- Story byDemocrat and Chronicle
- Who should be the 2025-26 boys AGR player of the year? Vote now
We saw some amazing things during the 2025-26 high school sports year in Section V.
In all, 19 athletes took home All-Greater Rochester player of the year awards in 18 sports from the fall, winter and spring seasons. Here are some of the highlights.
- Monroe, featuring All-Greater Rochester small schools player of the year Messiah Hampton, became the first Rochester city school in history to win a state football title.
- Arkport’s Ibrahim Ford established himself as an elite distance force on the national stage by winning AGR runner of the year twice, first in the fall while running cross-country, and second in the spring in outdoor track culminating in a second-place finish at the New Balance Nationals in the 2000m steeplechase.
Speaking of winning twice, Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Chris Noto cemented his legacy by winning his second consecutive state title and back-to-back AGR wrestler of the year awards.
Meanwhile, there must be something in the drinking water in Fairport because the school district dominated AGR like no other. In all, five Red Raiders were voted players of the year in 2025-26. The next closest school was McQuaid, which had three winners, including a pair of co-swimmers of the year.
Monroe, featuring All-Greater Rochester small schools player of the year Messiah Hampton, became the first Rochester city school in history to win a state football title.
Arkport’s Ibrahim Ford established himself as an elite distance force on the national stage by winning AGR runner of the year twice, first in the fall while running cross-country, and second in the spring in outdoor track culminating in a second-place finish at the New Balance Nationals in the 2000m steeplechase.
Speaking of winning twice, Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Chris Noto cemented his legacy by winning his second consecutive state title and back-to-back AGR wrestler of the year awards.
Meanwhile, there must be something in the drinking water in Fairport because the school district dominated AGR like no other. In all, five Red Raiders were voted players of the year in 2025-26. The next closest school was McQuaid, which had three winners, including a pair of co-swimmers of the year.
This all leads to you. We need you to pick who should be the overall player of the year in Section V. Our poll, which is at the bottom of this story, will remain open until 8 p.m. Aug. 2. The winner will be announced on the DandCSports Instagram page.
Why Linden Bellizzi is Nordic Skier of the Year: Bellizzi is the latest in a long string of successful Nordic skiers from Honeoye Falls-Lima. This winter, he became the school’s fourth racer to win the NYSPHSAA combined title (and first since older brother Braden did so in 2023).
The rising senior placed second overall in the state’s individual 7.5K race, completing the event in 21:04.8. He also partnered with teammates Jack Lighthouse and Thomas Cushman to push the Cougars to second place (27:28.0) in the team relay, only seconds behind the top finisher.
Before that, Bellizzi also won the Section V individual title, completing Bristol Mountain’s course in 21:06.0 (14 seconds ahead of the runner-up), which helped HF-L capture the team championship.
Why Devon Brougher is Tennis Player of the Year: The 2025 All-Greater Rochester team member won the Section V state qualifier tournament, which includes players from schools of all sizes.
“Devon went undefeated during the regular season at first singles and won the (Section V) Class A1 individual singles championship after being down a set in the finals,” Fairport coach Joseph Ahl said. “Devon continued his dominant streak by winning the Section V state qualifier tournament and finishing the season in the top 16 in singles in all of New York State.
“As a freshman, Devon has a very bright future ahead of him and will look to push himself to return to the same high level next year.”
Why Bryant is the Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year: The now three-time AGR Boys Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year broke the triple jump state record by bounding out to 51 feet-10 inches. The Midlakes graduating senior’s triple jump might rank in the all-time top 10 performances by a U.S. high school athlete.
Why Burchett is the AGR Golfer of the Year: Burchett, who qualified for the state championships for the first time in his senior year, was the highest finisher from Section V at the season-ending event. He finished tied for seventh place, nine shots behind the winner, and 3-over par for the two-day tournament, including a round of 70 on day one.
“Being patient, staying in the moment and realizing that golf is hard, not every shot is going to be great,” Burchett said about the key to his season. “I would say a new level of maturity. It was a lot of fun.”
The Section V Class AA champion was the medalist in 12 of 13 regular-season matches. Fairport was runner-up in the Section V Class AA Team Boys Golf Championships.
“This year was our new coach’s first year, and I think (Benjamin Cobbett) had a huge impact as a whole. We had great team chemistry for the whole year. It allowed us to hang in there together for more matches than before.”
Why Ibrahim Ford is the Runner of the Year: Arkport’s graduating senior is the only boys star who was voted player of the year twice during the 2025-26 school year.
Last fall, Ford was the unanimous choice as Cross-Country Runner of the Year after he won a state championship, had a No. 1 speed rating in Section V from the season’s beginning to end and finished the fastest New York state runner at Nike Cross nationals.
A native of Yemen who moved to Arkport as a sixth-grader, Ford switched from soccer to distance running during the COVID pandemic and excelled within months. Last fall alone, he won the small school division race at the McQuaid Invitational just a week after he won the John Izzo Invitational small school race on the same course in Letchworth Park, where he would set a course record to capture his second sectional Class D title a month later.
He followed that up this spring by winning both the Federation and Class C 3,000-meter steeplechase state championship races, which were held at the same time. That means Ford finished ahead of all the other competitors, regardless of school classification.
The victory capped a strong state meet for Ford. He also won the Class C 3,200-meter title, finished second in the Federation standings and was runner-up in the Class C 1,600-meter race.
Why Jackson Green is the AGR Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Green was a co-leading scorer in Penfield’s Big 3 lineup that led the No. 1 state-ranked Patriots to the Class AA state championship.
Green made a team-high 45 3-pointers this season and tied for the most minutes played per game at 27. He ranked second on the team in rebounds (10) and plus/minus (20.1) per game.
The rising senior scored 11 points in Penfield’s victory over North Tonawanda in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament. He then advanced to the state Final Four in Binghamton with a hot hand and the assignment of guarding the opposing team’s best player, according to coach Jason Ellis.
Penfield advanced past Binghamton Seton Catholic in overtime, 69-66, as Green scored 19 points alongside CJ Johnson’s 24. Green’s 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining gave Penfield a five-point lead.
Green then scored a game-high 26 points, including two 3-pointers, in the state final as Penfield defeated Amsterdam, 62-54, to win the first state championship in program history.
Why Alex Grejda is Player of the Year: Due to his position on defense, Fairport’s graduating senior doesn’t have eye-popping statistics. But there’s no denying his contributions to a team that’s posted a win-loss record of 33-1-4 with two state final appearances (and a win) in the last two seasons.
An AGR second-teamer and all-county selection as a junior, Grejda leveled up his senior year. He was recently named Monroe County’s Player of the Year in Division I and an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches association. He is one of only seven players in Red Raiders program history to receive the latter honor.
With Grejda leading the back end, Fairport allowed only nine goals the entire season. The senior was also the Red Raiders’ primary option on many set pieces, and he was able to contribute six goals.
Why Messiah Hampton is the AGR Small Schools Player of the Year: Hampton has committed to play at Oregon, one of the top 10 — maybe top five — teams in the nation. Anyone who wanted to see why the graduating senior gained the attention of Ducks coaches had their curiosity satisfied by the end of Monroe’s run to win the Class B state championship.
There was the speed displayed as Hampton turned a fake punt play into a long touchdown run. There was the consistency when it came to catching passes, especially when it came time to spark Monroe’s high-powered, high-scoring offense. There was his hustle on the rare occasions this season when things went wrong for the Monroe offense and as a member of the Red Jackets defense. And not to be forgotten, Hampton became Section V’s all-time leader in reception yards during the regular season.
Why Matthew Heininger is the AGR Large Schools Player of the Year: When asked, Heininger listed linebacker as the position he played, but he also made contributions as a running back, H-back/tight end and punter while the Brighton Bruins advanced to the Class A state tournament final, after winning a Section V title for the second consecutive year.
Brighton coach Stephen Lian has said that the graduating senior is the best player in the team’s history.
Why Ben Hinds and Ian Miller are co-Swimmers of the Year: It was a historic season for the McQuaid swim team, which dominated competition both in Section V and statewide.
Hinds and Miller both exited the Section V Class B championships with multiple first-place finishes, as McQuaid captured the overall team title. Hinds, a graduating senior, had the top time in the 200 individual medley (besting the runner-up by over 10 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke, while Miller, a rising senior, won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
At the NYSPHSAA championships, McQuaid became only the second school in state history to sweep the meet’s three relay events. Paired with teammates Xavier Joseph and Luke McCormack, Hinds and Miller also helped the Knights set state records in both the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay (and were a split-second from also setting a 400 free relay record).
While the relay wins were a team effort, Hinds and Miller both added strong individual performances at the state meet. Hinds placed third in the 200 IM finals (1:51.11), while Miller took bronze in the 100 butterfly (48.78).
Why Noah Meabon is Player of the Year: A three-year varsity starter, Meabon was elevated to team captain and helped the Fairport Red Raiders reach the section final this season.
Among his other honors, Meabon was MVP at the Clarence tournament, and named an all-star at the Eden Cam-AM, Penfield and Spencerport tournaments, was a Class A all-tournament team selection, and Monroe County’s Player of the Year in Division I.
The graduating senior holds Fairport records for career (666) and single-match kills (42). And proving he’s more than a point machine, Meabon passed at a 2.4 rate this season.
“Noah finishes his career as one of the best volleyball players in Section V history,” Fairport coach John O’Dell said. “His combination of length and athleticism made him a force from any spot on the court. It will be exciting to see where Noah can take his game playing at the highest NCAA level next season at USC.”
Why Christopher Noto is the Division II Wrestler of the Year: The graduating Honeoye Falls-Lima senior won a state championship for the second year in a row, this time at 132 pounds. The 2025 AGR Division II Wrestler of the Year won 47 of his 49 matches this season.
Why David Pollard is Player of the Year: Pollard was Section V’s top offensive producer this season. The graduating senior forward led the area in goals scored (27) and shared the lead in points (49) during the regular season. He added eight points, including four goals, in five postseason games.
This season marked the second straight year Pollard led Pittsford in scoring.
With Pollard’s offensive punch leading the way, Pittsford reached the state’s final four for the third time in four seasons. The senior finished his varsity career with 63 goals and 116 points in 94 games.
Why Hudson Proia is the Skier of the Year: Proia completed his varsity career with another strong season this winter. At the Section V championships, McQuaid’s graduating senior placed first in both the giant slalom (2:00.48) and slalom (1:34.23) to earn the Bill Matthews Award for the overall alpine champion. He was also named the Wayne-Finger Lakes league champion.
Proia made his fifth consecutive appearance at the state championships, and placed third overall in the giant slalom.
Why Sam Roselli is the AGR Baseball Player of the Year: Clearly, coaches throughout Section V were impressed, including many outside the Monroe County League. Their voting made the Fairport graduating senior the runaway winner for AGR Player of the Year. The Section V Class AAA Player of the Year pitched to a 0.80 ERA, while striking out 54 batters in 43 2/3 innings. He allowed 18 hits and posted a 0.710 WHIP. Those exceptional numbers go along with two saves this season.
With a bat in Roselli’s hands, the Monroe County Division I Player of the Year produced a .463 on-base percentage with a .371 batting average in 70 at-bats. Roselli drove in 20 runs, including four home runs. He stole eight bases and socked four triples.
Why McKissick Staley is the AGR Division I Wrestler of the Year: The four-time AGR team member (2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) was among five state champions from Section V, the only wrestler on a Division I team. The graduating Pittsford senior won 44 of his 45 matches this season, including his runner-up finish at the Eastern States Wrestling Classic.
Why AJ Theodorakakos is Player of the Year: Widely regarded as Section V’s top defender, and arguably one of the section’s all-timers at his position, Theodorakakos is the rare player who can control a game from the back end. The leader of a stacked defensive unit, Theodorakakos helped Penfield average a meager 6.95 goals against per game.
What separates Theodorakakos from his peers is the ability to sprinkle in offense. Even as a pole defender, he totaled 16 goals during his varsity career.
Theodorakakos capped his varsity career with several other accolades. He is a two-time USA Lacrosse All-American, a Class A all-tournament team selection, and this season’s Section V Defensive Player of the Year. He successfully helped Penfield capture back-to-back Section V Class A titles.
Why Wakelee is the AGR Bowler of the Year: Wakelee’s finish at the individual state championships was the best in Section V. The four-time AGR Boys Bowling team member (2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) also rolled the high series (1,363 pins) among Section V boys bowlers at states by 51 pins. Three Section V bowlers were in the top 10. The Victor graduating senior was named to the Section V Class A All-Tournament Team.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who should be the 2025-26 boys AGR player of the year? Vote now
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