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Thiel College student-athletes recognized during fourth annual Tommy Awards

Posted April 30, 2025   Print
Student athlete recognition story 2025

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- The Thiel College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Department of Athletics hosted its fourth annual awards program for the College’s student-athletes, the Tommys, Tuesday at William A. Passavant Center.

The event recognizes individual and team athletic achievements, as well as academic success and service in the community, eight major awards were voted on and distributed by members of Thiel’s SAAC.

Among the evening’s highlights was the announcement of the Most Valuable Players with Joey King ’25 and Ashlyn Wightman ’25 receiving honors. The men’s volleyball team also earned accolades for their impressive season and first NCAA Tournament berth. In addition, Randall Burnett M.A.’22 was named Coach of the Year for his outstanding leadership and contributions to Thiel College’s cheer and dance programs. The cheer team earned its fourth consecutive podium finish at Nationals with this year’s second place finish.

In addition, Chris and Heather Mook were honored with the SAAC Special Recognition Award for their volunteer hours supporting Thiel College student-athletes.

The following is a list of the eight major award winners:

MVP Honors

  • Male: Joey King ’25
  • Female: Ashlyn Wightman ’25

Newcomer of the Year

  • Male: Ezra Oesterling ’28
  • Female: Issy Green ’28

Coach of the Year

  • Randall Burnett M.A.’22

Dual-Sport Athlete of the Year

  • Male: Logan Smith ’27
  • Female: Kayley Risser ’28

Adversity Award

  • Jonah Lentz ’25

Moment of the Year

  • Men’s volleyball PAC Championship

Team of the Year

  • Men’s volleyball

SAAC Special Recognition

  • Chris and Heather Mook

In addition to dishing out major awards, each team also honored and recognized their respective Tomcat Award winners while some named team MVPs. Those honorees are listed below.

Baseball

  • Tomcat Award: Chase Morrison ’24 MBA’25

Men’s Basketball

  • Tomcat Award: Gabriel Gonzalez ’25

Women’s Basketball

  • Tomcat Award: Giana Arnese ’25

Cheerleading

  • MVP: Karigan Hager ’26
  • Tomcat Award: Kaitlyn Schmidt ’25

Football

  • Tomcat Award: Luke Faber ’25

Men’s Golf

  • Tomcat Award: Marc Knox ’25

Women’s Golf

  • Tomcat Award: Alaina Harpst ’24 MBA’25

Men’s Lacrosse

  • Tomcat Award: Thadd Bell ’24 MBA’25

Women’s Lacrosse

  • Tomcat Award: Ashlyn Wightman ’25

Men’s Soccer

  • MVP: Mitchell Strauss ’28
  • Tomcat Award: Grant Becker ’27

Women’s Soccer

  • Tomcat Award: Katlyn Phillips ’25

Softball

  • Tomcat Award: Becca Landis ’25

Men’s Tennis

  • Tomcat Award: Nate Udell ’25

Women’s Tennis

  • Tomcat Award: Toby Atwood ’26

Men’s Track and Field

  • MVP: Nick Kobielus ’25
  • Tomcat Award: Griffin Fraterrigo ’27

Women’s Track and Field

  • MVP: Alexis McFadden ’25
  • Tomcat Award: Lillianna Briscoe ’24 MBA’25

Men’s Volleyball

  • Tomcat Award: Kaleb Proudfoot ’26

Women’s Volleyball

  • MVP: Danielle Aulet ’25
  • Tomcat Award: Kailee Matter ’26

Wrestling

  • MVP: Joey King ’25
  • Tomcat Award: Seth Phillips ’25

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Office of Admission

Media Contact

Dominick DiRienzo M.A.’22
Director of Communications and Marketing

 ddirienzo@thiel.edu
 724-589-2188

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