BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Six Mercyhurst student-athletes were recognized by the NEC as Team Scholar-Athletes of the Year, graduating with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.
 
Two Laker football players earned the honor as NEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Joey Balgo and Aidan Lin.
 
Four female Mercyhurst student-athletes were recognized for their accomplishments in Kiersten Brown (women's tennis), Brice Hansen (volleyball), Lauryn Stover (women's basketball), and Jenna Van Schaik (women's basketball).
 
In its 20th year, the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which is sponsored by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives, goes to the male and female student-athletes who have exhausted athletic eligibility, graduated and compiled the highest grade point average in the conference at the conclusion of the academic year.
 
Mercyhurst had the most honorees with six, followed by Saint Francis as the only other NEC school with multiple recipients (two).
 
As a psychology major, Balgo walked across the commencement stage with a perfect GPA. On the field, he helped the football team to one of its best seasons in recent history. As a member of the offensive line, Balgo helped the Lakers to one of the best offenses in the NEC and the FCS.
 
An AI & Data Science/Cyber Security major Lin contributed to the football team's success as a long snapper while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
 
Balgo and Lin share the honor Saint Francis's Jeff Hoenstine and Stonehill's Mark Kroll.
 
Stover, Van Schaik, Hansen, and Brown achieved perfection in the classroom while helping their respective squads in a successful Division I transition over the last two seasons.
 
Stover, a criminal justice major, and Van Schaik, a business and competitive intelligence major, helped the Mercyhurst women's basketball team to a 14-4 conference record in the 2025-26 season and the two seed in the NEC Tournament. The duo also helped the Lakers to their first ever national postseason tournament appearance in program history as they hosted Binghamton in the WNIT.
 
Van Schaik was a First Team All-NEC selection, finishing top five in multiple statistical categories in the league.
 
Hansen, an environmental science major, contributed to an historic season for the volleyball team as they made Mercyhurst's first ever NEC Tournament appearance in the fall. The Lakers finished with a 10-6 NEC record as Hansen played in all 30 matches.
 
A biology major, Brown played in 17 matches this season and the number three in singles and the one or two tandems in doubles. She posted six doubles wins and five singles victories.

Five other NEC Student-Athletes earned the honor after obtaining 4.0 GPAs. Marina Perry (CCSU), Sophia Paffrath (LIU), Micaela Rosignuolo (NHVN), Anna Quackenbush (SFU), and Elisa Parazzi (WAG) join the Lakers honorees.