SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State Department of Athletics gathered for the annual Student-Athlete Awards Banquet on Monday evening at the Student Life Events Center.
Jamil Sheared served as emcee and highlighted the Gators' accomplishments for the 2025-26 season. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President
Brayden Concepcion (men's wrestling) further discussed his fellow student-athletes accomplishments and also announced the SAAC leadership for the upcoming season. Director of Athletics
Brandon Davis and Dr. Frederick Smith, the Associate Vice President, Equity and Community Inclusion both gave remarks as well.
Jamil Sheared served as emcee to recognize the student-athletes who earned national, regional, and conference honors; then welcomed the program's head coaches to the stage to give out their team awards.
In addition to the
team awards presented per team and individual student-athletes honored, women's volleyball was named team of the year for a third consecutive season after advancing to the CCAA Tournament Championship match.
The night was capped off by welcoming graduating student-athletes to the stage, where they were presented with student-athlete sashes to be worn at commencement, which will take place at Oracle Park on Thursday, May 21.
Volleyball's Melanie Hewlett finished the season with 958 assists on the season, most in the CCAA. Her 9.23 assists per set ranked second in the conference. She earned All-CCAA Honorable Mention and was named to the CCAA All-tournament Team.
On the men's side, Men's Basketball's Miles Pollard played in every game and made eight starts. He averaged 9.2 points per game and finished second on the team with 257 points.
Women's Basketball's Athena Brombacher was the only athlete to play and start every game of the season. She averaged 11 points per game and 5.9 rebounds, both ranked in the top 15 of the CCAA. She was named CCAA Honorable Mention at the end of the season.
On the men's side, cross country and track & field athlete Caleb Bouwens was the top Gator finisher in three meets this fall. He ran countless personal best times in the track season and had the second-best time in the 1500m and 5000m on the team. He was awarded with the Mike Fanelli Scholarship for his hard work this season.
The Varsity Award recognizes student-athletes who have spent all four years of their collegiate career at San Francisco State. On the women's side, volleyball athlete Tamiya Wilson caps off on of the most impressive careers in SF State history. He long list of accolades includes: All-CCAA Second Team and Three-time All-CCAA First Team, CCAA Freshman of the Year, Two-Time D2CCA All-West Region Second Team, AVCA West Region Honorable Mention, AVCA West Region First Team, Two time AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, NCAA Championship tournament team in 2024 and All-CCAA Tournament team in 2025. From leading the Gators to their best season in program history to breaking the program kills record, there is no shortage of accomplishments by this player.
Wrestler Brayden Concepcion was a four-year member of the team and earned NWCA Division II Scholar All-American Honors the past three seasons. He has grown as a leader on campus, starting as the SAAC Social Media Chair and moving up to SAAC President. He has represented the Gators in several leadership forums including the APPLE Institute training and NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum. He was awarded an Alli Award for all his hard work with SAAC.
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CCAA Hal Charnofsky Award |
The CCAA Hal Charnofsky Memorial Award recognizes CCAA student-athletes who distinguished themselves in the classroom and their sport.
Softball player Ashley Rocha was an All-CCAA First Team selection, led the team in hits and batting average. This Gator's batting average of .434 in conference was the third best in the CCAA. Her 18 stolen bases were both third on the team and in the conference. Academically, this athlete is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and has a 3.75 GPA.
On the men's side, Milandev Chatha played in every game but one and made 19 starts. He averaged 9.6 points per game and scored a season high 21 points against Stanislaus State. Academically, he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and has a cumulative GPA of 3.82. He earned CSC Academic All-District for his effort in the classroom.
The Arete Award is given to a student-athlete who has earned a 3.0 or higher grade point average at SF State, completed an average of 12 units per semester, performed community service and also had an outstanding career in his/her respective sport.
Softball's Shaunessy Cardwell made an impact to her team both on and off the field. She was a key member of their 2025 CCAA Tournament Team. She finished her senior season strong and earned CCAA Honorable Mention. Her 17 doubles tied for third most in a single season and her 29 walks tied for fourth most. Off the field, she attended the Apple Institute Leadership training and earned an Alli Award for hear leadership.
On the men's side, a wrestler took home this honor for a third straight season. Kydyn Lima kicked off his season with a win in his weight class in the Mat Cat Open. He became the first Gator to win back-to-back MPSF titles and earned All-MPSF Honors. At the end of the season, he was named the MPSF Wrestler of the Year. He punched his ticket to Nationals with a third-place finish at Super Regionals. At Nationals, he won three straight matches to earn All-American status and finished sixth overall.
Aidan Goodrich stepped up on the court this past season to lead the Gators and was the team leader in points per set and kills per set. She helped lead the Gators to their first CCAA Tournament Championship match and was named to the CCAA All-Tournament Team. Her end of season accolades includes All-CCAA First Team, AVCA West Region Honorable Mention and AVCA All-American Honorable mention.
Women's Soccer
Defensive MVP –Journey Hett
Offensive MVP – Kira Kuramoto
Golden Gator – Natalia Maciel
Men's Cross Country
John Moreno Award – Caleb Bouwens
Golden Gator – Dominic Clima
Women's Cross Country
Jodi Dailey Award – Raven Nieto
Golden Gator – Julia Pioroda
Volleyball
Freshman of the Year - Melanie Hewlett
Golden Gators – Drew deGuzman, Tamiya Wilson
Women's Basketball
Freshman of the Year - Samantha Myhr
Newcomer of the Year - Athena Brombacher
Golden Gator – Geriah Bradley
Men's Basketball
Most Improved: Evan McKnight
Toughness Award: Bricen Buciak
Golden Gator – Markees Williams
Wrestling
Outstanding Leadership: Kyle Botelho
Most Valuable Wrestler – Kydyn Lima
Golden Gator – Basil Othman
Men's Track & Field
Track Athlete –
Jesus Aguilar
Mancathlete Champion –
Caleb Bouwens
Mancathlete Champion –
Muhamad Izaan Muhamad Imtiaaz
Golden Gator –
Ty McCormick
Women's Track & Field
Shecathlon World Champion –
Anika Pettinger
Track Athlete –
Raven Nieto
Golden Gators –
Steevie Ruiz
Softball
Offensive MVP –
Ashley Rocha
Defensive MVP –
Shaunessy Cardwell
Golden Gators –
Marissa Jordan
