A Night at the Y Awards

PROVO, Utah – BYU student-athletes gathered in the Marriott Center Wednesday night to look back on a year’s worth of accomplishments and honor their peers and coaches at the annual Y Awards.

Honorees included Roni Jones-Perry of women’s volleyball and Yoeli Childs of men’s basketball as Female and Male Athlete of the Year, respectively. Heather Gneiting of women’s volleyball and Shaylee Gonzales of women’s basketball were named Female Rookies of the Year and Gabi Garcia Fernandez of men’s volleyball was named Male Rookie of the Year.

The women’s volleyball team was named Women’s Team of the Year with head coach Heather Olmstead being named Head Coach of the Year after the squad spent the majority of the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. The men’s cross country team was named Men’s Team of the Year after finishing a program-best second at the NCAA Championships.

Y Award winners were selected by votes from their fellow student-athletes. After head coaches nominated student-athletes from their teams, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council narrowed down the candidates prior to the general student-athlete voting. Award qualifications are based on competition from April 2018 to March 2019.

See below for a complete list of honorees:

Female Athlete of the Year – Roni Jones-Perry, Women’s Volleyball

National Player of the Year and Honda Award finalist, Region Player of the Year, WCC Player of the Year, All-America First Team, All-WCC, Academic All-American
Ranked No. 4 in the nation in kills per set (4.82) and points per set (5.57), No. 16 in points (585), No. 23 in kills (506) and No. 45 in aces per set (.40)
Helped the Cougars to a 31-2 record, the WCC title, an NCAA Final Four appearance and a No. 4 final ranking

Male Athlete of the Year – Yoeli Childs, Men’s Basketball

All-Region, All-WCC First Team
Candidate for the Lute Olson (National Player of the Year), Lou Henson (Mid Major Player of the Year) and Karl Malone Awards (National Power Forward of the Year)
Ranked #1 in the WCC in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles and is top 10 in the nation in double-doubles

Female Rookie of the Year – Heather Gneiting, Women’s Volleyball

National Freshman of the Year, All-America Third Team, Region Freshman of the Year, WCC Freshman of the Year
Ranked No. 10 in the nation in blocks per set (1.50), No. 18 in total blocks (159) and No. 23 in hitting percentage (.380)
Helped the Cougars to a 31-2 record, the WCC title, an NCAA Final Four appearance and a No. 4 final ranking

Female Rookie of the Year – Shaylee Gonzales, Women’s Basketball

WCC Newcomer of the Year, All-WCC First Team
Fourth in the WCC in points per game (16.3) and sixth in steals per game (2.00)
Helped BYU win the WCC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament

Male Rookie of the Year – Gabi Garcia Fernandez, Men’s Volleyball

National Newcomer of the Year, All-America Second Team, MPSF Freshman of the Year
Finished 12th in the nation in aces per set (.46), 14th in points per set (4.36) and 22nd in kills per set (3.49)
Helped BYU win the MPSF title and reach the NCAA Final Four

Comeback Athlete of the Year – Erica Birk-Jarvis, Women’s Cross Country

Gave birth to a son in late Dec. 2017
2018 First Team All-American, WCC Runner of the Year, All-Region, All-WCC First Team
Helped team to WCC championship and ninth-place finish at NCAAs; finished 7th individually

Walk-on of the Year – Caitlin Alldredge, Women’s Basketball

Four-year starter on the softball team and 2017 WCC Player of the Year, now a walk-on with the women’s basketball team in her final year of eligibility
Made strong defensive play on the final play of the game in the Cougars’ first upset win over Gonzaga
Helped BYU win the WCC Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament

Female Crowd Pleaser – Shannon Evans, Gymnastics

All-America Second Team after finishing 7th on uneven bars at the 2018 NCAA Championships; MRGC All-Around Champion, MRGC First Team on bars and floor
Helped team to 2018 NCAA Regional where they scored 196.300, the highest regional score in program history
Helped team finish No. 17 nationally in 2018

Male Crowd Pleaser – TJ Haws, Men’s Basketball

All-WCC Second Team, Academic All-District First Team
Starter in all 31 games averaging 18.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.13 assists and 1.16 steals
Helped BYU finish tied for second in the WCC regular season

Lu Wallace Outstanding Senior Female Athlete Award – Lyndie Haddock Eppich, Women’s Volleyball

AVCA All-America First Team, All-Region, All-WCC, CoSIDA Academic All-District
Only setter in the country to average at least .80 kills per set, 11.00 assists per set, 2.5 digs per set and .90 blocks per set
Helped the Cougars to a 31-2 record, the WCC title, an NCAA Final Four appearance and a No. 4 final ranking

Ed Stein Outstanding Senior Male Athlete Award – Clayton Young, Men’s Cross Country

All-WCC Second Team after finishing 11th at the WCC Championships
Helped BYU win the WCC title and finish No. 2 in the nation, a program best
In 2018 outdoor track, All-America Second Team in 5000m and honorable mention in 10,000m

Cougar Club Memorial Award – Mary Lake, Women’s Volleyball

AVCA All-America Second Team, All-Region and All-WCC First Team, WCC Defender of the Year, CoSIDA Academic All-District
Anchored the back line of a Cougar defense that finished No. 1 in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.143)
Helped the Cougars to a 31-2 record, the WCC title, an NCAA Final Four appearance and a No. 4 final ranking

Cougar Club Memorial Award – Andrea Stapleton-Johnson, Women’s Track & Field

All-America First Team after finishing 8th in the high jump at the 2018 NCAA Outdoors
Had six first-place finishes in the high jump in 2018, including at the NCAA West Prelims
All-America First Team at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships, taking eighth

Leona Holbrook Spirit of Sport Award – Rose Huang, Women’s Golf

Won the WCC Championships by seven strokes; All-WCC First Team
Competed at the NCAA Championships, finishing 21st
Currently third in BYU history in top 10 finishes

Leona Holbrook Spirit of Sport Award – Madie Siddoway Gates, Soccer

Played in all 19 games, tallying five goals and two assists
All-District and All-WCC Academic
Helped BYU to the WCC title and the NCAA Tournament

Dale R. McCann Spirit of Sport Award – Connor McMillan, Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field

All-America Second Team in 10,000m and honorable mention in 5,000m
All-America, All-Region, All-WCC First Team in cross country
Helped BYU win the WCC title and take No. 2 in the nation in the 2018 cross country

Floyd Johnson Service Award – Ellie Brinton, Women’s Swimming & Diving