CoSIDA Academic All-America Release
Union Academic All-Americans
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior Ryan Puglisi of the nationally ranked Union College men's lacrosse team capped his decorated college career by earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Men's At-Large Team for his excellence on the field and in the classroom, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Tuesday.
Puglisi was one of only 45 student-athletes selected in arguably CoSIDA's most competitive Academic All-America program. Unlike most sport-specific categories, the Men's At-Large program comprises athletes from 12 different Division III sports – fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling – spanning nearly 1,500 collegiate teams and over 25,000 student-athletes.
On the field, the three-year team captain led the Dutchmen to their first national championship game and earned All-America recognition from USA Lacrosse Magazine (first team) and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (honorable mention) after another excellent year in 2022. Named to the USILA and
Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America teams before the season, he finished second among all Union defensemen with 34 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers and consistently drew the opposition's top attackers on defense. He previously was named to the USILA All-America third team last season and is a three-time All-Liberty League honoree.
Puglisi is just as strong outside of competition for Union, as the mechanical engineering major boasted a 3.86 cumulative GPA heading into his final trimester at Union. A member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, the Methuen, Mass., native is also a student researcher in the Aerogel Lab and a member of the Orientation Committee on campus. He was named the winner of Union's Stephen Ritterbush '68 Award for the second time this year, recognizing a student-athlete who best exemplifies the quality of "sound mind and sound body."
Puglisi, who was the first Union men's lacrosse player in program history to earn multiple CoSIDA All-District honors, is the team's second Academic All-American and the first since Kyle Christine '13 in 2013. He is the eighth Dutchman to earn Academic All-America honors in the Men's At-Large category and the third to make the second team, and just the 34th student-athlete in Union history to earn Academic All-America honors.