LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the third straight season, the Salisbury University men's lacrosse team brought home major hardware from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), as face-off specialist
Blake Malamphy was recognized as
USILA Face-Off Player of the Year on Tuesday afternoon.
Malamphy was also named a USILA First-Team All-American, joining midfielder
Riley Strub on the organization's rolls of the top Division III players for 2026. In addition, attackman
Connor Herraiz and defenseman
Jeremiah Stafford were named to the All-America Second Team; while midfielders
Preston Huffman and
Brady Mancha, defenseman
Bryce Stevenson, and goalkeeper
Matt Sentowski picked up All-America Honorable Mention.
Malamphy (Sr. – Annapolis, Md.) becomes the Sea Gulls' fourth-ever recipient of the nation's top FOGO honor, joining
Tyler Granelli (2012) and his older brother
Brett Malamphy (2019, 2021). He put together a monster season to wrap up his maroon and gold tenure, winning 344-of-457 face-offs for a 75.3 percent winning percentage. Malamphy's 245 ground balls are tops across all three NCAA divisions. He also scored a career-high 10 goals to go along with two assists. Malamphy finishes his illustrious career with the sixth-most face-off wins (1,086) in Division III history.
Strub (Sr. – Darien, Conn.) racked up 77 total points this season via 48 goals and a career-high 29 assists. A two-time USILA DIII Team of the Week honoree, he averaged 4.25 points per game in postseason play, bringing his season average up to 3.67 tallies per contest.
Herraiz (Sr. – Succasunna, N.J.) was a scoring machine for SU, notching 35 goals with 74 helpers for a total of 109 points. His 3.52 points per game average was good for fourth in the nation, bolstered by eight games of seven-plus point performances.
Stafford (Sr. – Darien, Conn.) was once again one of the country's top shutdown defenders, causing 26 turnovers and scooping up 37 ground balls. Now a three-time All-American, Stafford finishes his career with 153 ground balls and 121 caused turnovers over four years as a Sea Gull regular.
Huffman (So. – Hydes, Md.) enjoyed a breakthrough season on the Salisbury front lines, depositing 30 goals and dishing out 24 dimes over 21 games. He became a star in the clutch for the Gulls, scoring the overtime winner to beat Christopher Newport in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) title game and tickling the twine with a minute remaining to force overtime in the NCAA Third Round against RIT.
Mancha [Sr. – Salisbury, Md. (Parkside)] chased down 21 ground balls and caused one turnover in addition to scoring two goals with two assists. A picture of depth within the Sea Gull midfield, Mancha wrapped up his career with 59 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers, four goals, and five assists over 85 games.
Stevenson (Sr. – Severna Park, Md.) led a stout Salisbury backline with 37 caused turnovers, plus 53 ground balls, four goals, and two assists. In SU's second-round win over Roanoke, he stayed glued to his marks and logged a hat trick in both ground balls and caused turnovers.
Sentowski (Jr. – Mountain Lakes, N.J.) answered the Sea Gulls' biggest question mark coming into the season and locked it down between the pipes. Over 20 starts in goal, he posted a 7.87 goals against average that ranked seventh nationally and registered 152 saves, good for a 52.8 percent save percentage; he also notched 36 ground balls and five caused turnovers with one assist. Sentowski was especially effective in SU's pair of postseason games, recording 30 saves against 24 goals against.
With this elite octet leading the way, the Sea Gulls posted a 17-4 mark in 2026, winning their 28th conference title in program history and extending their streak of winning at least one NCAA Tournament game to 28 dating back to the 1998 bracket.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
