General | 4/21/2025 9:50:00 PM

The last time Trailblazer Athletics held the annual year-end awards gala was virtually near the end of the 2019-20 academic and athletic year, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "Brooksies Awards" celebrates the collective achievements of our Trailblazer student-athletes, coaches and programs, not only on the fields, courts, tracks, pools and diamonds, but also in the classroom and in our community during the past year.  

Here is the list of the 2024-25 Utah Tech Athletics "Brooksies Award" winners:
Female Comeback Player of the Year: Jenna Anderson-Women's Golf
        Jenna returned to action this season from a broken foot that prematurely ended her 2023-24 season last spring. She finished the 2024-25 season fourth on the team in stroke average (76.27), and was second on the team with seven par or better rounds.
        Jenna posted runner-up finish at the UVU Wolverine Preview (2/2-4/25), which earned her WAC Player of the Week honors, and she closed the season with a t-29^th place showing at the 2025 WAC Championships.

Male Comeback Player of the Year: Harrison Shaw – Men's Soccer
        After missing the entire 2023 season due to injury, Harrison started all 17 games this past season and logged 1,510 minutes. He went the full 90 minutes 14 times, and helped Utah Tech post shut out results at San José State (10/10) and vs. Grand Canyon (10/17).
        Harrison totaled three shots, one shot on goal during the season, and earned academic all-WAC honors.

Female Rookie of the Year: Maya Inouye - Tennis
        Maya enjoyed a fantastic debut season, during which she broke the program's NCAA Division I era record for singles wins with 10 (10-6), and became the first Trailblazer since the 2017-18 season to win at least 10 singles matches in a single season.

Male Rookie of the Year:  Rick Mua'e - Football
        Rick put together a solid freshman season, during which he earned 2024 FCS Football Central Freshman All-America honors after he led the team and finished third in the United Athletic Conference with 6.5 total sacks. He also wound up in the UAC's top-10 in tackles for loss with a team-high 9.5 TFLs.
        The freshman played in all 12 games with seven starts, and was credited with at least 0.5 TFL in seven of those outings, all while he finished eighth on the team in total tackles (43). 

Female Newcomer Player of the Year: Whitney Christiansen – WTrack
        Whitney earned second team all-WAC Indoor Track honors in the 400-meters, Distance Medley Relay and the 4x400-m relay during her record-breaking debut season.
        She broke the school indoor 400-m record (55.55) and was part of two school record breaking performances in the 4x400 and distance medley relays at the WAC Indoor Championships. Whitney also went on to break the outdoor 400-m school record at the Utah Tech Invite (3/22) and the 800-m school record at UNLV on April 5, and was part of a school-record tying 4x100 relay result at Cal State Fullerton (4/11). 
        Utah Tech still has one regular season meet, and the 2025 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships left on its 2024-25 competition schedule.

Male Newcomer Player of the Year: Ryan Hatch - MXC
        Ryan competed in all six meets last season in his first season as a Trailblazer harrier and earned Second Team All-WAC after finishing 17th in the WAC Championships with the third-fastest 8K time (24:08.30) in program history.
        Ryan was also the Trailblazers fastest finisher at the NCAA West Regional clocking a program record 10K time notching a time of 30:40.0 finishing 65th overall.

Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Kennedi Knudsen - Volleyball
        Kennedi earned 2024 First Team All-WAC honors as part of a historic season senior season. She broke the school's single season record for kills with 395, which ranked her fourth in the WAC, while she finished fourth in the conference in total attacks (1,031) and is fifth in kills per set (3.99).
        She new single match mark for kills with 34 in a five-set win at home over Utah Valley on Nov. 2 and reached double figure kills in 13 WAC matches. Kennedi also  led or co-led the team lead in kills in 15 of 16 WAC contests, and totaled 16 or more kills in seven matches and added 210 digs, 56 blocks, 20 assists and 11 service aces this season.

Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Kyle McDaniel - Baseball
        Kyle has proven to be one of the most reliable hitters, and fielders for the Trailblazer baseball program to this point of the season. The sophomore has started in all 38 games (as of April 21), and has reached base safely in 36 those outings, including a NCAA D-I era record tying 24-straight games, which is still active at press time.
        As of the awards ceremony, Kyle leads the team and ranked third in the WAC in batting (.379; t-91^stNCAA), base hits (53; t-144^th NCAA) and on-base percentage (.479; t-125^th NCAA), fourth in the WAC in toughest to strike out (9.3 AB per K; t-116^th NCAA), and t-11^th in walks.
        Kyle is also second on the team in stolen bases (6-of-10) and triples (t-2^nd with 1), t-third in doubles (8), t-sixth in RBI (14), and he has helped Utah Tech turn 35 total double plays (t-2^nd WAC/t-14^th NCAA). 

Female True Trailblazer Award: Emily Isaacson – Women's Basketball
        Emily persevered through two ACL injuries to close her stellar career as the program's all-time leader in 3-point field goals made (259) and 3FG percentage (.399), and finished as Utah Tech's third all-time leading scorer (1,199 pts) and fourth all-time leading rebounder (599). 
        She is also one of only three players in program history with at least 1,195 points and 595 rebounds, and wound up third all-time in steals (133) and field goals made (409), and fourth in career blocks (66).
        Off the court, Emily was a four-time Academic All-WAC selection, and a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic all-Region pick. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Sports Management last May, and is currently working on her Master's degree in sports management/athletic administration. 

Male True Trailblazer Award: Noa Gonsalves – Men's Basketball
        Noa will go down in history as one of the most durable, and best overall shooters in program history. The senior sharpshooter owns Utah Tech men's basketball's single game (7), single season (73) and career (218) made 3-pointers records, all of this was done in a program record 127 games played over his four years at Utah Tech.
    Noa wrapped up his career as the program's third all-time leading scorer with 1,238 points, and he leaves Utah Tech ranked in the top-10 all-time in starts, steals, field goals made and attempted, free throw percentage and three-point percentage.
    In the classroom, Noa was a four-time Academic All-WAC selection, a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic all-Region pick, and he will complete work on his Bachelor's degree in Recreation and Sports Management in May.

Male Academic Athlete of the Year:
Levi Randall - Baseball (3.98) GPA – Accounting major.

Female Academic Athlete of the Year:
Madelynne Crawford – Women's Track and Field (4.0) GPA – Business major.

Team Community Engagement of the Year Award: Trailblazer Baseball
        The Utah Tech Baseball program poured into the community, gave back generously, and embodied the Trailblazer mission of making a difference. To youth clinics to service projects, the team did not just wear the uniform, they showed up as leaders, mentors and role models across southern Utah. 

Coach of the Year: Lindsey Orth – Women's Golf
        Head Coach Lindsey Orth led Utah Tech to four top-5 showings in nine team events, highlighted by a tie-runner up finish at the Utah Valley Wigwam Preview this past February (2/2-4/25). Under her leadership, the Trailblazers tied a program record with seven individual top-5 finishes this season, while her squad combined for eight individual top-10s overall.
        Utah Tech saw several school records fall this season, including team single-season stroke average, team conference tournament scoring total, individual season stroke average, single tournament individual player 36-hole and 54-hole low score, as well as conference tournament individual player 18, 36 and 54 hole scoring records.