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Slippery Rock's Brayden Long, Gannon's Samantha Pirosko earn 2023-24 Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its 2023-24 Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes of the Year, with Slippery Rock’s Brayden Long and Gannon’s Samantha Pirosko both awarded the honor.
 
The two honorees were selected by a vote of the conference’s sports information directors and athletics communications professionals.
 
The PSAC’s Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards are presented to the top student-athletes who have achieved at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average while competing at an outstanding athletic level. Student-athletes must have been recognized as a PSAC Fall, Winter, or Spring Top Ten Award Winner to be eligible for the honor. The award was renamed in 2007 to honor East Stroudsburg’s long-time sports information director, Pete Nevins, who passed away earlier that year. Nevins held his position at ESU for 33 years and it is estimated that he wrote articles on more than 12,000 ESU events that covered more than 5,000 student-athletes.
 
Long becomes the 13th all-time Slippery Rock student-athlete to win the award and first since Connor Hamilton in the 2021-22 season. Pirosko is the third-ever student-athlete from Gannon to win the award and is the first female from the institution to be named Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 
 
A complete historical list of all Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes can be found here.



 15999
 
Samantha Pirosko
Gannon
Eastlake, Ohio / Eastlake North
Women's Basketball
Major: Health Sciences / Physician Assistant Program
Cumulative GPA: 3.908
 
Pirosko averaged 19.8 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game and was named the WBCA National Player of the Year. She also accumulated D2CCA National Player of the Year and Atlantic Region Player of the Year honors, a WBCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year nod, and repeated as PSAC West Athlete of the Year. She was MVP of both the NCAA Atlantic Region and PSAC Tournaments and led Gannon to a 35-3 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. Pirosko moved into second place on Gannon’s all-time scoring list with 2,293 career points  and was named CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Women’s Basketball in Division II.
 
 

16000
 
Brayden Long
Slippery Rock
Hanover, Pa. / New Oxford
Football
Major: Sport Management
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
 
Long led the PSAC and Super Region One in nearly every passing stat, including completion percent (69.35), passing yards (3,808), passing touchdowns (35) and passing efficiency (163.4). He completed 312-of-450 passes for 3,808 yards with 35 touchdowns and just six interceptions while leading Slippery Rock to the NCAA quarterfinals, a 12-2 overall record and a No. 10 final national ranking. He was ranked in the top 10 in Division II in nearly every passing category this season, including: 4th in completion percentage (69.3%), 7th in completions per game (22.3), 9th in passing efficiency (163.4), 5th in passing touchdowns (35), 6th in passing yards (3,808), 6th in points responsible for (240). He ranks No. 2 in SRU history in single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns. Long was named the Super Region One Offensive Player of the Year, the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the year, was fifth place in the Harlon Hill Trophy voting for the Division II Football Player of the Year, and was one of only two quarterbacks in the nation to be named to CSC’s Academic All-America team in 2023.