It’s even more rare for those two players to hail from the same county.

Play in the same league? Forget about it.

Well on Monday, Carson Swanson and Carter Brink put that notion to rest, coming out of Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 to earn state Player-of-the-Year honors.

Swanson, Westfield’s senior superstar and the OBSERVER/Post-Journal’s two-time Player of the Year, was named a Class C co-Player of the Year by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

OBSERVER File Photo Panama senior Carter Brink was named the New York state Player of the Year in Class D.

Brink, a senior state champion from Panama who was a first-team OBSERVER/Post-Journal All-Star himself, was named the Class D Player of the Year.

Those two led a group of 23 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association boys to receive small-school recognition from the NYSSWA in classes B, C and D. They were the first locals to earn state Player of the Year since Randolph’s Tyler Hind in 2020. Maple Grove’s Chris Secky was the only other player to earn the honor back in 2010.

Class C received the most recognition locally with 10 players honored, led by Swanson. Now Chautauqua County’s all-time leading scorer with 2,448 points, Swanson capped his Wolverines career with a season during which he averaged 31.5 points to go along with 8.1 assists, 6.7 rebounds, 6.4 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. The honor caps a career during which Swanson was named to the all-state first team in 2024 and 2023, as well as the fifth team in 2022.

Swanson shared the NYSSWA’s Player-of-the-Year honor with Duanesburg senior Jeffrey Mulhern, who averaged 38.1 points per game.

Randolph senior Drew Hind was named to the Class C first team for the third straight season after averaging 24.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game for the Cardinals. Hind was also named to the fourth team as a freshman in 2022.

OBSERVER File Photo Westfield senior Zach Maguire was named fourth-team all-state in Class C.

Westfield senior Zach Maguire was named to the fourth team after averaging 15.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.5 blocked shots and 2.3 assists per game for the Wolverines.

Gowanda junior Trelin Warrior (22.7 ppg) was named to the sixth team and Chautauqua Lake junior Nick Jacobson (17.6 ppg) was named to the Eighth Team, while Franklinville senior Bretton Blecha, Randolph junior Kevin McElwain, Randolph senior Griffin Nelson, Ellicottville sophomore Blake Smith and Frewsburg senior Blake Weaver all received honorable-mention recognition in Class C.

Brink was named the Player of the Year in Class D after averaging 25.4 points, 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game for the Panthers. He was named to the second team last year, eighth team in 2023 and honorable mention in 2022.

Brink’s senior teammates Bryce Hinsdale, Alex Barmore and Tate Catanese also received recognition.

Hinsdale was named to the first team after averaging 12.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game; Barmore was named to the third team after averaging 8.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game; and Catanese was named to the sixth team after averaging 5.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Previously, Hinsdale was named honorable mention in 2023 and 2022.

OBSERVER File Photo Gowanda’s Trelin Warrior was named sixth-team all-state in Class C.

Forestville sophomore Jacob Anders was also named to the sixth team with averages of 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.4 assists per game.

Sherman junior Jacob Ferranto, Pine Valley senior Trent Ivett, Pine Valley junior Camryn Slade and Clymer junior Carson White all received honorable-mention recognition in Class D.

Allegany-Limestone senior Carson Kwiatkowski was named to the Class B fifth team after averaging 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game for the Gators. He earned honorable-mention recognition last year.

Falconer junior Roger Markham earned eighth-team recognition after averaging 21.2 points, 4.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game for the Golden Falcons. He was named to the third team last year.

Salamanca senior Maddox Isaac was named to the 10th team after averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.3 steals per game for the Warriors.

OBSERVER File Photo Chautauqua Lake’s Nick Jacobson earned an eighth-team all-state selection in Class C.

Southwestern senior Chase Hartnett (17.1 ppg) received honorable-mention status in Class B.

Other Section VI players honored in Class B included: Olmsted junior Tacari McCray (second team), Wilson junior Aidan Neumann (second team), Akron sophomore Derren Brooks (fourth team), Middle College junior Anthony Johnson (11th team), JFK senior Michael Mingle (12th team), MST senior Haile Doucet (14th team), and Alden senior Kalen Czelusta, Eden freshman Kobe Genco and Akron junior Benjamin Gerstung, who were all honorable-mention selections.

Other Section VI Class C players honored included: Holland senior Brady Wiskup (third team) and Holland freshman Jude Gerbec (11th team).

The Class B Player of the Year was Mariano Mateo de los Santos, a senior from Gregorio Luperson of New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League, who averaged 33.2 points per game.

All-state teams in Class AAA, Class AA and Class A will be announced at a later date.