Big finish: seniors at the 2025 Gael Awards Show / Photo by Tod Fierner
Twentieth Annual Gael Awards Highlights Incredible 2024–25 Athletic Season
WCC Championships in Men’s Basketball and Softball. Postseason play in the NIT for Women’s Basketball. Those are just a few of the highlights. Honors for Women’s Tennis, Rowing, Cross Country/Track and Field, and more.
Saint Mary's Athletics honored the achievements and contributions by student-athletes, coaches, and volunteers on May 14 with the 20th Annual Gael Awards Show. The event hosted in the University Credit Union Pavilion highlighted the work and success of individuals and teams throughout the 2024–25 academic year—and highlighted the contributions of those on the sidelines and behind the scenes.
In a year of stellar achievements, for the second consecutive season the Gaels’ collective wins surpassed 150 across all teams. That’s just the first number we’ll highlight. Here are a few more—and, more important, here are some people who made this year so special.
Team Performance of the Year | Women’s Basketball
20-Point Comeback vs. Oregon State
It was Madness in Moraga the night of February 27 as the Saint Mary's Women's Basketball team overcame a 20-point first half deficit to defeat Oregon State 69–66. For the Gaels, it was their largest comeback win of the season. Saint Mary’s outscored the Beavers by 30 points in the second half and clamped down defensively, holding OSU to just 33% shooting and forcing 17 turnovers. Maia Jones led the team with 27 points while Kennedy Johnson went for 12 points and a team high nine rebounds.
Team Performance of the Year | Men’s Basketball
West Coast Conference Regular Season Title-Clinching Win at Gonzaga
The Gaels stormed into the Kennel for a 74–67 victory over Gonzaga in Spokane on the Bulldogs' Senior Night. It was a moment to savor; the win secured the Gaels’ third straight WCC Regular Season Title. It was also the first time that a team other than Gonzaga claimed a WCC Regular Season Title in Spokane. True freshman Mikey Lewis led the charge with 18 points on 5–7 shooting from three, while fifth-year senior Mitchell Saxen chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds. Having already defeated the Zags in Moraga four weeks prior, this was Saint Mary's first regular-season sweep of Gonzaga since the 2015–16 season, and also their first time winning three straight meetings against the Zags under Head Coach Randy Bennett.
Individual Performance of the Year | Sam Buckley
Softball at Idaho State and Utah State
Sam Buckley hit an incredible 0.846 over the Gaels’ four-game road trip to Idaho State and Utah State. The sophomore scored 11 times and drove in 15 more runs. Six of her 11 hits on the weekend were home runs, and she racked up the first three-home run game in program history, helping the Gaels to a 3–1 weekend. Buckley's batting average climbed 71 points on the weekend from an already solid 0.450 to a whopping 0.521. She had five home runs entering the weekend, but she more than doubled that total in the span of three days and four games.
Individual Performance of the Year | Eddie Madrigal
Baseball vs. LMU
Eddie Madrigal had a career season from start to finish, and he put together one of the best individual performances of the year with a pair of home runs in the team's 8–3 win over LMU in April. Madrigal recorded his first career multi-home run game, which featured a solo shot in the fifth followed by a grand slam in the sixth that gave the Gaels a seven-run lead. His two homers also gave him a career-high five RBIs in the game to lead all players. Madrigal finished the season with a couple of superlatives: 19 home runs, the most in the WCC, and 66 RBIs—eight more than the No. 2 player in the conference.
Mike Gibbons Volunteer of the Year | Olivia Watson
Rowing
Olivia Watson ’24, MA’25 was a four-year student-athlete for the Gaels and now gives generously of her time for her alma mater. She came to all practices and races this season, helping coach walk-ons, and played a large role in on-campus recruiting for the rowing team. She earned her bachelor's in Justice Community and Leadership with a Multi-Subject Teaching Credential, and this year completed a master's in education.
Common Interest Team Community Service Award | Softball
Softball led the entire SMC Athletics department in community service impact this year. They made it a priority to be model student-athletes on and off the court. Their presence was felt all over campus and the surrounding community through participation with numerous local organizations.
Highest Team GPA | Women’s Tennis
Women's Tennis was stellar both on and off the court this year as they put together a department high 3.63 team GPA. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Stefanie Silva led the team with a 3.97 GPA while majoring in Biology. Silva is one of six student-athletes from the Gaels women's tennis team to earn WCC All-Academic honors. Also earning the distinction are Madison Weekley, Juliette Daries, Iman Khan, Olivia Rook, and MiaAngelina Ruja.
Newcomer of the Year | Kelly Nelson
Rowing
Despite being just a true freshman, Kelly Nelson rowed in the two spot of the Gaels’ first varsity eight boat in every event this year. She played a big role in one of the most successful Gael rowing seasons to date, headlined by six wins in nine total races from the first varsity eight boat.
Newcomer of the Year | Zane Jackson
Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field
Zane Jackson, a transfer from Elon University, paced the Gaels in every single cross country race this season, helping lead them to a second-place finish at the USF Invitational, a win at the Pacific Invitational, and a 14th-place finish at Regionals, tied for their best in program history. On the track, Jackson has run top-10 times in program history for the 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter, and 10,000-meter races.
Todd Ogorzelec Student-Employee of the Year | Bastian Toelhoej
Facilities & Events
For Men’s Soccer, Bastian Toelhoej scored three goals and played in 16 games for the Gaels this season. He was also a standout with the Facilities & Events team in the Saint Mary's Athletics Department. Toelhoej dedicated hundreds of hours alongside Director of Events and Facilities Victor Montez, working numerous SMC athletic events throughout the year.
Bryan Vargas Gael Spirit Award | Mary Volmer
Athletics Interfaith Fellow
A constant presence for the teams in Saint Mary's Athletics—and the entire Saint Mary's Community—Mary Volmer ’01, MFA ’05 serves as the Athletics Interfaith Fellow for all 16 Gael athletic programs. She provides guidance and spiritual counsel to any student-athlete seeking it out, and she is a true asset to the entire athletic department. She is also now providing hands-on direction for Live Like You Play, a nationwide higher education initiative in sport in the service of humanity, which focuses on sport, spirituality, and character development.
Coach of the Year | Brian Ebke
Rowing
Under Coach Brian Ebke's tutelage, this year Saint Mary's Rowing experienced one of its best seasons to date. That includes wins from the top varsity eight boat in six of nine races this year, including signature victories over powerhouse programs UC San Diego and University of San Diego. Along with a strong showing by the Gaels at the WCC Championship meet on Lake Natoma in May, seniors Hathaway Scarpine and Katie Ferbet earned All-Conference First Team honors.
Athlete of the Year | Sam Buckley
Softball
Sam Buckley helped lead the Gaels to their second consecutive WCC Title this season. Before her arrival, SMC had won just two conference titles in program history. Just a sophomore, Buckley broke the single season records for home runs, runs scored, and RBI—while becoming just the fourth Gael in program history to log a batting average better than 0.400 for the entirety of a season. She also had a stellar glove at third, committing just two errors all season, good for a 0.983 fielding percentage, tied for the best of any Gael non-first baseman infielder in a single season.
Athlete of the Year | Augustas Marciulionis
Men’s Basketball
Augustus Marciulionis was named back-to-back WCC Player of the Year. He also earns recognition as the back-to-back Saint Mary's Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He guided the Gaels to their third straight WCC Regular Season Title for the first time in program history—and their fourth straight NCAA Tournament, also a program first. Marciulionis did that by averaging 14.2 points, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals (all team-highs) per game, while shooting 44.6% from the field. The senior from Lithuania broke the 1,000-point mark in his Gael career on the road against Pepperdine, and he became just the eighth Gael in program history to eclipse 200 assists in a single season.
Gael Cup | Softball
For the second straight season, Saint Mary's Softball has earned the prestigious Gael Cup. The Gael Cup tallies points from not only academic and athletic performances but also community service, sportsmanship, Galloping Gael games, WCC awards, as well as Shamrock Student-Athlete of the Week Awards. With 28 wins, their second straight WCC Title, 12 WCC Player of the Week honors, a conference best eight All-Academic honorees, and over 1,000 community service hours logged, there is no question that Softball put in the work to earn this award for back-to-back years.
George R. McKeon Scholar-Athlete Award | Jaden DeSouza
This award is named in memory of the noted Bay Area developer who built McKeon Pavilion, now known as UCU Pavilion. George R. McKeon supported the student-athlete experience both on and off the field, helping the Gaels succeed as competitors in the classroom and in their sport. It is awarded to a female student and a male student distinguished both as an outstanding athlete and scholar.
Women’s Track & Field athlete Jaden DeSouza graduates with a degree in Environmental Science—and a place in Saint Mary’s Athletics annals. A native of Kaua'i, Hawai'i, she was a virtual Swiss army knife for Saint Mary's Women's Track, competing in sprints, jumps, throws, and hurdles. She made history at San Francisco State at the West Coast Last Chance in May, setting new program records in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.40, and running the first leg of the 4x400m relay, leading the Gaels to a program record time of 3:52.89.
George R. McKeon Scholar-Athlete Award | Jack Vestberg
Jack Vestberg played four years with Men’s Soccer while earning a degree in Data Science with a minor in Computer Science. The midfielder from Stockholm, Sweden, appeared in 12 games this season, making eight starts while recording 548 minutes of action. He was named to the 2024 WCC All-Academic Team.
Ryan Barnett is Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. Evan Roehrig is Director of Communications.
