CANTON, Ga. - The Southern Athletic Association has released the 2026 Men's Lacrosse all-conference teams and major award winners.
Sewanee and Rhodes combined to sweep the major individual awards for the 2026 season, highlighting two of the conference’s top-performing programs.
Sewanee’s Manoli Loupassi was named Offensive Athlete of the Year, while first-year standout Tyler Clary earned Co-Rookie of the Year honors. The Tigers also claimed Coaching Staff of the Year recognition after securing the regular season title outright under head coach Nick DiBernardo.
For Rhodes, Lucas Pagliarulo was honored as Defensive Athlete of the Year, and Griffin Galloway shared Rookie of the Year accolades following an impressive debut campaign.
Loupassi, a junior attacker, started all 14 games for the regular season champions and led the Tigers with 35 goals while adding 13 assists for a total of 48 points. He delivered multiple explosive performances throughout the season, including five games with four or more goals, highlighted by a four-game scoring surge spanning late February into mid-March.
Clary anchored Sewanee’s defensive unit in his first collegiate season, leading the team with 22 caused turnovers and 47 ground balls. Starting all 16 games, his presence helped limit opponents to just 126 total goals on the year.
DiBernardo guided Sewanee to its third consecutive regular season title and its first outright championship, since 2016, after sharing the honor with Centre in each of the previous two seasons.
Pagliarulo, a senior defender for Rhodes, earned Defensive Athlete of the Year honors thanks to his versatility and consistency. Tasked with marking the opposition’s top midfielder each game, he also contributed offensively with nine points.
Galloway, a dynamic first-year attacker, made an immediate impact for the Lynx. Starting all 15 games, he recorded 27 goals and 25 assists, finishing with a team-leading 52 points in his debut season.
Offensive Athlete of the Year - Manoli Loupassi, Sewanee
Defensive Athlete of the Year - Lucas Pagliarulo, Rhodes
Rookie of the Year - Tyler Clary, Sewanee & Griffin Galloway, Rhodes
Coaching Staff of the Year - Sewanee
First Team All-Conference:
Attack:
Manolia Loupassi, Sewanee
Ryan Black, Centre
Gavin Nagle, Rhodes
Midfield:
Ben Hubbs, Centre
John Mori, Rhodes
Matthew Houtz, Southwestern
Long-Stick Midfielder:
Gus Albright, Sewanee
Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder:
Lucas Pagliarulo, Rhodes
Defense:
James Bogusky, Sewanee
Tyler Clary, Sewanee
Patrick Tatro, Centre
Goalie:
Flynn Bowman, Sewanee
Face-off Specialist:
Trey Pena, Southwestern
Second Team All-Conference:
Attack:
Will Kennedy, Sewanee
Griffin Galloway, Rhodes
Keaten Cox, Southwestern
Midfield:
Harrison Fuller, Sewanee
Sage Cookerly, Sewanee
Finn McClendon, Berry
Long-Stick Midfielder:
Max Moldenhauer, Centre
Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder:
Holden Techet, Centre
Defense:
Sam Stillwell, Southwestern
Nicholas Wheeldon, Rhodes
Mac Shafer, Centre
Goalie:
Hayden Burns, Centre
Face-off Specialist:
Caleb Johnston, Berry
Honorable Mention:
Attack: Charles Moran (SEW), Andrew Murphy (RHO), Michael Beirne (BER)
Midfield: Henry Westfall (SEW), Matthew Parsons (HEN), Joey Davis (HEN)
Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder: Hudson Jones, Sewanee
Defense: Beau Burnette (SEW), Alex Trenchard (RHO), Chris Steffek (SU), Josep Brosovich (BER)
Goalie: Dante Avicolli (SU)
Face-Off Specialist: Burke Wade (RHO)
Sportsmanship Team:
Berry – Tad Zappa
Centre – Nick Witcher
Hendrix – Ethan Miller
Oglethorpe – Ian Wood
Rhodes – Jason Rubinstein
Sewanee – Tanner Furyk
Southwestern – Jake Trailer
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at
www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all ofyour Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.