BYU Athletics celebrated the annual Y Awards this morning in a special one-hour broadcast on BYUtv’s Sports Nation.
Here is the complete list of Y Award Winners:
Female Athlete of the Year – Whittni Orton (Track & Field)
– 2019 All-American and WCC Cross Country Champion
– Broke school indoor mile, 3000m, 5000m and DMR records
– Helped BYU to second place at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships and a WCC title
Male Athlete of the Year – Clayton Young (Cross Country)
– National Champion in the 10,000 meters
– Also earned first-team All-American honors, finishing sixth in the 5,000m
– Helped BYU finish 8th at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships
Female Rookie of the Year – Whitney Bower (Women’s Volleyball)
– All-America honorable mention and All-WCC First Team
– Finished in the top 10 in seven BYU freshman record categories
– Helped BYU to a 26-5 record and No. 17 final national ranking
Male Rookie of the Year – Davide Gardini (Men’s Volleyball)
– MPSF Freshman of the Year and All-MPSF honoree
– Started every match, finishing second on the team in kills, digs and aces
– Helped BYU to a 13-12 record in 2019
Comeback Athlete of the Year – McKenna Miller (Women’s Volleyball)
– Returned back to the court nine months after tearing her ACL
– Earned All-America and WCC Player of the Year honors
– Helped BYU to a 26-5 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Walk-on of the Year – Justin Sterner (Baseball)
– Led the team with an 8-3 record and 71 strikeouts in 15 appearances
– Had a 2.92 ERA as BYU had its lowest team ERA in 35 years
– Helped BYU win the WCC regular season title and rank in the Top 25
Female Crowd Pleaser – Mary Lake (Women’s Volleyball)
– 2019 U.S. National Team member, All-American and WCC Libero of the Year
– Broke BYU’s all-time digs record and finished seventh in aces in the rally era
– Helped BYU to a 26-5 record and a No. 17 final national ranking
Male Crowd Pleaser – Gabi Garcia Fernandez (Volleyball)
– AVCA All-America Second Team
– Led the team with 390 kills, 136 digs and 32 aces
– Helped BYU to a 13-12 record and fifth place in conference
Lu Wallace Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award – Elise Flake (Women’s Soccer)
– All-America First Team, All-WCC First Team and a Hermann Trophy semifinalist
– Led the team with 20 goals, becoming just the second BYU player to score 20 in a season
– Helped BYU to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, the WCC championship and a No. 5 final national ranking
Ed Stein Outstanding Senior Male Athlete Award – Brock Hale (Baseball)
– WCC Player of the Year and All-Region selection
– Led the team with a .330 batting average and 67 hits, including 14 doubles and 11 home runs
– Helped BYU win the WCC regular season title and rank in the Top 25
Cougar Club Memorial Award – Kennedy Eschenberg (Women’s Volleyball)
– Elementary education major with a 3.83 GPA
– All-Region honorable mention, All-WCC First Team, Academic All-District
– Helped BYU finish No. 17 in the nation and reach the NCAA Second Round
Cougar Club Memorial Award – Matt Owens (Track & Field)
– Exercise and wellness major with a 3.96 GPA
– Took third in the mile at the MPSF Championships and ran a leg of the DMR that qualified for Nationals in indoor track
– Helped team win the MPSF title and get set for a solid showing at nationals before it was canceled
Leona Holbrook Spirit of Sport Award – Sabrina Davis (Women’s Soccer)
– 2019 All-Region Second Team
– Allowed just 15 goals all season with 14 shutouts in 23 games
– Helped BYU to the 2019 NCAA Quarterfinals, the WCC championship and a No. 5 final national ranking
Dale R. McCann Spirit of Sport Award – TJ Haws (Men’s Basketball)
– All-WCC First Team and Academic All-American
– Second in assists, third in 3-pointers, seventh in scoring and eighth in steals all-time at BYU
– Helped BYU to a 24-8 record and No. 18 final national ranking
Floyd Johnson Service Award – Makayla Cazier (Women’s Swimming & Diving)
Kimball Memorial Award (Highest GPA) – Miki Jauhiainen (Men’s Volleyball)
Coach of the Year — Ed Eyestone (Track & Field, Cross Country)
Assistant Coach of the Year — Brent Anderson (Women’s Soccer)
Men’s Team of the Year — Cross Country
Women’s Team of the Year — Cross Country and Soccer
The annual Y Awards are voted on by BYU student-athletes and honor the best performances in BYU Athletics between April 2019 and March 2020.
