As the academic year comes to a close, Mary Baldwin University Athletics announced its 2025-26 award winners.

Men's basketball player Raymond Benton takes home the Male Athlete of the Year Award after an impressive season in which he averaged a team-leading 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Benton also earned USA South Men's Basketball second-team All-Conference honors after the team advanced to the conference playoffs for the fourth-straight season.

Women's soccer freshman Molly Ludwig earned Female Athlete of the Year. Ludwig led Mary Baldwin with 11 goals during the 2025 season. Her scoring total ranked first among freshmen in the conference and tied for fourth-most goals in a single season in program history. Ludwig was also named to the USA South Women's Soccer All-Conference second team after MBU won 11 games, among the highest total in team history, and advanced to the conference playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years.

Baseball freshman Patrick Sido was named Male Newcomer of the Year. Sido earned several honors during the season, including three USA South Rookie of the Week selections, USA South All-Conference first team recognition and USA South Rookie of the Year honors. The right fielder was the first MBU player in the team's six-year history to gain first-team USA South all-star recognition.  Sido, a West Springfield native, recorded a team-leading 49 hits, 47 RBIs and eight home runs, helping the Fighting Squirrels set team records for most wins and most conference wins in a season.

Women's soccer freshman Joelle Hare earned Female Newcomer of the Year honors. The young winger finished third on the team in goals and recorded the second-most goals by a freshman on the team this season. She also posted a standout performance in a 6-0 home victory against Meredith, recording two goals and two assists, for the playoff-bound Fighting Squirrels.

The Mary Jane Donnalley Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA in the athletic department are Tristen Bannasch and Eve Diep.

The Male Mary Jane Donnalley Award winner is track and field senior Tristen Bannasch, who finished with a 3.891 GPA.  Bannasch, who was also the Mary Jane Donnalley award in 2025, scored points in the USA South conference outdoor championship as a member of the sixth-place 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, helping MBU finish sixth in the team standings.

The Female Mary Jane Donnalley Award was presented to women's soccer's Eve Diep, who earned a  3.988 GPA.  Diep, a midfielder, has started all 53 games in her three-year career at MBU, scoring twice and dishing out three assists for the Fighting Squirrels.

The Mary Baldwin Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to Will Earnesty and Nicole Black, recognizes student-athletes who excel both academically and athletically. 

Earnesty graduated with a 3.836 GPA and finished the season third on the team in on-base percentage while also leading the conference in hit-by-pitches.  Earnesty has been MBU's starting shortstop, playing in 108 career games with 90 hits, including 10 doubles and a triple, 65 runs scored and 39 RBI for the Fighting Squirrels, who posted their three-highest win totals in the last three years.

Cross Country and Track & Field sophomore Nicole Black was named Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Black completed her sophomore year with a 4.00 GPA. She earned her second-straight all-conference award during the cross country season, finishing eighth in the conference championship meet.  During the outdoor season, she earned USA South Outdoor Track and Field third-team All-Conference honors after scoring all nine of MBU's points in the championship meet, including placing third in the steeplechase and sixth place in the 10,000-meter run.

Men's basketball assistant head coach Tevin Brown received the athletic department's Christy Shelton Award for Leadership Excellence. Brown, who works full time in MBU's admissions office, completed his fifth season with the Fighting Squirrels and helped guide the team to an 11-14 record. He also served as acting head coach during a home game against Methodist and is a top recruiter for the program.  During his tenure, the men's basketball program advanced to the conference playoffs four times, including winning the 2024 USA South regular-season and playoff titles.  He is also instrumental in helping other MBU athletic programs, coaches and student-athlete prospects during the recruiting process.