April 22, 2026

13 Spartans Earn All-SSC Honors, Cho Named Offensive Player of the Year

ORLANDO, Fla. — Forty-six student-athletes were recognized as All-Conference in the 13th year of Sunshine State Conference men's lacrosse. The University of Tampa's Aaron Cho earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, Florida Tech's Jax Francisco earned Defensive Player of the Year, and Florida Southern College's Elijah Terry garnered Freshman of the Year honors, sponsored by Athletic Solutions. The Panthers' coaching staff was also named the league's Coaching Staff of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.

All-SSC History: SSC Players and Coaches of the Year | All-SSC Teams

Cho, a senior midfielder from Albertson, New York, earned the league's Offensive Player of the Year award after tallying 18 goals and 24 assists over the course of the season. Cho recorded three goals three different times this season and had a season-high four assists against the University of Montevallo. He was named SSC Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week once this season and also earned first-team All-SSC honors for the first time in his career.

Francisco earned the SSC Men's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year award after a standout season between the posts for Florida Tech. The goalkeeper from Westminster, Maryland, broke the conference record for career saves on April 11 after an 11-save performance against Palm Beach Atlantic University, bringing his total to 688 at the time, which now stands at 701. He recorded 20 saves on 45 shots faced against Rollins College in an 11-6 win. Francisco also held all opponents to fewer than 12 goals in every contest.

Terry, a freshman midfielder, was named the league's Freshman of the Year after a strong opening campaign for the Mocs. The Shreveport, Louisiana, native posted 22 goals in the regular season with seven assists. He scored a season-high four goals against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in a tightly contested 11-10 regular-season finale win.

Florida Southern faceoff specialist Jacob Czyz and Rollins short-stick defensive midfielder Charlie Metz earned All-SSC honors for the fourth time in their careers. Czyz is now a three-time first-team honoree and a 2025 third-team selection. Metz earned second-team honors in 2023, first-team in 2024, third-team in 2025, and second-team honors this season.

Florida Tech earned Coaching Staff of the Year recognition after an 11-3 regular season, following a 6-10 finish in 2025. Head coach Brad MacArthur, along with assistants Zach Wynne and Chris Hawley, led the Panthers to their best season since MacArthur took the helm in 2022.

Offensive Player of the Year: Aaron Cho, Tampa

Defensive Player of the Year: Jax Francisco, Florida Tech

Freshman of the Year: Elijah Terry, Florida Southern

Coaching Staff of the Year: Florida Tech

All-conference selections and individual award winners are determined by a vote of Sunshine State Conference head coaches with oversight and approval from member institution Athletic Directors.

2026 Men's Lacrosse All-SSC First Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
Attack	Maddux Walton#	Florida Southern	Junior	Columbia, Md.
Attack	Greg Palmer	Saint Leo	Senior	Holland Landing, Ont.
Attack	Aidan Knoetgen#	Saint Leo	Senior	Center Moriches, N.Y.
Midfield	Tommy Ortega#	Tampa	Senior	Coatesville, Pa.
Midfield	Thomas Strong	Florida Tech	Senior	Ellicott City, Md.
Midfield	Aaron Williams^	Rollins	Junior	Orlando, Fla.
Midfield	Aaron Cho	Tampa	Senior	Albertson, N.Y.
LSM	Conley Stone*	Tampa	Junior	Summerfield, N.C.
SSDM	Brooks Van Esselstyn	Florida Tech	Junior	Bluffton, S.C.
SSDM	Harry Boland	Tampa	Sophomore	West Caldwell, N.J.
FO	Jacob Czyz #!%	Florida Southern	Senior	Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Defense	Steven Ulrichs^	Florida Tech	Redshirt Senior	Richmond, Va.
Defense	Gordy Gombold#	Tampa	Junior	Bloomington, Minn.
Defense	Jake Demert	Tampa	Graduate Student	Brightwaters, N.Y.
Goal	Jax Francisco	Florida Tech	Redshirt Senior	Westminster, Md.
# = 2025 All-SSC First Team; * = 2025 All-SSC Second Team; ^ = 2025 All-SSC Third Team; † = 2024 All-SSC First Team; ‡ = 2024 All-SSC Second Team; ! = 2024 All-SSC Third Team; % = 2023 All-SSC First Team; = = 2023 All-SSC Second team
2026 Men's Lacrosse All-SSC Second Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
Attack	Rex Kesselring	Tampa	Junior	Pittsford, N.Y.
Attack	Jackson Bashaw*	Tampa	Freshman	Jupiter, Fla.
Attack	Joe Coveleski	Florida Tech	Junior	Lewes, Del.
Midfield	Tim Keefe^	Embry-Riddle	Redhsirt Senior	Bridgewater, Mass.
Midfield	John Raucci	Saint Leo	Senior	Seaford, N.Y.
Midfield	Elijah Terry	Florida Southern	Freshman	Shreveport, La.
LSM	Will Santella	Palm Beach Atlantic	Senior	Seaford, N.Y.
SSDM	James Davies#!	Saint Leo	Senior	Cornelius, N.C.
SSDM	Charlie Metz^†=	Rollins	Senior	Dallas, Tex.
FO	Brady Greco	Rollins	Junior	Raleigh, N.C.
Defense	Ethan Storey^	Palm Beach Atlantic	Senior	Johns Creek, Ga.
Defense	Alex Haughn	Florida Southern	Junior	Powell, Oh.
Defense	Dom Rottura	Tampa	Junior	Wilmington, Del
Defense	Jimmy McGonigle*‡	Saint Leo	Senior	Center Moriches, N.Y.
Goal	Westin Schmidt	Tampa	Graduate Student	Centreville, Md
# = 2025 All-SSC First Team; * = 2025 All-SSC Second Team; ^ = 2025 All-SSC Third Team; † = 2024 All-SSC First Team; ‡ = 2024 All-SSC Second Team; ! = 2024 All-SSC Third Team; % = 2023 All-SSC First Team; = = 2023 All-SSC Second team
2026 Men's Lacrosse All-SSC Third Team
Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
Attack	Nate Paulo	Rollins	Redshirt Junior	Parker, Colo.
Attack	Eric Burbank	Tampa	Graduate Student	Newtown, Conn.
Attack	Noah Zimmerman	Palm Beach Atlantic	Freshman	Centreville, Md.
Attack	Dom Veratti	Lynn	Junior	Hillsboro Beach, Fla.
Midfield	Grant Green^	Tampa	Sophomore	Aurora, Colo.
Midfield	Logan McHugh	Rollins	Sophomore	Fairfax, Va.
Midfield	Cooper Porter	Palm Beach Atlantic	Senior	Charleston, S.C.
LSM	Owen Wills#!	Saint Leo	Senior	Kingston, Ont.
SSDM	Kellen Padgett	Embry-Riddle	Sophomore	Jacksonville, Fla.
SSDM	Jack Epley	Florida Southern	Senior	Oakwood, Oh.
FO	MP Thomas	Tampa	Graduate Student	Roswell, Ga.
Defense	Garrett Gmeiner^	Florida Tech	Redshirt Senior	Sykesville, Md.
Defense	Robert (Bobby) Cyr^	Embry-Riddle	Sophomore	Wilmington, Mass.
Defense	Owen Lammy	Rollins	Sophomore	Downington, Pa.
Goal	Reid Kerr^	Embry-Riddle	Senior	Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Goal	Luke Secreti	Florida Southern	Sophomore	Watertown, N.Y.
# = 2025 All-SSC First Team; * = 2025 All-SSC Second Team; ^ = 2025 All-SSC Third Team; † = 2024 All-SSC First Team; ‡ = 2024 All-SSC Second Team; ! = 2024 All-SSC Third Team; % = 2023 All-SSC First Team; = = 2023 All-SSC Second team