UE student-athletes honored at annual Acespys occasion

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Thursday night, the University of Evansville Athletics Department honored the accomplishments of its student-athletes on the annual Acespys occasion on campus.
 
A large number of awards are given out that have been voted on previous to the occasion.  The classes and winners are under.  With the occasion being held yearly in the midst of the spring semester, awards acknowledge the achievements of the autumn and winter of the 2025-26 season together with the spring sport individuals from the spring of 2025.
 
–       Sports Performance Athletes of the Year – Hugo Amo (males’s soccer) and Kathryn Tyler (girls’s soccer)
–       Comeback Athlete of the Year – Levi McKinney (swimming and diving)
–       A.C.E.S. Award – Hannah Krings (swimming and diving)
–       Male Freshman of the Year – Devin Shepherd (males’s soccer)
–       Female Freshman of the Year – Eliza Piggott (softball)
–       Male Sophomore of the Year – Charlie Longmeier (baseball)
–       Female Sophomore of the Year – Niki Bode (softball)
–       Game of the Year – Women’s Basketball MVC Tournament win over Belmont
–       Male Junior of the Year – Samuel Lea (monitor and area/cross nation)
–       Female Junior of the Year – Kate Petrova (girls’s golf)
–       Record Breaking Performance of the Year – Men’s Soccer MVC Tournament win over UIC
–       Male Senior of the Year – Levi McKinney (swimming and diving)
–       Female Senior of the Year – Isa Valdez (girls’s soccer)
–       Assistant Coach of the Year – Matt Melzer (males’s soccer)
–       Coach of the Year – Robbe Traver (males’s soccer)
–       Best Male Athlete of the Year – Nacho Diaz-Caneja (males’s soccer)
–       Best Female Athlete of the Year – Taylor Johnson (girls’s soccer)
–       Team of the Year – Men’s Soccer
–       Director of Athletics Leadership Award – Hannah Krings (swimming and diving)
–       Jim Byers Award – given to employees members who exemplify former UE AD Jim Byers – Melissa Rabell
–       For The Aces Award – Lexi Owen (volleyball)
 
Community service awards have been offered to the student-athletes from every class who accrued essentially the most hours of service.  As an entire, the division served over 100 organizations for over 4,400 hours.  Softball was the highest performing group locally with a mean of 35.5 service hours per group member. Spirit squad was second with 30 hours per group member.
 
Individual honorees for the efforts locally have been Sophia Otten (softball), Mia Cruz (golf), Beau Baldwin (monitor and area), Evelyn Chin (swimming), Samuel Lea (monitor and area/cross nation), Chrysta Vasquez (soccer), and Jose Ocampo (monitor and area).
 
During the occasion, stay voting was taken for awards together with Class Clown, Best Style of the Year, Most Athletic Couple, Purple Friday Enthusiast, and Dynamic Duo.