EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Thursday evening, the University of Evansville Athletics Department honored the accomplishments of its student-athletes at the annual Acespys event on campus.
 
A multitude of awards are given out that were voted on prior to the event.  The categories and winners are below.  With the event being held annually in the middle of the spring semester, awards recognize the achievements of the fall and winter of the 2025-26 season along with the spring sport participants from the spring of 2025.
 
-       Sports Performance Athletes of the Year – Hugo Amo (men's soccer) and Kathryn Tyler (women'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 (men'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 (track and field/cross country)
-       Female Junior of the Year – Kate Petrova (women'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 (women's soccer)
-       Assistant Coach of the Year – Matt Melzer (men's soccer)
-       Coach of the Year – Robbe Traver (men's soccer)
-       Best Male Athlete of the Year – Nacho Diaz-Caneja (men's soccer)
-       Best Female Athlete of the Year – Taylor Johnson (women's soccer)
-       Team of the Year – Men's Soccer
-       Director of Athletics Leadership Award – Hannah Krings (swimming and diving)
-       Jim Byers Award – given to staff members who exemplify former UE AD Jim Byers – Melissa Rabell
-       For The Aces Award – Lexi Owen (volleyball)
 
Community service awards were presented to the student-athletes from each class who accumulated the most hours of service.  As a whole, the department served over 100 organizations for over 4,400 hours.  Softball was the top performing team in the community with an average of 35.5 service hours per team member. Spirit squad was second with 30 hours per team member.
 
Individual honorees for the efforts in the community were Sophia Otten (softball), Mia Cruz (golf), Beau Baldwin (track and field), Evelyn Chin (swimming), Samuel Lea (track and field/cross country), Chrysta Vasquez (soccer), and Jose Ocampo (track and field).
 
During the event, live voting was taken for awards including Class Clown, Best Style of the Year, Most Athletic Couple, Purple Friday Enthusiast, and Dynamic Duo.