HARRISONBURG, Va. – EMU Athletics held its annual Athletics Awards Ceremony on Monday, April 21, celebrating and recognizing the accomplishments of our student-athletes and teams during the 2024-25 academic year. Over the next few days, we will recap each of the major award winners.
The Athlete of the Year Award is given to the male and female athlete with the most outstanding athletic achievement in the current academic year. Student-athletes also had to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 or higher to be eligible. Read on to learn more about this year's winners:
Male Athlete of the Year: Andre Mills (Men's Volleyball)
Mills, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had arguably one of the best offensive seasons in the ODAC. The RS finished the season first in the conference with 370 kills and 3.43 K/S, which was 49th best in all of Division III. Three times he eclipsed 20+ kills in a match, including an ODAC-high 28 kills in a five set win over Marymount on March 22. Mills was also tops in the conference with 448.5 points, 53 points ahead of the next closest player. He was the ODAC leader with 4.15 points/set. Mills also finished the season fourth in the ODAC with 0.32 service aces/set. Defensively, Mills was second on the team, and 11th in the ODAC, with 0.73 blocks/set.
"He's very competitive and leads by working hard, pushing everyone to do their best" said MVB Head Coach Omar Hoyos. "He bring a lot of energy and competitive spirit and is a really good teammate. He's been a very good leader for such a young team."
Female Athlete of the Year: Meaghan Dean (Softball)
Dean's first-year at EMU was a good one. The sophomore transfer from Madison, Va. finished the season ranked near the top of the ODAC in most major statistical categories. Her .437 average led the Royals and was fourth overall in the conference. She was third in the ODAC in hits, with 55 and was the ODAC leader in home runs with six. From the #3 spot in the order, she drove in 25 runs, good enough for 10th in the conference. She was second in total bases (82), second in OPS (1.122) and third in slugging percentage (.651). Dean had nine doubles, and struck out just four times in 126 at bats. In the field, she was seventh in the ODAC with 167 put-outs and made just two errors with a .988 fielding percentage from her spot at first base.
"Meaghan is a softball player that leads by example," said Head Softball Coach JD McCurdy. "She always has a great attitude. She's humble, competitive, accountable and a great teammate. Meaghan checks all the boxes for what a coach is looking for and this award is well deserved."
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