Wake Forest Athletics to Celebrate Historic Awards For Successful 2021-22 Season

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Concluding a memorable 2021-22 for Demon Deacon student-athletes, teams and coaches, Wake Forest Athletics this week (July 26-29) will announce the winners for the following honors: Female Rookie of the Year, Male Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Highlight of the Year, the Arnold Palmer Award (Male Athlete of the Year) and the Marge Crisp Award (Female Athlete of the Year).

Check @DemonDeacons on Twitter and Instagram throughout the week

The nominees for each category are as follows:

Female Rookie of the Year

Kalani Whillock – Volleyball
- Had a standout first-year campaign for the Deacs, starting in all 29 matches while playing in 103 of 104 sets
- Tied for the ACC lead in digs per set (4.19)
- Tallied a team-best 432 digs that placed second in the conference
- Registered 20 or more digs on five different occasions during the fall
Carolina Chacarra - Women's Golf
- ACC Freshman of the Year
- First freshman to win multiple events since 1991-92
  - Won two individual titles (UCF Challenge and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate)
- Shot second-lowest 54-hole score in NCAA history and lowest 54-hole score in Wake Forest history at UCF Challenge (19 under par 197)
- Shot lowest 18-hole score in WF program history at UCF Challenge (10 under par 62)
- Finished second on the team with a 71.79 stroke average
Brooke McCusker- Field Hockey
- NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad Selection
- Finished sixth on the squad with eight points (three goals and two assists)
- Scored her first career goal in her collegiate debut in the season opener against Iowa
- Tallied a goal and assist for a career-high three points in a 4-1 victory over Richmond
- Trained with the Canadian National Team in the offseason
Nikayla Small - Women's Soccer
- Was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI Second Team
- Finished the season ranked as the No. 16-ranked freshman in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer
- Finished the season with seven points on five assists and one goal
- Was selected to the Canada's Women's National Team's roster for the 2022 Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship

Male Rookie Of The Year

Jasheen Davis - Football
- Earned Freshman All-America honors from The Athletic
- Finished the year fourth on the team in tackles for loss with 7.5 on the season
- Registered 4.5 sacks including 1.5 sacks in a breakout performance to start the year against Old Dominion
  - For his efforts against the Monarchs in the opening week victory, Davis earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors
  - In week one, led the Demon Deacons in tackles (nine), tackles for loss (2.5) and sacks (1.5). He also became the first freshman in the Dave Clawson era with 1.5 or more sacks in a single game
  - According to Pro Football Focus, Davis had the highest rating (76.2) for an ACC edge defender in Week 1
DeVonte Gordon - Football
- Was named to the Freshman All-America Team, as announced by the Maxwell Football Club
- Helped Wake Forest break it's all-time scoring record for a single season
- Started every game for the Deacs at right tackle
  - Finished the season with a 70.9 rating according to Pro Football Focus, ranking ninth in the nation among his draft class while playing over 200 snaps more than any other player ranked ahead of him
Nick Kurtz- Baseball
- 2022 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
- 2022 Third Team All-ACC
- 2022 All-Freshman Team
- Tied the program freshman runs scored record (65)
- Finished in the top 10 in home runs (tied for second), walks (second), RBIs (tied for second) and doubles (tied for ninth) by a Demon Deacon rookie
- Finished second on team with 48 walks, a .637 slugging percentage and a .471 on-base percentage
- Finished third in home runs (15) and fourth with a .338 batting average and 130 bases
- Led the ACC with a .422 batting average and .548 on-base percentage in conference play
- Also posted the second-highest OPS (1.254) and fifth-highest slugging percentage (.706) against ACC foes
- Became the first Wake Forest batter since 2005 to record six hits in a game
  - Ranks as the second most hits in program history and the most by a Wake Forest freshman ever
Tommy Hawke- Baseball
- 2022 All-Freshman Team
- Led Wake Forest in batting average (.380), which ranks fourth all-time by a Wake Forest freshman.
- Led the team with a .502 on-base percentage (.502)
- Finished the regular season with the second-highest batting average (.406) and on-base percentage (.525) in conference play
- Led team with seven stolen bases

Coach Of The Year

Dave Clawson – Football
- Led the Demon Deacons to the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division title and the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Championship.
- Wake Forest recorded a program-record tying 11-3 record, which included a school-best 7-1 mark in ACC play, Clawson was named the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year by the ACC and the Associated Press.
- Nationally in 2021, Clawson was a semifinalist for George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant and Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year awards
- After reaching a program record sixth-straight bowl game in 2021 and defeating Big Ten foe Rutgers in the 77th annual TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, 38-10, inside TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Wake Forest has the second-longest bowl streak in the ACC, trailing just Clemson, and Clawson owns the school record for bowl victories with four (2016 Military Bowl, 2017 Belk Bowl, 2018 Birmingham Bowl, 2021 Gator Bowl)
- The Deacs are 15-2 at home since the start of the 2019 season and the current nine-game win streak is tied for the 10th longest in FBS entering the 2022 season
- Following the success in 2021, Clawson is the only active Division I head coach to win four conference championships in four different Division I leagues. Overall, he has compiled an impressive 141 wins in his head coaching career, which ranks 15th amongst active FBS head coaches
Steve Forbes – Men's Basketball
- Was named ACC Coach of the Year, become the first Wake Forest coach to earn the honor since Skip Prosser in 2003
- AP ACC Coach of the Year
- Guided the largest ACC turnaround in the history of the league
  - 10 games - 3 in 2021, 13 in 2022
  - tied the single-season program record for ACC wins with 13
- Was also one of the largest year-to-year turnarounds ever in NCAA History
  - 19 games - 6 in 2020-21, 25 in 2021-22
- Most home wins in program history (18)
- Won 25 games for the fifth time in program history, and first time since 2004-05
- Named Finalist for Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award
- Named Semifinalist for Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy Men's Coach of the Year award
- Wake Forest's nine conference victories by 15 or more points this season lead the conference and were the most by an ACC team since Virginia also won nine ACC contests by at least 15 points in 2018-19
Kim Lewellen – Women's Golf
- Named ACC Coach of the Year
- Won second ACC title in a four-year span
- Guided the Deacs to NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year
- Won the most titles in a single season in WF women's golf history
  - Five team titles in 2021-22
Jerry Haas – Men's Golf
- Captured ACC-best 19th conference title in program history, defeating No. 4 North Carolina and No. 11 Georgia Tech in match play
- Won the NCAA New Haven Regional to punch its ticket to Scottsdale, Ariz., setting a program record for an NCAA Regional shooting 26-under-par
- For the 47th time in program history, the Wake Forest men's golf team qualified for the NCAA Championships
  - That mark leads the ACC and ranks 11th nationally
- Capture Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational by 14 strokes with program-record score
- Guided Michael Brennan to an All-American season, becoming the 100th All-America honor in the program's history
Tom Walter- Baseball
- Finished the season with 41 wins, the fifth most in program history
- Became the first squad since 2017 to reach 40 wins
- Increased their win total by 21 games from last season (41 wins to 21 wins), the largest year-to-year turnaround in program history
- Made the program's 14th NCAA Tournament appearance
- Ended the regular season with 39 wins, tying the 1999 Demon Deacons for the second-most regular season wins in program history.
- Finished tied for the second-most wins in the conference, while leading the ACC's Atlantic division
- Reached 30 wins in just 43 games, the fourth-fastest in program history and the fastest since 2017
- Guided Rhett Lowder to Wake Forest's first ever ACC Pitcher of the Year and Pitcher of the Year Finalist
- Guided Brendan Tinsman to tie Billy Masse's 34-year old single season home run record (24 home runs)
Tony da Luz - Women's Soccer
- Wake Forest made its 21st overall NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2021 season
- The Deacs recorded 12 shutouts, tying a program record that was previously set in 2017
- Wake Forest set a new record for most consecutive shutouts when they began the season with eight straight shutouts
- The Demon Deacons toppled Duke in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The victory was Wake Forest's highest ever ranked win as the Blue Devils were No. 2 in the national polls
- Kaitlyn Parks was the first Wake Forest player to earn All-America recognition in 10 seasons
- Parks, Shayla Smart and Jenna Menta were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Team
- Ryanne Brown was drafted 21st overall by OL Reign, while Jenna Menta was drafted 30th overall by the Racing Louisville.
- Wake Forest was joined by Stanford, USC, UCLA, Washington State, Duke, Santa Clara, Georgetown and Purdue as the only schools to have multiple picks in the 2021 NWSL draft
John Hayes - Cross Country
- Received Southeast Region Coach of the Year recognition by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
- Selected for Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year
- The Demon Deacons placed third overall in the ACC, with both junior Zach Facioni and redshirt junior Aaron Las Heras earning All-ACC honors for Cross Country
- The men's program took the team title at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships, marking the best regional finish for the program since 1993
- The Deacs capped off the cross country season by posting their best finish since 1992 with a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships

Marge Crisp Award - Female Athlete Of The Year
Marge Crisp was a true pioneer in women's athletics and her commitment and pursuit of excellence made her one of the most influential people in the history of women's athletics at Wake Forest. The Marge Crisp Athlete of the Year Award is presented annually to the Wake Forest University female athlete whose athletic achievements best represent the standards of excellence of the Wake Forest female athletic programs.

Kamryn Malloy – Volleyball
- Led the team in kills (370) and points (427.5) during her first year with the Demon Deacons
- Malloy's total mark in kills ranked ninth in the ACC, while her 4.11 points per set was sixth-best in the conference
- Finished second on the team in digs (245)
- Collected 42 blocks and played in all 104 sets, starting every match
Rachel Kuehn - Women's Golf
- ACC Player of the Year
- Won two individual titles: Tar Heel Invite and Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
- Finished inside the top 25 of all eight regular season events
- Named to the Curtis Cup Team USA for the second time
- Named to the Arnold Palmer Team USA for the third time
- Finalist for ANNIKA Award for the second time (National Player of the Year award)
- Led the team with a 71.18 stroke average
- Ranked 6th female collegiate player
- Ranked 10th female amateur in the world
Anna Brylin – Women's Tennis
- 2022 ITA Doubles All-American
- 2022 All-ACC Third Team
- 2022 ACC All-Academic Team selection
- One of three Wake Forest student-athletes to be selected as a 2022 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipient
- Teamed up with Brooke Killingsworth to become the first Demon Deacon pairing to capture the ITA All-American Championship on Oct. 10, 2021
- Was one of three players to tie for the team lead in singles victories (16) in the spring
- Ranked as high as No. 2 in the ITA Doubles alongside Killingsworth during the spring campaign
Jewel Spear - Women's Basketball
- ACC Leading Scorer in 2021-22, the first sophomore since 2011-12 to achieve that mark
- 2022 All-ACC First Team
- Tallied 90 three pointers ranking second in the ACC and was the second-most in a single-season program history
- Recorded the second-highest scoring game in program history with 40 points against ETSU on Dec. 13
  - Set the program record with 10 three-point makes against ETSU
- Went for 30-plus three times this season and 20-plus 10 times
- Posted double-figure points in all but one game she played during her sophomore season and ended the year with a streak of 20 straight games
Meike Lanckohr- Field Hockey
- NFHCA Second Team Division I All-American
- NFHCA First Team All-Region
- First Team All-ACC
- NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad Selection
- Led the team with a career-high 20 points on a personal-best nine goals and two assists
- Finished tied for second in the ACC in goals, while ranking third in points per game (1.54)
- Named ACC Offensive Player of the Week after leading Wake Forest's offensive attack with a trio of goals in back-to-back wins over top-25 opponents in No. 17 Duke and No. 21 UMass
Kaitlyn Parks - Women's Soccer
- First Wake Forest player since 2011 to earn All-America recognition and became the third to be named to the Second Team
- First player in ACC history to be announced as the Defensive Player of the Week in consecutive weeks
- Earned 14 wins with nine clean sheets, tied for the second-most in program history and 15th most in the nation
- Collected a 0.78 goals against average, giving her the third best goals against average in a single season in program history.
- Posted a .795 save percentage with 58 saves on 183 shots faced
- Parks and the Demon Deacon defense recorded 12 shutouts, tying for the most since 2017 and set a record for most consecutive shutouts when they began the season with eight
- Helped limit the opponent's offenses to a combined 17 goals, a new program record for fewest goals allowed in a single season

Arnold Palmer Award - Male Athlete Of The Year
One of Wake Forest University's most distinguished alumni, Arnold Palmer exemplified the pursuit of excellence, serving as an ambassador, role model, benefactor and friend to the Demon Deacons. Named in his honor, the Arnold Palmer Athlete of the Year Award is presented annually to the Wake Forest University male student-athlete whose athletic achievements best represent the standards of excellence of the Wake Forest male athletic programs.

Alondes Williams – Men's Basketball
- ACC Player of the Year
- AP ACC Player of the Year
- One of two players in program history to be in the top 15 in points and assists for a single season
  - 649 points ranks 7th
  - 181 assists ranks 11th
- Became the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game as he recorded 34 points on 15 makes, eight rebounds and seven assists against Charlotte.
- Became the first Wake Forest player since 2009 to log back-to-back 30-point games.
  - 36 vs VMI 12/14/21
  - 34 vs Charlotte 12/17/21
- Signed with the Brooklyn Nets on July 4
Sam Hartman - Football
- Named a finalist for the Manning Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
- Chosen as Semifinalist for Walter Camp Player of Year Award and Semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award
- Garnered Second Team All-ACC honors from the league, coaches and media
- Back-to-back ACC Quarterback of the Week (Oct. 25 and Nov. 1)
- Named MVP of the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, finishing the game with 304 yards and three touchdown passes
- His 50 total touchdowns ranked second in conference history and was just one away from tying the ACC record. Hartman threw for 4,228 yards in 2021, ranking sixth in ACC history and first in Wake Forest history
  - Additionally, he ran for 11 touchdowns, the second-most in program history by a Wake Forest quarterback
Michael Brennan - Men's Golf
- Became the 100th All-America honor in program history after being named a Second Team All-American by Golf Coaches Association of America
- Named to the Arnold Palmer Cup Team in April represented Team USA this summer
- Placed on both the Fred Haskins Award and Ben Hogan Award Watch Lists, given to the best player in collegiate golf
- Made his PGA Tour debut at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club
- Captured individual victories in back-to-back events during the fall season at the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational and the Colonial Collegiate, the second time in his career he had back-to-back tournament wins
- Had a team-best 70.30 stroke average, which ranks fifth in program history
  - Only players he finished behind in program history were Bill Haas, Will Zalatoris (2x) and Cameron Young, all who currently play on the PGA Tour
- Provided points in both the Semifinal and Final in the Demon Deacons' ACC Championship run while also tying for third during the stroke play portion of the tournament
Kyle Holcomb - Men's Soccer
- United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-American
- United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-South Region
- All-ACC First-Team
- All-ACC Academic Team
- College Soccer News Second-Team All-American
- TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Third-Team
- Finished his career ranking tied for seventh in program history in career goals (33) and ninth in career points (74)
- Led the team in goals (12) and points (28)
- His 12 goals were the most by a Demon Deacon since Omir Fernandez during the 2018 season
- Scored three-game winning goals: A double-overtime winner against Cornell (Sept. 4), one against No. 5 Virginia Tech (Oct. 16) and against Mercer (Nov. 18) in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
- Wake Forest logged a 10-1-0 record when Holcomb found the back of the net
- Drafted by Charlotte FC in the second round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft and currently plays professionally for Charleston Battery
Rhett Lowder - Baseball
- ACC Pitcher of the Year
  - Was the first Demon Deacon ever to win the award
- Unanimous All-American (third in program history)
- First Team All-ACC selection
- One of five finalists for the Pitcher of the Year Award
- Became the fifth pitcher in program history and the first since 2002 to reach 11 victories in a season
- Led the ACC in wins, while ranking second in ERA (2.61), second in innings pitched (93) and third in strikeouts (98)
- Finished as the only pitcher in the ACC to rank in the top three in wins, strikeouts and ERA
- Also ranked in the top 10 in WHIP (fourth), walks allowed per nine innings (seventh) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (seventh heading into the NCAA Tournament
- Held the lowest ERA (2.60) and pitched the most innings (65.2) in addition to the second-most victories (six) and fourth-most Ks (63) in ACC play
- Struckout 105 batters, the 10th most in a single season in program history
Eduardo Nava - Men's Tennis
- Collected his first ITA Singles All-America status by reaching the NCAA Singles Quarterfinals
- Closed out his collegiate career after finishing the year ranked No. 39 and reached the Quarterfinals in the NCAA Singles Championship
- Finished the year at 22-11 in overall singles action and was 19-10 in dual singles matches.
- Helped lead the Demon Deacons to a perfect 26-0 record on home court. Additionally, the Demon Deacons won 14 matches this season against ranked foes and made its 21st appearance in the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament
Thomas Vanoppen - Track and Field/Cross Country
- Vanoppen wrapped up an incredibly successful 2021-22 season, earning First Team All-America honors after finishing fourth in the 1500-meter final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
- He is the first Wake Forest outdoor All-American since Robert Heppenstall in 2018 and the first 1500-meter All-American since Kyle Graves in 2015, second 1500-meter All-American in school history
- First Wake Forest student-athlete to claim the ACC title in the 1500-meter event since Nathan Sisco in 2001
- Broke a school record in the outdoor 1500m event with a 3:37.65 time
- Named All-ACC First Team with a third place finish at the ACC Indoor Championships
- Owns the second-fastest indoor mile time in Wake Forest history with a 4:01.25 mark
- Owns the second-fastest indoor 3000m time in Wake Forest history with a 7.55.79 mark
- Owns the seventh-fastest time in school history in the outdoor 5000m event with a 13:53.16 mark
- Named to the Cross Country All-ACC Academic team
- Earned an All-Region finish at the Southeast Regional, finishing fifth on the team and 17th overall in 29:51.3

In April, Wake Forest presented the following award nominees and winners (italicized below) in the first in-person Black & Golden Globes since 2019.

Low Key MVP (male):

Miles Lester
Joaquin Martinez de Pineros
Michael Jurgens

Low Key MVP (female):

Kristi Vierra
Chanel Dawson
Olivia Franke

Most likely to be President or CEO:

Brock Wilken
Cole McNally
Andrew White

Most likely to be President or CEO:

Aleeya Hutchins
Rachel Kuehn
Lyndon Wood

Mr. Deacon:

Thomas Kitchell
Sebastian Scrivner
Jack Kinney

Mrs. Deacon:

Maggie Dickman
Maddie Lynch
Olivia Summiel

Cutest Couple:

Anna Bush and Zach Facioni
Sophie Faircloth and Garrison Tubbs
Ali Schragger and Tayte Dupree

Weight Room Junkie (Men's):

Michael Brennan

Weight Room Junkie (Women's):

Hannah Maxwell

Morgan Judd Award:

Mary Anna Bailey

Corey Washburn Tanner Spirit of Wake Forest Award:

Hayden Sample

ACC Top Six for Service:

Cole McNally
Robbie Grace
Ty Hardimon
Emily Silva
Jacob Golberg
Andrew White

Ron and Linda Wellman Life Teammate Award:

Shayla Smart
Michael Turconi

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Athletics to Celebrate Historic Awards For Successful 2021-22 Season

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