Senior softball standout Hadley May and freshman sprinter Lapatrick Bridges were named the 2024-25 Mary Baldwin Athletes of the Year at the annual year-end awards ceremony, sponsored by the MBU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Thursday.  The event started outside on the SMA Worth Field, but moved inside due to passing showers.

Others honored included Nicole Black (women's cross country/track & field) and Raymond Benton (men's basketball) as the Newcomers of the Year, Caroline Motley (women's cross country/track & field) and Zach Sloan (men's basketball) as Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Gretchen Lutz (women's tennis) and Tristen Bannasch (men's track & field) as the Mary Jane Donnalley Award winners for the highest grade point averages in the athletic department and head athletic trainer Ismael Cortes as the Christy Shelton Award for Leadership and Excellence winner.

"This is always a great event for the athletic department because we're recognizing outstanding academic and athletic performers," said Director of Athletics Tom Byrnes.  "MBU Athletics, and the university in general, prospers by the success of these and many others that contribute in many ways for the benefit of the Fighting Squirrels."

May, the 2024 Women's Athlete of the Year and 2022 Women's Newcomer of the Year award winner, is the first MBU student-athlete to earn first-team all-conference in the voting of coaches since the University joined the USA South more than 15 years ago.  She set numerous individual records this year and during her career, including the team records for home runs in a season.  She helped lead the softball team to three-straight USA South playoff appearances and this year, to a team-record 22 victories.  That total was thought to tie the record with the mark set in 2004, but further research found that one game in 2004 did not meet NCAA requirements for innings played, leaving that team with 21 victories.  

Bridges is the third MBU track & field competitor to win the men's Athlete of the Year award.  He won a gold medal in the men's 400-meter dash and ran a leg on the 4x400 relay that finished fourth at the USA South Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which earned him the "Men's Rookie Track Athlete of the Year" award for the conference.

Black had an outstanding year, winning the individual championship, Runner of the Year and Rookie of the Year award at the 2024 USA South Cross Country Championship.  She was also a member of the 2024 NCAA All-Region cross country team after placing among the top 35 in that championship race.  She also picked up a silver medal at the 2025 Indoor Championship and two medals at the Outdoor Championship in distance races.

Benton, the second men's basketball player to win the MBU Men's Newcomer of the Year award, was a starter in his first year with the men's basketball team, ranking among the team leaders in multiple scoring, rebounding and defensive categories for the Fighting Squirrels, who posted a 14-12 overall record and advanced to the USA South playoff semifinals for the second-straight season.

Motley, the first cross country and track & field competitor to win the MBU Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, finished in the top 10 in the USA South cross country race and was the 2025 USA South Women's Indoor Track Rookie of the Year.  She boasts a 3.915 GPA through the Fall 2024 semester.

Sloan, the third men's basketball player to win the MBU Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, was also a valuable contributor to the men's basketball team during his MBU career.  He shared the scoring and rebounding duties with Benton, and is the only player in the four-year varsity history of the team to score 30 or more points in a game three times in one season, which he did in 2024-25.  Sloan has a 3.738 GPA through the Fall 2024 semester.

Lutz, a four-year starter on the women's tennis team, boasts a 4.00 GPA for her MBU academic career.  She played the No. 1 or No. 2 singles position, and the No. 1 doubles position, her entire career with the Fighting Squirrels.

Bannasch, with a 3.903 cumulative GPA, is a sprinter and thrower for the track & field teams.  He was a member of the fourth-place 4x400 relay and finished 11th in the javelin at the USA South Outdoor championship meet.

Cortes, who joined the MBU Athletic Department in July 2024 and was promoted to head athletic trainer several months later, was a dedicated worker for the student-athletes of all 14 varsity teams.  He has earned the respect of the student-athletes and co-workers with his friendly, easy-going personality and his always willing to help attitude.  He is the first athletic trainer to win the Christy Shelton Award for Leadership and Excellence.

MBU highlights of the 2024-25 athletic season include:
1 USA South Runner of the Year
1 NCAA All-Region Team honoree
3 USA South Rookies of the Year
3 teams with record-breaking seasons (baseball, softball, men's tennis)
4 teams qualifying for USA South playoffs (men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, softball)