The University of Louisville athletics department celebrated the successes of its student-athletes and teams in a virtual broadcast of the seventh-annual Louies Student Awards Show Thursday.
Check out the highlights here.
Hosts Celene Funke (softball), Jazmine Jones (women’s basketball) and Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble” joined master of ceremonies Sean Moth via video as the show aired on Facebook and Twitter.
The adidas High Performance Athlete of the Year, the top athletic honor of the evening, was presented to Dana Evans (women’s basketball) and Reid Detmers (baseball).
Following a breakout junior season, Evans became just the third player in program history to be named a WBCA Coaches’ All-America selection. She was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Academic Team, and All-ACC Tournament Team after pacing the league in 3-point field goals made (90), 3-point field goal percentage (43.1%) and free throw percentage (89.0%). She scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games played and ranked third in the ACC with 18.0 points per game. The Gary, Indiana-native, helped lead the Cardinals to a 28-4 record and the program’s first ever outright ACC regular season championship.
Detmers (Chatham, Ill.), earned the honor for his performance in the 2019 season. As a sophomore, the 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year registered one of the best seasons in program history. The left-hander went 13-4 with a 2.78 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 113.1 innings, setting Louisville’s single-season record for strikeouts and tying the mark for wins. Detmers earned All-American recognition by six different services and was a Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Award semifinalist.
The L1C4 Award, one of the highest honors of the evening, was delivered to football’s Blanton Creque. The accolade is given to a student-athlete who exemplifies the meaning of the athletic department’s culture, humble and hungry. The individual sets the standard by achieving for being ‘Louisville First’ by excelling in the classroom, in the community, and in athletic competition.
Creque (Shelbyville), was one of the football team’s top leaders and most consistent players before suffering a career-ending injury against Virginia. The fifth-year kicker was an ACC honorable mention in 2017 and finished his career ranked third on Louisville’s all-time list in points scored with 310 and third in school history with 51 made field goals. In 2019, he went 8-of-11 in field goals and was 33-for-33 in extra points prior to tearing his ACL on October 26. Creque responded by becoming an emotional leader for the team and continued to lead off the field with his community service efforts while serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Executive Council.
Swimming’s Nick Albiero was honored for best Record-Breaking Performance. Albiero (Louisville), recorded the fastest time in the nation in the 200 butterfly with his winning time of 1:38.65 at the ACC Championships to defend his title. He lowered his own ACC meet record in the event. The junior also won the 100 butterfly at the ACC Championships with a new pool record time of 44.83, also breaking his own record.
Football’s Tutu Atwell garnered the Breakthrough Athlete Award, presented to a student-athlete declared to have made the best or most significant improvement in his or her sport in a given year. As a sophomore, the Miami, Florida, native earned first team All-ACC honors and was a Pro Football Focus first team All-American after leading the ACC in receiving touchdowns and tying a school record. He paced the team with 70 receptions for a school record 1,275 yards.
Volleyball delivered the Best Moment of the Year when the unranked Cardinals upset No. 2 Texas 3-2 in the Regional Semifinal to advance to the Regional Final for the first time in program history. It marked Texas’s worst NCAA Tournament showing since 2005 and snapped the Longhorns’ 36-match home winning streak.
Swimming’s Andrej Bama was named the Comeback Athlete of the Year. The senior from Subotica, Serbia underwent surgery and treatment for cancer and missed the first semester of competition with the Cardinals last fall. He returned this January and finished third in the 100 freestyle at the ACC Championships and also placed eighth in the 50 freestyle and 10th in the 200 freestyle. Bama was a member of the Cardinals’ gold medal 400 medley relay team and silver medal 200 freestyle relay/400 freestyle relay at the ACCs. He was named as an CSCAA All-American this spring.
The UPS Leadership Award, nominated by head coaches, recognizes an athlete who combines in-game performance, practice leadership, academic excellence, and ambassadorship of the program to exemplify what it means to be a Cardinal Student-Athlete. The honor went to Cody Cochran (men’s soccer) and Meghan Nay (women’s golf).
Cochran (Louisville), a former walk-on, was a team captain in 2019 and helped the Cardinals advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament. The defender started 19 games and registered a goal and two assists – including one in the double-overtime win against then-No. 2 Georgetown. Cochran earned his undergraduate degree and began pursuing his master’s in the fall.
Nay (Canton, Georgia) was a multi-faceted leader for the UofL women’s golf team. During her junior season (2019) she competed in three tournaments, shooting a career best scoring average of 76.89, nearly two shots better than her previous season best. Nay served as the communication chair on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was also among the team leaders the community volunteering 60 hours with various groups.
The Humble and Hungry Award Presented by SAAC nominees were selected by the members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) based on their positive attitude, selflessness, putting in hard work and being a great teammate. Women’s soccer’s Sarah Hernandez took home the honor. The midfielder from Moorpark, Calif., started all 20 matches and helped the Cardinals’ defense to 10 shutouts while contributing three goals, including one in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Inspiration Award was presented to the football team which finished the season with an 8-5 record, posting the top turnaround by a power 5 school of six games. The Cardinals became only the second ACC team to go from 0-8 to 5-3 in the league the following season. They capped the 2019 campaign by winning the Music City Bowl after trailing 14 in the second quarter.
The Central Cardinal Club Spirit Award was created in 2016 to highlight the dedication and support from Louisville’s spirit squads, which make hundreds of community appearances and serve as lead ambassadors for the Louisville Cardinals. Allison Doimer (pep band), Kristen Wells (cheer), and Sarah Parker (Ladybirds) each were recognized.
The lacrosse and baseball teams each collected a pair of awards, earning the female and male team honors for the Cardinal Cup and the Kentucky Farm Bureau CardsCARE Team Awards. The lacrosse team was recently recognized as the leader among Division I NCAA lacrosse teams after tabulating nearly 1,000 hours with an average of 31 hours per player. The Cards also stood third among all Division I baseball teams with the UofL squad tallying over 1,125 hours and averaging 28 per player.
The Kentucky Farm Bureau CardsCARE Individual Award went to McKenzie Kelley (Ladybirds) who logged over 140 hours with organizations including: Jefferson County Public Schools, the National Kidney Foundation, Parkland Boys & Girls Club, Coalition for the Homeless, Baptist Christian Ministry, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Girl Scouts and the Universal Dance Association.
Dwayne Sutton (men’s basketball) and Jazmine Jones (women’s basketball) garnered Ed Kallay Senior of the Year honors.
An All-ACC honorable mention selection, Sutton ranked seventh in the ACC in rebounding with 8.2 per game and was fifth in defensive rebounds (5.7). He pulled down nine or more rebounds in 15 games this season. Sutton had 10 career double-doubles and scored in double digits 34 times with the Cardinals. The hometown Louisville product scored 1,180 points in his collegiate career (772 at Louisville, 408 at UNC Asheville) and 893 career rebounds at his two schools (631 at Louisville, 272 at UNC Asheville).
Jones turned in a stellar senior season and will depart as one of the most popular players in program history after earning WBCA All-American Honorable Mention, All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Defensive team, All-ACC Academic Team and All-ACC Tournament team honors. The Tallahassee, Fla.-native, set a school record with 144 games played and is also a member of the winningest senior class in program history. She was recently selected by the New York Liberty with the 12th pick in the first round of the 2020 WNBA Draft, becoming just the fourth player in program history to be selected in the first round.
The Junior of the Year Awards went to Jordan Nwora (men’s basketball) and Mercedes Pastor (field hockey).
A consensus All-America third team selection, Nwora was the only player to rank among the ACC’s top ten in scoring (18.0 ppg, second in the ACC), rebounding (7.7, 8th), free throw percentage (.813, 4th), field goal percentage (.440, 8th) and three-pointers made per game (2.5, 2nd). The runner-up in ACC Player of the Year voting, Nwora scored in double figures in 27 games this season and on 67 occasions in his career while amassing 1,294 points in three seasons, tied for 31st in career scoring at UofL.
Pastor, was one of four finalists for the Class of 2020 Honda Sport Award for Field Hockey. During her junior season, the midfielder from Buenos, Aires, Argentina posted a career-best nine goals and 22 points while helping the Cardinals reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. She was a Longstreth/NFHCA All-America First Team and All-West Region Team selection and was named to the All-ACC first team and ACC All-Tournament team.
Sophomore of the Year honors were awarded to Matthias Schmid (men’s golf) and Makenli Forrest (track and field).
Schmid was recognized for his efforts during the 2019 season. As a sophomore, he helped the Cardinals to their 11th regional and fourth NCAA appearance with a school-record season stroke average. The native of Maxhuette, Germany led the Cardinals to the championship by tying for second in the NCAA Louisville Regional. Schmid earned the program’s highest-ever honor by being named a second team All-American and picked up PING All-Region and All-ACC first team honors along the way.
Forrest (Newman, Ga.) was also honored for her 2019 results. As a sophomore, she double-qualified for the NCAA outdoor championship in the hammer throw and discus, making three NCAA Championship appearances during her sophomore campaign, which included an NCAA runner-up finish in the weight throw. Forrest also earned second team All-ACC honors in the weight throw.
Louisville’s Freshman of the Year Awards went to Alex Binelas (baseball) and Aiko Jones (volleyball).
One of the top freshmen in the country in 2019, Binelas put together a debut campaign that saw him hit .291 with 14 doubles, 14 home runs and 59 RBIs on his way to Freshman All-America honors. The Oak Creek, Wis., native led the Cardinals in home runs and slugging percentage and was the first UofL freshman to hit 10 home runs in a season since Chris Dominguez in 2007.
Jones was named to the 2020 All-Texas Regional, a first for any Louisville volleyball player. The Kingston, Jamaica native scored 86.5 points in the four tournament matches, 40 more than the next Cardinal. She averaged 4.56 kills per set, notched seven aces, 21 digs and 12 blocks. The rookie was named an AVCA HM All-American and led the Cardinals in points (460), kills (382) and stood second in blocks (97). After the regular season, Jones was voted to the First Team All-ACC Squad
The full list of awards is below:
adidas High Performance Athlete of the Year
Female: Dana Evans (women’s basketball)
Male: Reid Detmers (baseball)
L1C4 Award
Blanton Creque (football)
Record-Breaking Performance
Nick Albiero (swimming and diving)
Breakthrough Athlete
Tutu Atwell (football)
Comeback Athlete of the Year
Andrej Barna (men’s swimming and diving)
Moment of the Year
Volleyball – upset No. 2 Texas to advance to Elite Eight
Inspiration Award
Football
Humble & Hungry Award Presented by SAAC
Sarah Hernandez (women’s soccer)
Kentucky Farm Bureau CardsCARE Individual Award
McKenzie Kelley (Ladybirds)
Kentucky Farm Bureau CardsCARE Team Award
Female: Lacrosse
Male: Baseball
UPS Leadership Award
Female: Meghan Nay (golf)
Male: Cody Cochran (soccer)
Central Cardinal Club Spirit Awards
Cheer: Kristen Wells
Spirit: Sarah Parker
Pep Band: Allison Doimer
Cardinal Cup Presented by L-Club Team Award
Female: Lacrosse
Male: Baseball
Freshman of the Year
Female: Aiko Jones (volleyball)
Male: Alex Binelas (baseball)
Sophomore of the Year
Female: Makenli Forrest (track & field)
Male: Mattias Schmid (golf)
Junior of the Year
Female: Mercedes Pastor (field hockey)
Male: Jordan Nwora (basketball)
Ed Kallay Senior of the Year
Female: Jazmine Jones (basketball)
Male: Dwayne Sutton (basketball)
