PRESS RELEASE: UK ATHLETICS
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 24th annual CATSPY Awards were held Monday inside Historic Memorial Coliseum to recognize athletic and academic performances during the 2025-26 year in the University of Kentucky Athletics Department. With multiple winners in some categories, 31 individuals and three teams were recognized. The 2026 CATSPY Awards cover accomplishments earned from April 2025 through April 2026.
Headlining the awards was the Team of the Year – volleyball, the national runner up and Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament winners.
Craig Skinner’s squad won its ninth-straight SEC regular-season title and claimed the newly revived SEC Tournament title to cap an undefeated run through the league. Kentucky hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Historic Memorial Coliseum and also saw sold-out crowds for its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight victories at home.
The Wildcats posted a thrilling five-set victory over Wisconsin in the Final Four to advance to their second NCAA Championship match before falling to Texas A&M.
Volleyball’s Eva Hudson won Women’s Athlete of the Year, while Braden Peiser and Carlie Makarawu won Men’s Athletes of the Year.
Hudson had an incredible season for Kentucky with a lengthy list of accomplishments, including 2025 SEC Player of the Year, 2025 SEC Newcomer of the Year, AVCA First-Team All-America and a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year. She was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team and set a school record for kills with 546.
Peiser had a record-breaking season, setting an NCAA record smallbore score and tied an NCAA record aggregate score. Peiser won the 2026 GARC Smallbore Individual Championship and was the 2026 NCAA Smallbore Individual National Champion. Peiser was named the CRCA National Shooter of the Year and was CRCA All-America First Team in all three categories.
Makarawu won two NCAA national championships in 2025, claiming the NCAA 200m Indoor Championship in March and NCAA 200m Outdoor Championship in June. The latter was claimed with a school and national record time of 19.84.
The Mr. And Miss Wildcat Awards – dedicated in honor of the late Bruno Agostinelli, a UK men’s tennis All-American and past Mr. Wildcat winner – are presented to Wildcats who have represented all-around excellence in athletics, academics, character and service during their Kentucky careers. Ty Bryant and Josh Kattus from football, Levi Sandidge from men’s swimming and diving and Makarawu were named Mr. Wildcat. Brooklyn DeLeye and Hudson from volleyball, Sofia Ceccarello from rifle, Ella Emmert from softball, Teonni Key from women’s basketball and Zoe Hammond from women’s tennis were name Miss Wildcat.
Baseball and women’s golf were the Academic Teams of the Year. Three Wildcats – Hammond, Isabella Rivelli from gymnastics and Martin Voss from rifle – earned Scholar-Athletes of the Year while maintaining impressive career grade-point averages.
Anna Flynn Cashion from gymnastics, Jordan Obi from women’s basketball and Agustin Lopez from men’s soccer earned the Blue Heart Award for overcoming injuries to return to action and make significant contributions to their teams.
Tonie Morgan from women’s basketball and Tyler Bell from baseball earned Newcomers of the Year. Grant Godfrey from football and Miles Jones from men’s track and field won Men’s Supporting Role, while Molly Berezowitz from volleyball and Amelia Hassett from women’s basketball earned Women’s Supporting Role.
In honor of 24 years of dedication to the University, student-athletes and the Big Blue Nation, retiring director of athletics Mitch Barnhart received the Heart of a Wildcat Award. Among the numerous accomplishments during his term, Barnhart has guided the Wildcats to six national championships, 64 conference regular season and tournament championships, developed hundreds of millions of dollars of facility improvements and grown UK Athletics’ graduation rate from 68 percent to 93 percent. Barnhart has kept UK prominent and influential through his leadership and service on the NCAA and SEC levels and has earned National Athletics Director of the Year honors from the SportsBusiness Journal and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
A complete list of award winners is below.
2026 CATSPY AWARD WINNERS
Academic Teams of the Year
Women’s Golf and Baseball
Blue Heart Award
Anna Flynn Cashion – Gymnastics
Jordan Obi – Women’s Basketball
Agustin Lopez – Men’s Soccer
Community Service Award
Lily DeLong – Women’s Swimming & Diving
Sharon Lee – Gymnastics
Emma Green – STUNT
Josh Kattus – Football
Malachi Moreno – Men’s Basketball
Keightley Assist Award
Lilly Francis – Athletics Communications & Public Relations
Caeleigh Bybee – STUNT Manager
Lifetime Achievement Award
Jim Madaleno – Athletic Training/Administration
Mike Lyden Courage Award
Maddy Hartley – Women’s Swimming and Diving
Scratch Award
JT Broome – Men’s Swimming and Diving
Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Zoe Hammond – Women’s Tennis
Isabella Rivelli – Gymnastics
Martin Voss – Rifle
Men’s Athlete of the Year
Carlie Makarawu – Men’s Track and Field
Braden Peiser – Rifle
Men’s Newcomer of the Year
Tyler Bell – Baseball
Men’s Supporting Role
Grant Godfrey – Football
Miles Jones – Men’s Track & Field
Women’s Athlete of the Year
Eva Hudson – Volleyball
Women’s Newcomer of the Year
Tonie Morgan – Women’s Basketball
Women’s Supporting Role
Molly Berezowitz – Volleyball
Amelia Hassett – Women’s Basketball
Team of the Year
Volleyball
Miss Wildcat
Brooklyn Deleye – Volleyball
Sofia Ceccarello – Rifle
Ella Emmert – Softball
Teonni Key – Women’s Basketball
Eva Hudson – Volleyball
Zoe Hammond – Women’s Tennis
Mr. Wildcat
Ty Bryant – Football
Josh Kattus – Football
Levi Sandidge – Men’s Swimming & Diving
Carlie Makarawu – Men’s Track & Field
Heart of a Wildcat
Mitch Barnhart – Director of Athletics
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