ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNYAC released their 2024 men's lacrosse SUNYAC annual awards including Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Paul Rose Coaching Staff of the Year and All-Conference teams, Tuesday afternoon, as voted on by the conference coaches. SUNY Oneonta men's lacrosse freshman Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) was named the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year while four other Red Dragons received All-Conference recognition. Seniors Jesse AlfanoStJohn (Westhampton Beach/Westhampton Beach), Eric Nicholson (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East), junior Stephen Barikyan (Tappan/Tappan Zee), and sophomore Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) were all selected to the SUNYAC Second Team. It is the second consecutive year that AlfanoStJohn and O'Neil garnered All-Conference honors.

Rookie of the Year: Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park)
Hnis started and played 13 of 15 games in his first season with the Red Dragons. The Smithtown, N.Y. native led the team with 42 goals, the fifth most in the SUNYAC, and tallied eight assists for 50 points, the second most for Oneonta and 10th in the conference. He also finished the year with five man-up goals, collected 15 ground balls, and caused five turnovers. Hnis recorded 16 goals in five SUNYAC games, which ranked him seventh overall in conference play, and three assists for 19 points. His top performance this year was a six-goal, three-assist outing against New Paltz where he also caused two turnovers.

All-Conference Second Team: AlfanoStJohn (Long Stick), Barikyan (Face-Off Specialist), Nicholson (Attack), O'Neil (Attack)
AlfanoStJohn played in every game for the Red Dragons, starting 14 of 15, and led the SUNYAC with 39 caused turnovers. He collected 58 ground balls, the most in the conference not including face-off specialists, and finished the season with three goals and two assists for five points. The Westhampton Beach, N.Y. native caused at least five turnovers in five games and had a career-high seven, with five ground balls, against Oswego. AlfanoStJohn became the Oneonta Men's Lacrosse program leader in career caused turnovers (71) and most caused turnovers in a season (39).

Barikyan appeared in all 15 games for Oneonta, starting 14 of them, and finished the season second in the SUNYAC with 104 groundballs and fourth in the conference in faceoffs won (182). He was 182-313 on faceoffs for a .581 faceoff percentage and totaled four goals, including a man-down score, for four points. Barikyan had two games, against Kean and Plattsburgh State, where he scored a goal and collected at least 10 ground balls and he became one of four Red Dragons to record 20 faceoff wins in a game, as he went 20 for 27 against New Paltz, while collecting nine ground balls.

Nicholson started 12 of the 15 games he appeared in for Oneonta and led the SUNYAC with 37 assists while totaling 15 goals for 52 points, the team's leading scorer while tied for the eighth most in the league. The 37-assist performance was the fourth most in a single season in Red Dragons program history, and he recorded the second most assists in a game with eight against Plattsburgh. The Nesconset, N.Y. native had a nine-point outing with three goals and six assists against New Paltz. Nicholson also collected 23 ground balls and caused three turnovers this season.

O'Neil played in 14 games for Oneonta this year, starting in 12 of them, and finished the season with 38 goals and seven assists for 45 points. He was seventh in the conference in goals scored and ranked 13th in points. The Bath, N.Y. native scored two game-winners, five man-up goals, and collected 17 ground balls. O'Neil scored eight goals, the fourth most goals in a game in program history, with an assist for nine points against Morrisville this season and scored six goals and two assists for eight points against Bridgewater.

The Red Dragons finished the season 7-8 overall and 3-4 in conference play.