JMU Announces 2026 JMA Award Winners

7/21/2026 1:30:00 PM | Baseball, Field Hockey, Football, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Women's Golf, Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Cheerleading, Administration, Track & Field

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison Athletics celebrated its year of achievements both on and off the field of competition with the announcement of the 2026 JMA (James Madison Athletics) Awards.

Headlining the awards were football's Alonza Barnett III and volleyball's Kennedy Louisell, who were named the department's Male and Female Athlete of the Year. This is the second straight year Barnett was honored with JMU's Male Athlete of the Year.

The 2026 Casey Carter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors went to men's golf's Václav Tichý and women's basketball's Peyton McDaniel, as both were selected for the honor for the second straight year.

Other top honors went to Rookies of the Year in football's Sahir West and track & field's Bria Byrd while football won the Postseason Performance by a Team award and the trio of football's Wayne Knight, lacrosse's Kaitlyn Carney and women's basketball's Peyton McDaniel shared the Postseason Performance by an Individual accolade.

2026 JMA Awards
Male Athlete of the Year: Alonza Barnett III (football)
Finalists: Cliff Davis (men's basketball), Václav Tichý (men's golf)

Female Athlete of the Year: Kennedy Louisell (volleyball)
Finalists: Ginny Lackey (women's soccer), Peyton McDaniel (women's basketball)

Casey Carter Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Václav Tichý (men's golf)
Finalists: Harrison Lee (men's tennis), Morgan Suarez (football)

Casey Carter Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Peyton McDaniel (women's basketball)
Finalists: Ginny Lackey (women's soccer), Daria Munteanu (women's tennis)

Male Rookie of the Year: Sahir West (football)
Finalists: Preston Fowler (men's basketball), Tyler Lutz (baseball)

Female Rookie of the Year: Bria Byrd (track & field)
Finalists: Brooklyn Hoffmann (women's tennis), Grace McDonough (women's basketball)

Postseason Performance by a Team: Football
Finalists: Women's Basketball, Lacrosse

Postseason Performance by an Individual: Wayne Knight (football), Kaitlyn Carney (lacrosse) & Peyton McDaniel (women's basketball)

Finally, JMU announced its 2025-26 High GPA Honors to members of each class:

Freshman: Lena Dahms (women's soccer), Bridget Koller (track & field), Grayson Anne McCurdy (lacrosse), Sophia Walch (field hockey), Parker Cunningham (football), Jason Sussman (cheerleading)
Sophomore: Emily Graeca (women's soccer), Hailey Jennings (cheerleading), Damian Sancilio (men's tennis)
Junior: Sofia DeCerb (women's soccer), Harrison Lee (men's tennis)
Senior: Lauren Savage (lacrosse), Gabe Newhof (men's basketball)

In addition to the JMAs, which are determined by JMU Athletics administration, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) voted on the Dukes Choice Awards, which were distributed during an awards program at the end of the academic year. Below is a summary of the 2026 Dukes Choice Awards.

Unseen Hero Award
Presented to one non-coaching staff member of the athletic department who has gone above and beyond to positively impact the student-athlete experience. Nominated by student-athletes. The student-athlete population will participate in a collective vote to name eligible finalists. A second vote will take place where the admin team will select a winner from the top three finalists.

Winner: Dr. Roger Soenksen
Finalists: Matt Holden, Ashby Larkin
Note: Renamed to Roger Soenksen Unseen Hero Award moving forward

Hard Hat Award
Presented to the student-athlete who demonstrates commitment, integrity, and selflessness to their teammates by setting the gold standard for the team. The Hard Hat Award is presented to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the 21 ways to be a Great Teammate, as noted by Jon Gordon. Nominated by student-athletes. Awarded to one student-athlete per sport.

Baseball: Max Kuhle
Women's Basketball: Regina Walton
Cheerleading: Caroline Neely
Field Hockey: Ava Drexler-Amey
Football: Chase Pensyl
Men's Golf: Jonas DeLeon
Women's Golf: Maria Atwood
Lacrosse: Jordan Peterson
Men's Soccer: Luis Fuentes
Women's Soccer: Jordan Yang
Softball: Bella Henzler
Swimming & Diving: Maddy Coombs
Men's Tennis: Damian Sancilio
Women's Tennis: Sophie Williams
Track & Field/Cross Country: Esther Saint-Germain
Volleyball: Kennedy Louisell

Dukes Leader Award (2)
Presented to two student-athletes who embody the spirit of the student-athlete development program through their commitment to career readiness, community service, human development, and leadership enhancement. It is presented to the individuals who champion our credo: EQUIP. ENGAGE. EMPOWER.

Winners: Ryan Morgan (men's tennis), Carsen Sanders (softball)
Finalists: Cameron Arnold (men's soccer), Zach Greenberg (football), Amber Mackiewicz (women's golf), Julie Narleski (field hockey)

Gold Star Award (2)
Presented to two student-athletes who have demonstrated commitment to the pursuit of academic excellence through grit, tenacity, and effective utilization of Student-Athlete Services (SAS) resources. Eligible students are those nominated for Scholar-Athlete of the Month by their advisors in the past academic year. Student-athletes should have utilized SAS and campus resources such as advising meetings, tutoring, office hours, etc. and demonstrated that they understand the effort and attitude required to be successful in the classroom and in life. Students should have grown academically and personally throughout the past year – this award is not based on a specific GPA range but is meant to recognize a student who has put in effort and hard work to make meaningful academic and personal progress.

Winners: Smith Halloran (men's soccer), Skyler Brown (field hockey)
Finalists: Cliff Davis (men's basketball), Jeremiah Harrison (football), Morgan Mesaros (softball), Sky Bleu Tyson (track & field)

Iron Duke Award (2)
Presented to two student-athletes for outstanding performance and commitment to optimum strength and conditioning. It is presented to finalists who are hardworking, consistent, mentally and physically tough, and a model for fellow teammates to emulate. Nominated by student-athletes and selected by Strength & Conditioning Staff.

Winners: Ike Schmidly (baseball), Peyton McDaniel (women's basketball)
Finalists: Grant Kroodsma (men's tennis), Cooper Noseworthy (men's soccer), Joey Degl (lacrosse), Kirsten Fleet (softball)

Servant Leader Award (2)
Presented to two student-athletes who have served numerous hours of community service and have made a significant contribution to the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County communities. Nominated by Dukes Lead Staff; Helper Helper hours May 1-April 30.

Winners: Jenna Massar (cheerleading), Ryan Walsh (men's soccer)
Finalists: Morgan Mesaros (softball), Julie Narleski (field hockey), Chris Khazmo (cheerleading), Jason Sussman (cheerleading)

Team Community Service Award
Presented to a team who best exemplifies servant leadership by performing numerous hours of community service and has made a significant contribution to the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County communities. Nominated by Dukes Lead Staff; Helper Helper Team Impact Score May 1-April 30.

Winner: Women's Golf
Finalists: Cheerleading, Softball

SAAC Rep of the Year
Presented to a representative of the student-athlete advisory committee who best served as the voice of the JMU student-athletes. SAAC is a leadership group consisting of student-athletes representing all teams that meet throughout the year to positively impact the student-athlete experience. This award is only eligible for current representatives and chair members on roster. The co-president roles and trainees are not eligible for this award. Nominated by the current roster of SAAC representatives and trainees, representatives may not vote for themselves.

Winner: Bree Robinson (women's basketball)
Finalists: Lila Harlock (field hockey), Carsen Sanders (softball)

Comeback of the Year
Presented to one student-athlete who overcame adversity or hardship to persevere in their respected sport. Nominated by student-athletes and selected by Sports Medicine. Student-athlete should have made a comeback in their respective sport during the awarding year. Consider nominating a student-athlete who has successfully re-emerged to excel in competition.

Winner: Bella Henzler (softball)
Finalists: Madelief Molier (field hockey), Emily Simkin (lacrosse)

One Team Award
Presented to the sport program that exemplifies the spirit of unity, collaboration, and collective engagement across all facets of the student-athlete experience. The One Team Award recognizes the program that demonstrates outstanding participation in Student-Athlete Development programming, community service initiatives, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) meetings, and Dukes Support Dukes events. This award celebrates the team that lives out the "One Team" mentality - where every member contributes to a culture of connection, leadership, and pride in being a Duke. Based on cumulative engagement in Dukes Lead programming, community service hours (Helper Helper), SAAC attendance, and Dukes Support Dukes event participation from May 1–April 30. Point system tracking takes place during each SAAC meeting.

Winner: Women's Golf
Finalists: Field Hockey, Football, Women's Soccer

Purple & Gold Award
The Purple & Gold Award is the Athletic Department's highest honor given at the Dukes' Choice Awards. It is presented to the student-athlete who embodies success across athletics, academics, service, overall engagement, and embodies the true definition of a Duke. This award winner possesses dedication, teamwork, and selflessness that is valued and celebrated by JMU Athletics.