ROCHESTER, NY – The Empire 8 announced its year-end men’s basketball awards on Thursday, highlighted by junior Jaylen Savage being named the Player of the Year and Merritt Holly being tabbed the Rookie of the Year. Savage was also joined on the First Team by senior guard Luke Insley. In addition, Jack Broderick was Nazareth’s representative on the Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year Team.
Savage is the first Nazareth men’s basketball Empire 8 Player of the Year since Tyler Stenglein earned the honor in 2017-18. The junior has been sensational all season, leading the conference in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game. In his 16 conference games for the 2024-25 season, Savage ranked 19th in field goal percentage at .469. His rebounding average of 7.3 per game ranked ninth, his free throw percentage of 87.5 (4th), 2.4 assists (22nd) and steals per game of 1.4 was 12th. He was also second in the conference at 35.4 minutes per game. In all, Savage scored in double figures in 25 of 27 games in 2024-25, including a career-high 33 points against RIT on November 11. The Elmsford, NY natives 21.0 points per game over 27 contests ranks him 42nd among all Division III counterparts. Savage was the Rookie of the Year as a freshman and a Second Team selection as a sophomore.
Holly made his presence felt in the post for the Golden Flyers with an impressive freshman season, finishing second in the conference in rebounding at 7.8 per game. He was also second in the conference in field goal percentage at 61.7. Holly averaged 11.4 points per game and had five double-doubles in conference play.
Insley earns a first-team nod after once again leading the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.62. In addition, Insley leads the country at 6.7 assists per game and total assists with 180. In conference play, Insley delivered 7.9 assists per game, 2.5 assists more than Suny Poly’s LaMarqus Merchant Jr who sits second in the league. He had a staggering 6.6 assist-to-turnover ratio in 16 conference games. He was also 15th in the conference in field goal percentage at 49.6.
Broderick is Nazareth’s representative on the Sportsman of the Year Team for the second-straight year. One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2024-25 Men’s Basketball Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that “Competing with Honor and Integrity” is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.