ST. LOUIS – University of Evansville junior Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, highlighting nine UE student-athletes named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, the league office announced on Thursday.

Johnson becomes the first-ever Evansville track & field athlete to be named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the first UE student-athlete to be named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their sport since men's basketball's Ben Humrichous in 2023-24. Johnson enjoyed a stellar spring campaign on the track, breaking program records in the indoor 400 meters, outdoor 400 meters, outdoor 400-meter hurdles, and was a part of a program record 4x100 meter relay team. At the MVC Outdoor Championships, Johnson placed second in the 400-meter hurdles at a program record time of 1:00.86, the best finish by a Purple Ace at the MVC Outdoor Championships since 2021. A two-sport athlete for the Purple Aces, Johnson earned Second Team All-Conference honors in soccer in the fall. Majoring in Chemistry, Johnson maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
Joining Johnson on the Women's Scholar-Athlete Team is fellow junior Avery Stephens (Newburgh, Ind./Castle). A standout distance runner for the Purple Aces, Stephens took home the 3000-meter title at the ISU Open in February. Over the course of the 2026 season, Stephens set personal bests in the 3000 meters, 10000 meters, 5000 meters, and 1500 meters. During the indoor track season, Stephens notched a third-place finish in the 3000 meters at the Bellarmine Open and a fourth-place finish in the same event at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic. Studying Exercise Science at UE, Stephens holds a 3.86 GPA.

Owen Cuplin (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) lands on the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team after competing in mid-distance events on the track for the Aces this spring. Cuplin's strongest showing of the season came at the Sycamore Open, where he finished 11^th in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:57.62. The junior holds a 3.84 GPA in Exercise Science.

Tommaso Losma (Lombardia, Italy Liceo Scientifico David Maria Turoldo, Zogno (Bg) earns a spot on the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team after a standout campaign in the mid-distance events. At the Indoor MVC Championships, Losma qualified for the finals in the mile run, where he came in 10^th. In the outdoor circuit, Losma notched a personal best in the 800 meters at the Billey Hayes Invitational, clocking a time of 1:53.80. The junior holds a 3.54 GPA while majoring in Physics.
 
Alejandro Navarrete (Mogadore, Ohio/Mogadore) is named to the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team after a season that saw him set three personal bests on the track. At the ISU Open, Navarrete notched a personal best in the mile run with a time of 4:53.54. Next, Navarrete posted a personal best in the 1500 at the SLU Speed & Power Festival, clocking a time of 4:30.88. Finally, Navarrete had a personal best performance in the 800 meters at the Cougar Classic at 2:04.87. The junior maintains a 3.99 GPA while studying Computer Science at UE.
 
Jakub Nowicki (Poznan, Poland) earns a spot on the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team after competing in the mid-distance events for the Aces this spring. At the Billiken Invitational, Nowicki notched a personal best in the 800 meters at a time of 1:55.29, placing 18^th. At the SIUE Cougar Classic, Nowicki had his best finish of the year, placing 13^th in the 800 meters. The junior holds a 3.61 GPA while majoring in Computer Science.
 
Andrew Potter (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community) lands on the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team following a strong spring in the distance events for the Aces. At the Billiken Invtiational, Potter took first place in the 5000 meters, notching a personal best with a time of 15:42.40. At the outdoor Music City Challenge, Potter secured a personal best in the 3000 meters, placing 18^th with a time of 9:00.86. Finally, Potter notched another personal best in the 1500 meters, placing ninth with a time of 4:09.20 at the Sycamore Open. Majoring in Exercise Science, the sophomore holds a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
Connor Shin (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North) is named to the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team after serving a key sprinter and member of Evansville's relays. As a member of the Aces' 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, Shin helped UE to four top three finishes, including a second-place finish in the 4x100 at the SLU Speed & Power Festival. Shin notched two personal bests this season, clocking a time of 52.69 in the 400 meters at the ISU Open to place seventh and posting a time of 22.06 in the 200 meters at the MVC Outdoor Championships. Majoring in Neuroscience, the junior holds a perfect 4.0 GPA.
 
Rounding out the Aces' representatives on the Men's Scholar-Athlete Team is Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill./Carmi), a standout member of the Evansville distance squad. Spence notched personal bests in six different events this season – the mile, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 3000 meters, 5000 meters, and 10000 meters. Spence's best finish of the year came at the ISU Open, where he placed fourth in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:41.54. Spence secured another top five finish at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Open, taking fifth place in the 10000 meters with a time of 33:03.06. Majoring in Exercise Science, the junior holds a 3.94 GPA.