Rocko’s High Fives: June 2025

June is always a month of celebration—and this year was no exception. From graduation to the Aggie Awards, our endowment dinner, and honoring this year’s sport award recipients, we’ve closed out the academic year with incredible moments that reflect the spirit and strength of our community. A special shoutout to our outstanding Aggie ASUCD Fellows, whose leadership continues to elevate the student-athlete experience across our programs. Go Ags!” – Rocko DeLuca, Director of Athletics
 
1) Student-Athlete Spotlight | 2025 Aggie Awards
 
UC Davis Athletics celebrated its student athletes with the annual Aggie Awards, and for the second-straight year the celebration was held on the floor of the University Credit Union Center.
 
A total of 12 awards, six departmental and six voted on by the student athletes themselves, were given out on Sunday evening.
 
“SAAC was thrilled to host the second annual Aggie Awards to celebrate the incredible accomplishments from our athletes this year,” said senior Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Kayla Wolfe (equestrian). “It is always so special to have our athletes recognized for their passion, pride, and dedication to the sport and Aggie community. 
 
“Being a part of SAAC and Athletics has given me some of the most meaningful moments at UC Davis. As my time with SAAC comes to an end, I am so grateful for our amazing executives, staff, and athletes for building such a strong community and constantly raising the bar!”
 
The University Credit Union was once again transformed into a proper awards venue, complete with a “blue carpet” for fit checks, a 360-selfie booth and a large center stage to show case the many Aggie talents.
 

AWARD WINNERS –
Sarah Sumpter Perseverance Award: Kylie Jacobson (Equestrian)
Marya Welch Award (Highest Women’s Team GPA): Women’s Water Polo
Lysle Leach Award (Highest Men’s Team GPA): Men’s Basketball
W.P. Lindley Award (Top Scholar Athlete): Niko Rocak (Men’s Basketball)
Dr. Hubert Heitman Award (Female Athlete of the Year): Sam Tristan (Women’s Soccer)
Colby E. “Babe” Slate Award (Male Athlete of the Year): Lan Larison (Football)
 
STUDENT ATHLETE AWARDS –
New Aggie of the Year: Ximena Cordero Barr (Volleyball)
Aggie Pride: Brody Crouch (Men’s Water Polo)
Best Upset of the Year: Women’s Soccer vs. LSU
Best Moment of the Year: Cason Goodman’s goal against UC Santa Barbara (MSOC)
Women’s Team of the Year: Gymnastics
Men’s Team of the Year: Men’s Soccer
 
2) Stand Up Staff | Thank You Fellows

Kami Brewer-Pozzi: Proud 2023 UC Davis alumni Kami Brewer-Pozzi initially joined UC Davis athletics as a marketing intern before being offered her fellowship position in Ticket Operations. “Kami was instrumental not only in helping us achieve record setting numbers this year but was more importantly an unbelievable leader for our student workers and set a precedent for creating our positive office culture” praised Director of Marketing, Ticketing and Strategy Jack Keys. Leveling up inside the campus network, Brewer-Pozzi accepted a role with the Cal Aggie Alumni Association as a Constituent Engagement Support Specialist early in 2025.  

 

Alex Segovia: Alex Segovia found a love for the hustle in the sports industry while obtaining his master’s degree in Sport Management. Putting his knowledge to work right away, he joined UC Davis as a Ticket Sales fellow to launch his post-graduate career. “Alex made tremendous strides in his sales skills using this opportunity to take the next step in his career,” said Keys. “His efforts helped us connect with the Davis community.” In March of 2025, Segovia took a position with the San Jose Earthquakes as an Account Executive position in Group Sales.

 

Ashley Salem: After spending a year as an Athletics Communications Fellow, Ashley Salem, a former Aggie water polo player, will pursue a Creative Writing MA at the University of Nottingham while playing for their back-to-back championship winning water polo team in the United Kingdom.  “This season Ashley stepped into an important role in the communications department,” said Director of Athletic Communications David Collins. “She quickly learned new skills in a fast-paced environment, while maintaining a positive outlook every day. Her time as MC at water polo matches added to the great atmosphere at Schaal Aquatics Center and football’s home games would not have run smoothly without her hard work. We will miss her in the communications office.” 

Laura Tran: Former Aggie student athlete Laura Tran played lacrosse at UC Davis before earning her degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. Keeping close to the field, she rolled her Aggie pride into the ICA Events and Facilities fellowship position; trusted with game-day setup and operations across a multitude of sports. “We appreciate hiring former UC Davis student athletes,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director, Facilities, Operations, and Capital Projects Maggie Fenton. “Their passion for the Aggies combined with their work ethic gives an immediate boost to the organization’s culture.” 

 

Connor Marohn: Joining the UC Davis Athletics development office at the start of the 2024-25 season, Connor Marohn made an immediate impact on several different departments. Working with both external and internal pieces, Marohn spent the year building strong relationships across UC Davis athletics and the fans and alum that help the Aggies achieve athletic success. “Connor has been a great addition to the development team this year,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director, Chief Development Office Liz Gullett. “He jumped right in taking on a variety of roles to help communicate and steward our donors as well as provide support at Team Aggie events.”

 

3) Donor Impact | Endowment Dinner

 

On May 14 UC Davis athletics hosted its annual Endowment Celebration at the ARC Ballroom, a great event that brings together student athletes and the donors that have played important roles during their time at Davis.

 

This year, close to 100 donors, student-athletes, coaches and members of the senior administration were in attendance with the entire event being hosted by Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca

 

UC Davis athletics holds 76 endowments supporting grant-in-aid scholarships, programmatic needs and three coaching positions.

 

During the evening, student athletes and donors connected to share stories about how endowments and support of UC Davis athletics has impacted them positively. Providing opportunities to compete at the Division I level while also gaining an education from one of the top schools in the world.

 

Speakers during the event included Jamey Wright and Hodgens Family Director of Women’s Water Polo Kandace Waldthaler and former Aggie Jenn Thatcher O’Reilly. O’Reilly spoke about a new award her donations have gone towards, with the Jenn Thatcher ’88 Women’s Cross-Country award now available to assist future Aggies.
 
“The endowment dinner is always a special evening because it’s one of the few chances we get to connect donors directly with student-athletes,” said Gullett. “We not only use this opportunity to show how wonderful our student-athletes are to the people who support them, but we use this as an educational opportunity for our student-athletes to teach them about networking and etiquette in real time.
 
“At the end of the night, it is so great to see donors leaving feeling proud of UC Davis and the student-athletes gaining a better understanding of the support system they have around each of them.”
 
4) In The Community | 16^th Annual Art of Athletes
 
During this past quarter the Manetti Shrem Museum hosted the 16th annual showcase of “Art of Athletes”, an inspiring platform for student-athletes to display their creative talents off the fields, courts and pools of competition.
 
This year Jailen Burrell, a senior on the men’s track and field team and art major, coordinated the showcase which focused on “Athletic Aesthetics”.
 
Over 20 Aggie student athletes participated in the showcase, with over 50 art pieces being shown to friends, family and the Davis community. The pieces hammered home how talented and fully rounded Aggie student athletes are with those creative skills on full display.
 
Women’s basketball senior Mazatlan Harris has been part of the showcase for years and always looks forward to a chance to show off to others how she is more than just a basketball player. “I have a beautiful and intricate mind that expresses itself through art,” said Harris. “It makes me feel valuable and seen as more than I am.” 

Throughout the night guests were treated to a captivating array of artwork that spanned from painting and drawings to photography and videography. Each piece spoke volumes of the vision and voice of each student athlete as they put themselves and their artistic vision on display.

 

“Corn-rose was a very special piece for me,” recalls Harris. “It expresses how black hair is something that can be seen as beautiful in any form. The style, history, and pattern are beautiful.”

 

As the evening ended, student-athlete advisor Leo Lamanna expressed gratitude to the Manetti Shrem Museum for once again hosting the event while commending Burrell on his work coordinating this year’s showcase.

 

Walking out the door, attendees took with them the memories of captivating artwork but also a peek into the creative side of UC Davis student athletes.

 

5) Aggies In Competition | Total Award Numbers

 

During the 2024-25 season, UC Davis brought in many team and individual awards, sending several teams to the NCAA National Championships while earning many All-American and All-Conference honorees.

This past season UC Davis …
 
Qualified four teams for the NCAA National Championship
– Men’s Soccer
– Football
– Gymnastics
– Women’s Golf
 
The Aggies had …
 
13 All-Americans
89 Individual All-Conference winners
Three Conference Athlete of the Year Awards
10 All-Regions Athletes
Seven Individual National Championship qualifiers
One Conference Tournament team title
288 Academic All-Conference honorees
22 National Academic honorees
Eight CSC Academic All-District honorees