DENVER – The Roadrunners wrapped their 2024-25 athletic season as the Metropolitan State University of Denver athletics department recognized the best of the best of the past year with its annual Rowdy Awards.

The MSU Denver Team of the Year, based on a combination of academics, athletics, community service and student-athlete support, went to the softball team, who currently leads the RMAC standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season with a 37-11 overall record. 

The team Community Service Award went to women's volleyball, with an average of 23 hours per volunteer.

Among the awards were the department's senior athletes of the year. For the men, the award went to basketball player Caleb McGill, while the women's winner is volleyball player Riley Anderson.    

Other awards, which were based upon fan voting, included: top performance, Riley Anderson, volleyball, earned 2024 RMAC Championship Tournament MVP; best defensive play or performance, Natalie Romero, softball, currently has the second best ERA in the RMAC with 15 complete games; newcomer of the year Alyssa Boyte, volleyball; Rowdy Award (dedicated to everything it means to represent the Roadrunners on and off the field of competition), softball player Jaden Geist.

Awards from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee were:

Clutch Gene: Men's soccer player Luke Bone
Don't Count Me Out: Softball player Jenna Medhus

Each year, MSU Denver recognizes its top academic male and female in the junior and senior classes. They are seniors Abbie McCrimmon (women's volleyball) and Brooks Rasmussen (baseball), and juniors Kryssa Moerman (women's volleyball) and Shawn Mantey (men's soccer).

Teams recognized for the best fall GPAs were: baseball (3.43) and women's volleyball (3.79).

The CADRE Aware is presented to a Roadrunner student-athlete who has embodied the core values of MSU Denver – Community, Access, Diversity, Respect, Entrepreneurship (CADRE) – over the past year. The values can be shown in any number of ways, including community service, student engagement, and campus participation. This year's CADRE Award winners are Marco Jalalian (men's tennis) and Mackenzie Carpenter (women's golf).

Other awards included:

The Friot Award – Every year, MSU Denver recognizes an outstanding faculty member who goes above and beyond to serve athletics on campus. This year's winner: Dr. Jay Martyn

The Arcese Award – In 1999, the athletic department established an award to annually recognize an MSU Denver staff member or administrator outstanding contributions to Roadrunners athletics. This year's winner: Jim Carpenter

The Middlemist Award – This new award goes is named for Dr. George Middlemist, who contributed in many ways to the success of the Roadrunners. The inaugural award goes to a person who has been involved with MSU Denver for more than 20 years and helped athletes return to the field from injury. The winner is: Brad Caplan