University of California, Davis Athletics celebrated its student athletes with the annual Aggie Awards. Courtesy photo

 

DAVIS, CA (MPG) – University of California, Davis Athletics celebrated its student athletes with the annual Aggie Awards on June 1. A total of 12 awards, six departmental and six voted on by the student athletes, were given out.

"This was our highest performing year across the board athletically and among the highest GPAs in Aggie history,” said Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca. “I am proud to celebrate all our student-athletes achieved and highlight the importance of the relationships they built between teams, on campus and in the community that will pay off far into their futures."

The Sarah Sumpter Perseverance Award is given to a current student athlete who has overcome a significant obstacle to return to varsity competition.

This year's recipient, Kylie Jacobson, suffered a terrible riding accident last summer. After finishing a great ride, her horse was unexpectedly spooked. When thrown off her horse, Jacobson got caught in the horse's legs and her face was trampled.

Jacobson shattered her upper jaw, orbital bone, nasal spine and lost three teeth. After a week's stay in the hospital and facial reconstructive surgery, Jacobson was sent home with her mouth wired shut for six weeks. At the beginning of the season, Jacobson got back in the saddle, regained her confidence and quickly returned to being a fierce competitor.

Jacobson participated in 10 meets this season and took home five wins. Her season included two ECAC Horsemanship Rider of the Week awards and she was named to the ECAC Horsemanship All-Tournament Team and earned an ECAC All-Academic Honorable Mention.

The Marya Welch Award is an award bestowed to the women's team with the highest GPA, celebrating the outstanding work done by the program in the classroom. This year’s honors goes to the Women's Water Polo team with a 3.48 GPA.

The Lysle Leach Award is bestowed to the men's team with the highest GPA, celebrating the outstanding work done by the program in the classroom. The Men's Basketball team received this year’s honors with a 3.29 GPA.

The W.P. Lindley Award celebrates the best of both worlds by naming the year's outstanding Scholar Athlete who can balance and excel at the classroom and the field. This year’s recipient is Niko Rocak (Men's Basketball). Rocak led the Big West in blocks per game and led the Aggies in rebounds as an elected team captain. Rocak is an active member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Team Impact. After completing an undergraduate degree in chemistry, Rocak pursued his MBA through the Graduate School of Management.

The Dr. Hubert Heitman Award is bestowed upon the Aggie Female Athlete of the Year.  This year’s recipient is Sam Tristan of women’s soccer. The Fresno native earned her first career United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's All-West Region team honors and was the first Aggie to be recognized as the Big West Offensive Player of the Year. Tristan started in all 20 contests for the Aggies in 2024, earning first team All-Big West honors leading the league with 24 points and 26 shots on goal, and becoming one of only two student-athletes to record double-digit scores (10) this season.

The Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award is bestowed upon the Aggie Male Athlete of the Year. This year’s recipient is football player Lan Larison, who ended the year among the best in the country in numerous categories. Larison racked up four All-American honors, was named first team All-Big Sky Conference and was named a Walter Payton Award finalist.

Larison finished the year with a national leading and school record setting 2,387 all-purpose yards racking up 1,465 total rushing yards and 874 receiving yards during the season. Larison added 17 rushing touchdowns and six receiving touchdowns and finished ranked nationally second in total touchdowns, third in rushing yards and total scoring per game, sixth in rushing touchdowns and ninth in rushing yards per game. His 874 receiving yards led all running backs in the nation. Larison immediately signed a free agent deal with the National Football League's New England Patriots and is currently a member of their roster.

New Aggie of The Year was presented to Ximena Cordero Barr (Volleyball),  the student-athlete who provided positive contributions, spirit and went above and beyond for their program in their first season.

The most Aggie PRIDE was given to Brody Crouch (Men's Water Polo), a student-athlete who models and exudes the most Aggie PRIDE which stands for pride, resourceful, inclusive, determined and excellence. 

Best Upset of the Year went to Women's Soccer for its game against LSU on Junior Aggie Day and had its first win over an SEC opponent.

Best Moment of the Year, given for the most shocking, thrilling and exciting performance, went to Cason Goodman when the men's soccer clinched its spot in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, defeating UC Santa Barbara 2-0 in the Big West Championship Final. Goodman secured the Aggies' advancement to the program's fourth NCAA Division I Tournament, by scoring both goals for the Aggies to win.

Women's Team of the Year, presented to the women's team that best demonstrated the most Aggie Pride with the most impressive season, went to gymnastics. The team qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in 10 years, reaching the Seattle Regional after finishing the year strong. Over the final six meets, the Aggies scored no lower than 195.300 and three times broke 196.000 to power themselves into position to be among the best in the nation.

Men's Team of the Year,  presented to the men's team that best demonstrated the most Aggie Pride with the most impressive season, went to the soccer team, which took down the Big West's top seeded UC Santa Barbara 2-0 to win the Big West Championship and punch their ticket to the NCAA Division I tournament. It was the fourth time that the Aggies have qualified for the tournament in program history and they became the first No. 4 seed to win the Big West Championship.