Syracuse, NY — The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its annual awards with the Hawks earning four All SUNYAC selections. For the 10th time in the 52 years SUNY New Paltz landed at least four Hawks to the all conference list with the 2026 honorees including senior shortstop Matt Sarni, sophomore pitcher Kiran Paingankar, senior third baseman Fabian Apicella and junior relief pitcher Dylan Hayes.
 
The 2026 Hawks continued their outstanding play under coach Thomas Seay, finishing the year with a school record, third consecutive 20-plus regular season victories after finishing the season at 23-13. SUNY New Paltz also finished with a record, third-straight SUNYAC winning record at 11-7 and a third consecutive trip to the SUNYAC playoffs.
 
With participation in the New Jersey Athletic Conference beginning in 2026-27, the Hawks closed out their more than half century SUNYAC account with a total of 106 all conference selections since 1964.
 
To view the complete 2026 All SUNYAC baseball team, click here:
 
Read more about each Hawk selection below.

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All-SUNYAC First Team
 
Matt Sarni (senior/shortstop)
Levittown, NY/General Douglas Macarthur High School
 
For the two-time Hawks co-captain, 2026 marked the conclusion of an outstanding career for Matt Sarni.  
 
One of the best athletes to ever suit up for SUNY New Paltz, Sarni was an ABCA Region III all star in 2024 after primarily coming in as a relief pitcher during the Hawks ' championship season and following his final stint for the orange and blue, he starred as the team's starting shortstop and most reliable pitcher, both in relief and starting. For his efforts, he was named for a third straight time as an All-SUNYAC First Team pick. 
 
Sarni joins an exclusive club, becoming just the fourth Hawk baseball player to earn three all conference first team selections, joining Tom Whitaker (1974-76), Vinny Perry (1998, 2001-02) and Tommy Kreider (2023-25).
 
This season Sarni started all 37 games for SUNY New Paltz, leading the Hawks in eight statistical categories: batting average (.368), at bats (144), runs scored (47); hits (53), doubles (11), total bases (67), slugging percentage (.465) and stolen bases, going 26-for-30.  He was tied for first with 37 starts in 37 games played and 27 walks, and was third with 25 RBI. He had an OPS of .967, and an on base percentage of .488. He was first on the team with 16 multiple hit games, while plating multiple RBI in seven games, had a seven-game hitting streak and reached base 17 straight games to lead the Hawks.  
 
In SUNYAC play, Sarni started all 18 games, leading SUNY New Paltz with a .380 batting average, an OPS of .979 with 71 at bats, 24 runs, 27 hits, seven doubles, 16 walks, 34 total bases, a .497 slugging percentage, a .500 on base percentage and stolen bases (10) and attempts (13), while totaling eight RBI. Sarni earned one SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week honor in 2026 which came on Feb. 23. 
 
Sarni had season highs of six at bats against Centenary (3/7), Kean (3/14) and Plattsburgh (4/24); four hits versus Oneonta (4/8), four runs scored against Bard (3/11), four walks versus Oneonta (4/21), three stolen bases against Bard (3/11) and Westfield State (3/15), two doubles against Plattsburgh (4/24) and three RBI versus Virginia Wesleyan (2/21) and Westfield State (3/15).  
 
In the field, Sarni registered 155 chances with 60 putouts, 86 assists, nine errors, 19 double plays and a .942 fielding percentage. Against SUNYAC competition, he had 79 chances, 31 putouts, 41 assists, seven errors and a .911 fielding percentage. He had a season-high six assists against Oswego (4/12), four putouts versus Plattsburgh (4/24) and six chances against Virginia Wesleyan (2/21), Westfield State (3/15) and Centenary (3/17).
 
Sarni continued to contribute to the Hawks cause by once again handling pitching duties. He saw action on the mound in seven games, totaling 14.1 innings. He struck out 14 with two saves to his credit. He pitched a season-high of 3.1 innings against Cortland (3/29) and had a high of five strikeouts against Oswego (4/11).
 
Sarni leaves SUNY New Paltz with his name firmly engraved in the Hawks baseball record books. His 130 total games played are seventh on the all-time list. His 94 career runs scored land him sixth all time, his 53 stolen base attempts are fourth all time and his 41 stolen bases are fifth among all Hawks players.



Kiran Paingankar (sophomore/right handed pitcher)
Bellmore, NY/Wellington C Mepham High School
 
The 2025 SUNYAC  Rookie of the Year (and second team selection) upped his performance to earn his first All SUNYAC First Team honor for 2026.  
 
Paingankar started nine of nine games for the Hawks, pitching 46.2 innings. He finished with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He finished the year at 2-4 overall with one complete game, giving up 39 hits, 20 runs, 17 earned runs and 23 walks with 32 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .235 batting average.
 
In regular season SUNYAC play, Paingankar started four of four games. He had a 2.53 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 21.1 innings pitched. He was 1-2 in SUNYAC play, giving up 22 hits, seven runs, six earned runs with 13 walks and 13 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
 
Paingankar recorded season highs of eight innings pitched against Canton (4/18), eight strikeouts against Canton (4/18), gave up a season low of two hits versus Plattsburgh (4/24) and no walks against Manhattanville (4/3). From the mound, he fielded 11 chances with four putouts, seven assists and had a 1.000 fielding percentage.



All SUNYAC Second Team
 
Fabian Apicella (senior/third base)
Howard Beach, NY/Scholars Academy
 
Fabian Apicella caps off  his storied SUNY New Paltz baseball career by earning his first all conference honor, landing on the All SUNYAC Second Team.  
 
The two-time team co-captain started all 37 season games for the Hawks. In regular season play against all opponents, Apicella was second overall in eight statistical categories: batting average (.348), OPS (.902), at-bats (132), runs (33), hits (46) and doubles (10) with one home run, while totaling 58 total bases, 21 RBI and 27 walks. He also went 16-for-19 in stolen base attempts, second most only behind Sarni.
 
Apicella additionally led SUNY New Paltz with five sacrifice bunts and was tied for tops on the team with 37 games started and played. He tied Sarni with a team leading 16 multi-hit games, posted a seven-game hitting streak on the year, had eight multi RBI games and reached base in 12 consecutive games.
 
In SUNYAC play, Apicella had a .338 batting average and a .895 OPS, starting all 18 games.  He had 68 at bats with 14 runs scored and 23 hits including six doubles and one triple. He totaled 13 RBI, 31 total bases and a .456 slugging percentage. He walked 12 times, went 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts and finished with an on-base-percentage of .439.  
 
Apicella scored season highs of six at bats against Kean (3/14) and Westfield State (3/15); four hits against Fredonia (4/14); three run scored v Fredonia (3/20); 2 walks against eight teams; two stolen bases against Westfield State (3/15); two doubles v Fredonia (4/14); two RBIs against Westfield State (3/15).
 
On defense, Apicella had 107 chances with 21 putouts, 71 assists, was involved in seven double plays, had 15 errors with a .860 fielding percentage.  In SUNYAC play, Apicella had 57 chances, 11 putouts, 41 assists, five errors and a .912 fielding percentage. He had season highs of seven chances against Oneonta (4/8), two putouts v Kean, Fredonia, Plattsburgh and Oswego, and six assists against Canton (4/8).  
 
Apicella leaves SUNY New Paltz with 11 notations in the Hawks baseball record book. He is tied for second with 155 games played, third with 152 games started, third with 538 at bats, second with 119 runs scored, third with 185 hits, sixth with 91 RBI, fifth with 221 total bases, third with 95 walks, sixth with 38 stolen bases, tied for fifth with 48 stolen base attempts and fifth with 278 assists.
 
 
Dylan Hayes (junior/right handed pitcher)
Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central High School
 
Dylan Hayes upped the ante in 2026 to become an important fixture on the mound for the Hawks. For his superb play against SUNYAC opponents, Hayes earned his first all conference selection, landing on the All-SUNYAC Second Team.
 
Hayes became the Hawks' best arm out of the pen and established himself as a reliable starter down the stretch in a breakout junior campaign. 
 
Overall, he started two of 12 regular season games, gaining a 4-1 record in 35.1 innings pitched. He posted a team leading 1.78 ERA with a WHIP of .85. He had one complete game pitched, and on the year, gave up just 21 hits, seven runs and seven earned runs. He allowed nine walks and totaled 24 strikeouts, holding the opposition to a .179 batting average.
 
Hayes started two of seven SUNYAC games, going 3-0 posting wins against Fredonia, Canton and Plattsburgh. He led the team with a 0.38 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP in 23.2 innings pitched, with one complete game. He gave up 15 hits, one run, one earned run and two walks with 16 strikeouts and held the opposition to a miniscule .181 batting average.
 
Hays had season highs of nine innings pitched against Canton (4/18), eight strikeouts versus Plattsburgh (4/23), no walks against Plattsburgh (4/23) and no hits versus Fredonia (3/20).


SUNYAC Co-Coach of the Year

Thomas Seay
Eighth Season (133-124)
 
For the second time in his eight-year tenure for the Hawks, coach Thomas Seay earned SUNYAC Coach of the Year, earning the recognition alongside Cortland's Joe Brown in 2026.
 
Seay coached a young squad back into postseason contention for the third-straight year, tying the longest streak in program history. The team also notched 20-plus wins for the third consecutive year, which also marked a program best as the team finished 23-15 overall and 11-7 in the SUNYAC to land third in the SUNYAC Tournament. 
 
The first ever coach to lead SUNY New Paltz to a SUNYAC title, Seay ends his eighth season as the second-winningest coach for the Hawks only behind Mike Juhl (1998-2006).
 
Throughout his tenure, the Hawks have coached 22 All-SUNYAC selects, which includes the four this past year with 11 ABCA All-Region selections and two ABCA All-America honors, while overseeing 72 program records broken since taking over the helm ahead of the 2019 season with 2026 ABCA awards still yet to be announced.
 


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