Athletics | 4/27/2026 11:34:00 PM
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T Department of Athletics honored its achievements Monday at the annual Aggie ESPYs Awards Banquet at the Alumni Foundation Event Center on campus.
For the first time, a student-athlete hosted the ESPYs. Senior cheerleader Santana Baker took center stage for this historic role.
Meanwhile, the night belonged to men's and women's track and field programs as the two programs combined to take home the top two awards of the evening. Senior hurdler/sprinter Jason Holmes won his third straight Tarik Cohen Male Athlete of the Year trophy after being unanimously voted CAA Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
He also earned CAA Most Outstanding Indoor Track Athlete at the 2026 CAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and his third consecutive second-team All-American honor at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Women's track and field high jumper Spirit Morgan claimed the Kayla White Female Athlete of the Year trophy.
Morgan was named CAA co-Field Athlete of the Year. Last outdoor season, she earned second-team All-American honors at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Oregon and holds the Aggies' indoor and outdoor high jump records.
Men's basketball's Lewis Walker was named Male Rookie of the Year after breaking the Aggies' freshman scoring record with 548 points and posting a freshman record 19.1 points per game in 2025-26. On the women's side, softball's Aniya Merritt claimed rookie honors, entering this weekend's series batting .398, ranking third in program history so far.
Senior awards went to a kicker and a golfer. Ekaterina Prokhorova was named Senior Female Athlete of the Year after winning a program-record three tournaments in a season, placing in the top five in eight straight tournaments, and earning three CAA Women's Golfer of the Week awards. Andrew Brown became a record breaker in football, making all five field goals from 50 yards or longer during the 2025 season.
Brown set a program mark with a 56-yard field goal against Towson and holds the four longest field goals in school history. The North Carolina A&T Sports Hall of Fame Award went to women's basketball player Chaniya Clark, who finished her career with over 1,000 points and 800 rebounds, only the second Aggie ever. The Aggie Athletic Foundation award went to men's tennis player Kaua Santos, who went 14-3 as the Aggies' top singles player.
Department of Athletics Superlatives
Female Rookie Athletes of the Year: Aniya Merritt, softball
Male Rookie of the Year: Lewis Walker, men's basketball
Senior Female Athlete of the Year: Ekaterina Prokhorova, women's golf
Senior Male Athlete of the Year: Andrew Brown, football
Kayla White Female Athlete of the Year: Spirit Morgan, women's track and field
Tarik Cohen Male Athlete of the Year: Jason Holmes, men's track and field
Special Recognition Awards
AAF Award: Kaua Santos, men's tennis
North Carolina A&T Sports Hall of Fame Award: Chaniya Clark, women's basketball
SAAC Leadership Award: Santana Baker, cheerleading
Catherine Bonner Award: Olivia Dowd, women's track and field
Catherine and Micheal Simmons Leadership Award: Dr. Jeffrey Mack, Department of Liberal Studies
Community Service Teams of the Year: Men's and Women's Track and Field
Academic Awards
Women's Athletics Director's Academic Team Award: Women's Tennis (3.77)
Men's Athletics Director's Academic Team Award: Men's Tennis (3.42)
Women's Academic Athletes of the Year
Hana El Sherif, women's tennis
Sara Giraldo, bowling
Juana Gomez Weiss, women's tennis
Danayja Harper, women's track and field
Aniya Merritt, softball
Sady Moody, women's track and field
Ryan Moore, women's track and field
Tori Mouton, women's golf
Juliana Sams, bowling
Kelis Sims, women's track and field
Daja Warren, volleyball
Men's Academic Athletes of the Year
Jason Johnson, baseball
Gabriel Linovic, men's golf
Anton McPhatter, cheerleading
Team Awards
Bowling
Rookie of the Year: Charisse Graham
Stallings Game Changer: Payton Hartgrove
Award of Excellence: Savannah Burgin
Bowler of the Year: Victorya White
The Glover Back Pin Award: Victorya White
Women's Basketball
Most Improved: Darrionna Howard
Impact Player: Chaniya Clark
Commit to Grit: Paris Locke
Newcomer of the Year: Jamiya Lindsey
Defensive Player of the Year: Chaniya Clark
Men's Basketball
Aggie Award: Efstratios Kalliontzis
Coaches Award: Chanler Montgomery
Most Improved: Mujahiid Burton
MVP: Will Felton
Cheer
Rookie of the Year: Haneef Shavers
Sportsmanship: Anya Hutchins
Coach's Award: Carter Powell & Santana Baker
Most Improved: Rockell Johnson
Most Spirited Award: Terrance Graham
MVP: Kirk Zellous, Jr.
Football
Defensive Back Award: Aaron Harris
Most Improved: DJ Page
Aggie Award: Bryson Ruddy
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Korion Sharpe
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Tim Alderman
Special Teams MVP: Andrew Brown
MVP: Elijah Kennedy
Brandon Parker Academic Achievement Award: Aaron White (mechanical engineering)
Women's Golf
Gold Standard Leadership Award: Tori Mouton
Aggie Rise Award: Ana Rodriguez-Lopez
Golfer of the Year: Ekaterina Prokhorova
Volleyball
Aggie Pride Award: Jada Hampton
Defensive Player of the Year: Lenor Polezzi
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year: Tyne Ross
Volleyball Most Valuable Player: Tyne Ross
Men's Golf
True Blue Teammate Award: Tyler Partee
Aggie Rise Award: Ignacio Zapata
Golfer of the Year: Javier Morgado
Men's Tennis
Impact Player of the Year Award: Jindrich Brill
Leadership Award: Mathieu Dussaubat
MVP: Kaua Santos
Women's Tennis
Impact Player of the Year Award: Juana Gomez Weiss
Leadership Award: Hana El Sherif
MVP: Randy Rakotoarilala
Women's Track and Field
Coach's Award: Olivia Dowd
Women's Track MVP: Makenna Urbanek
Women's Field MVP: Spirit Morgan
Men's Track and Field
Men's Coach's Award: Dyimond Walker & Dawson Grogan
Men's Track MVP: Xzaviah Taylor
Men's Field MVP: Xavier Partee
Softball
Most Improved Player: Tyra Robinson
Freshman Player of the Year: Aniya Merritt
Softball Aggie Pride Award: Tia Montgomery
Academic Impact Player: Bria Finley & Maliyah Alexander
Pitcher of the Year: Aaliyah Williams
