TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The 2025 All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's lacrosse teams and yearly award winners, determined through voting by the league's nine head coaches, were released Thursday evening through an all-conference announcement show through the PAC Sports Network.  

Four of the major awards were earned by members of six-time PAC champion Grove City College, beginning with a repeat winner, as the Offensive Player of the Year award went to senior attack Zachary Hougan for the second year in a row. Other major player awards went to senior defender Zach Furry, who was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year, and the Specialist of the Year is graduate student faceoff specialist Luke Rios. Additionally, Wolverine head coach Alec Jernstedt was tabbed as the PAC Coach of the Year. 

Also securing a major award was Westminster freshman attack Ethan Kurtz.

In earning his second straight Offensive Player of the Year Award, Hougan led the Wolverines' offense, which ranks sixth in Division III with 17.85 goals per game, in goals (48), assists (34) and points (82). He had eight games with five or more points, highlighted by a nine-point outing (3g/6a) in the PAC Tournament semifinal win over Westminster. Hougan added a pair of goals and three assists in the championship game against Chatham University and was named to the All-Tournament Team following the conference postseason.

Furry's selection as the Defensive Player of the Year marks the first time a Wolverine had been recognized with that honor since 2022. He helped fuel a Grove City defense which allowed only 23 goals in eight conference games and held five PAC teams to two goals or less. An elite cover player, Furry was assigned to and significantly limited some of the top players in the country in Grove City's challenging non-conference schedule, which helped the Wolverines rank 17th in the country in scoring defense (8.35 goals per game) prior to the NCAA Tournament. 

Rios garnered the Specialist of the Year honor after he led the PAC and ranked 15th in Division III in faceoff percentage following the PAC Tournament. His line in faceoffs included 174 wins in 254 attempts for a winning percentage of .685. Rios followed a perfect 15-for-15 effort in the PAC semifinal against Westminster by winning 11-of-14 and adding a goal in the championship game win over Chatham.

Kurtz is the first Westminster player to be voted the PAC Newcomer of the Year. The first-year attacker compiled 49 goals to tie for fourth overall in the conference and 65 points, which tied him for ninth in the PAC. In conference play, Kurtz put up 28 of his goals and added 11 assists for 39 points against PAC opponents. He set season-highs in goals (10), assists (five) and points (14) in an April 19th win over Thiel, which was one of eight games this season the three-time PAC Newcomer of the Week recorded a hat trick in a game.

Jernstedt was chosen as the Coach of the Year for the sixth straight year. He guided Grove City to its sixth consecutive undefeated PAC record at 8-0 during the regular season. The Wolverines secured their sixth consecutive PAC crown after logging a 26-7 semifinal win over Westminster and a 22-7 victory over Chatham in the title game. The only coach in program history, Jernstedt has compiled a 90-42 overall record, including a 43-0 record in league play.

As the winner of this year's PAC Championship Tournament, Grove City earned the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Grove City defeated Albion College 18-3 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament Wednesday. After winning the second NCAA Tournament game in program history, the Wolverines advanced to the second round to play at Christopher Newport University Saturday at noon. . 

Also announced Thursday were the members of this year's PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC's Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to both recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all conference teams.

PAC Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: Grove City senior midfielder Zachary Hougan
Defensive Player of the Year: Grove City senior defender Zach Furry 
Specialist of the Year: Grove City graduate student faceoff specialist Luke Rios
Newcomer of the Year: Westminster freshman attack Ethan Kurtz
Coach of the Year: Grove City head coach Alec Jernstedt
 

All-PAC First Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
A	JP Rakis	Allegheny	Jr.	Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson
A	Matt Blythe	Grove City	Sr.	Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
A	Zachary Hougan	Grove City	Sr.	Springboro, Ohio/Springboro
M	Alec Jones	Grove City	Sr.	Chesterfield, N.J./Notre Dame
M	Jacob Lubawy	Chatham	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
M	Justin Wodarek	Saint Vincent	Sr.	Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
D	Sam Stevenson	Grove City	Jr.	Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove
D	Zach Furry	Grove City	Sr.	Springboro, Ohio/Springboro
D	Jesse Corser-James	Chatham	So.	Fort Collins, Colo./The Hill School (PA)
LSM	Nathaniel Clark	Grove City	So.	Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood
Faceoff	Luke Rios	Grove City	Grad.	Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek
SSDM	Trey Zabroski	Grove City	Sr.	Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood
GK	Danny Stone	Grove City	Grad.	Chantilly, Va./Flint Hill

 

All-PAC Second Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown | High School
A	Joseph James	Franciscan	So.	Herndon, Va./The Heights School
A	Ethan Rinker	Chatham	Sr.	Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Palotti
A	Tanner Marsh	Chatham	So.	Windsor, Colo./Berkshire School
M	Gavin Jones	Westminster	Sr.	Henrico, Va./Douglas S. Freeman
M	Luke Jayne	Grove City	Grad.	Vero Beach, Fla./Saint Edward's
M	Sawyer Strong	Grove City	So.	Westfield, Ind./Westfield
D	Tyler Curry	Grove City	Sr.	Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei
D	Liam Kruck	Allegheny	Jr.	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
D	Shawn Ryan	Saint Vincent	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
LSM	Brody McGuinness	Westminster	Sr.	Heber City, Utah/Wasatch
Faceoff	Brady Beard	Saint Vincent	Sr.	Shepherdstown, W.Va./Spring Mills
SSDM	Jahiem Hawkins	Westminster	Jr.	Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington
G	Garrett Ritts	Saint Vincent	Jr.	Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights

 

Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
A	Jonathan Nagy	Saint Vincent	Jr.	York, Pa./Central York
A	Jimmy Sentz	Westminster	Grad.	Catonsville, Md./Loyola Blakefield
A	Ethan Kurtz	Westminster	Fr.	Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin
A	Jack Cushwa	Allegheny	Sr.	Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg
A	Cameron Russo	Bethany	Sr.	Derwood, Md./Magruder
A	Carter Haid	Saint Vincent	Grad.	Fredericksburg, Va./James Monroe
A	Paul Shook	W&J	Sr.	Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity
A	Liam McCall	Saint Vincent	Jr.	Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township
A	Liam Rooney	Chatham	Fr.	Macungie, Pa./Emmaus
M	Tyler Britton	Bethany	Sr.	Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park
M	Thomas Whitaker	Chatham	Jr.	Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy
M	Tomi Horsley	Allegheny	Fr.	Salt Lake City, Utah/Brighton
M	Nathaniel Carter	Franciscan	Jr.	McLean, Va./Trinity School at Meadow View
M	Anthony Trella	Westminster	So.	Coraopolis, Pa./Moon
M	Braden Petrarco	W&J	Jr.	Irwin, Pa./Norwin
D	David Evangelista	Westminster	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley
D	Colton Baker	Saint Vincent	Sr.	Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield
D	Ryan Buchanan	Chatham	Grad.	Havelock, NC/Havelock
D	Jared Swisher	Allegheny	Jr.	Cumberland, Maine/Berwick Academy
D	Tanner Crosby	Westminster	Fr.	Park City, Utah/Park City
D	Thomas Curtin	Chatham	Sr.	Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest
D	Dominic Miraglia	Franciscan	Sr.	Ladera Ranch, Calif./Serra Catholic
D	Luke McCauley	Bethany	So.	Moundsville, W.Va./John Marshall
D	Austin Hopkins	W&J	Sr.	Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield
D	Matthew Rees	Bethany	So.	Butler, Pa./Butler
LSM	Konrad Homiak	Allegheny	Sr.	Hampstead, N.C./Topsail
LSM	Ethan Joshi	Chatham	Jr.	Cary, NC/Gentry Academy (MN)
LSM	Isaiah Francis	Saint Vincent	Fr.	Irwin, Pa./Norwin
FO	Anthony DeMarco	Allegheny	Sr.	Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls
FO	Cody Randal	Chatham	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
SSDM	Logan Fox	Grove City	So.	Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian
SSDM	Cam Herring	Saint Vincent	So.	Hanover, Pa./New Oxford
SSDM	Isaac Joshi	Chatham	Grad.	Cary, NC/The Loomis Chaffee School
G	Nolan Grieshaber	Westminster	Fr.	Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin
G	Garin Stearns	Allegheny	Jr.	Hudson, Ohio/Revere
G	Ethan Narby	Thiel	So.	Bath, N.Y./Haverling