97
Emily Mears-Bentley	Findlay	GMAC	Swimming & Diving	Psychology	3.95
Kristyna Hranacova	Nova Southeastern	SSC	Tennis	Management	3.98
Olivia Reed-Thyne	Colorado Mesa	RMAC	Basketball	Kinesiology	3.93
Rylee Lemos	Central Oklahoma	MIAA	Softball	Human Resource Management	4.00
Scottie Ellsworth	Central Washington	GNAC	Volleyball	Elementary Education	3.99
Taylor Hinkle	Holy Family	CACC	Basketball	Healthcare Admin and Mgt	3.91
Men’s Regional Winners
Adam Lynch	Barry	SSC	Tennis	Computer Science	4.00
Alex Dunagan	Colorado School of Mines	RMAC	Baseball	Mechanical Engineering	4.00
Colton Stoneking	Fairmont State	MEC	Wrestling	Psychology	4.00
Jack Browder	Carson-Newman	SAC	Basketball	Business Administration	4.00
Jack Strand	MN State Moorhead	NSIC	Football	Engineering Physics	3.87
John Peckham	Alaska Anchorage	GNAC	CC/T&F	Management	4.00
Ryne Buttz	Indianapolis	GLVC	Football	Exercise Science	3.78
Zach Philipkoski	Daemen	ECC	Basketball	Business Administration	3.87

 
About D2 CCA: Initiated in 1992 to promote its member conferences and institutions, D2 CCA has made its mark in providing a united front for NCAA Division II athletics. Created after the break-up of the College Division Commissioners Association, the D2 CCA continues to create lines of communication and opportunities for its member conferences. The D2 CCA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 62^nd year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
 
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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).

The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
 
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.