Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Lopeys laud laurels with award night
4/13/2026 8:45:00 PM | General, S-A Development, Paul Coro
GCU Athletics' annual ceremony celebrates past year's achievements
The glitz and glamour of the 11th annual Lopey Awards on a Monday night arena stage replaced the grit and grandeur of what Grand Canyon student-athletes grouped to achieve for the past year on courts, fields, tracks, pools and courses of competition.
Hundreds of GCU student-athletes experienced their purple carpet moments entering Global Credit Union Arena before a ceremony honored achievements and distinctions for a historic Lopes year. GCU moved into the Mountain West last summer and maintained its winning ways while maintaining the sense of campus continuity, serve more than 3,000 community hours and setting the athletic department's cumulative GPA record.
"We have fully stepped into a brand new conference, a more competitive conference," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "We have had record-breaking academic success. We've had record-breaking, unprecedented levels of national exposure on television. And we're still in position right now with our spring sports to pursue championships.
"It has been an unbelievable year of transformation, but one thing has remained constant through all this and that's our why. God has entrusted us with the platform of athletics to not just compete, but to serve and glorify Him. I want to recognize each of you tonight for living that out, the way you represent our university and the way you fiercely compete."
GCU President Brian Mueller told the student-athletes how their teams act as windows into the university.
"People love to come and watch you play," Mueller said. "And when they see people that are really joyful about the experiences that they're having and they see them putting the needs of their teammates above their own, you know what happens? They feel good about the future of the world. They feel good about the future of America
"It's going to help us grown this athletic program in a way that you can't even imagine. Thank you for what you did this year. It was a tremendously successful year."
Junior Diouf became the first-ever freshman winner of the TopDrawer Soccer Player of the Year as the nation's top player. The 6-foot-1 forward from Senegal scored the second-most goals in the nation, 18, to finish one off the leader in one fewer game.
Diouf became the first GCU Division I student-athlete to receive a national player of the year award and also was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. The striker's 18 goals were the most by a D-I freshman since 2010, and seven of them were game-winners for GCU's Sweet 16 team. After the season, he signed with S.K. Beveren in Belgium.
Savannah Kirk, who is from nearby Waddell, Arizona, was named WAC Player of the Year last season. As a sophomore, the second baseman set the GCU single-season hits record with 97 and ranked second in the nation with a .505 batting average.
Kirk also stole 50 bases, the second most in GCU history, without being caught to also rank second nationally in that category. Kirk was named Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year for this season but is rehabilitating after a preseason knee injury.
Paula Martinez Moreno, a senior from Madrid, Spain, has been a leader in the swimming and diving program and GCU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past three years. She was a WAC champion in the 200-yard butterfly and was part of a conference championship team in the 400 medley relay. Martinez Moreno, the daughter of swimming and field hockey Olympians, also has been honored on the conference's all-academic team while becoming more involved in her faith.
She wins GCU Athletics' most prestigious award, which has been given to Lopes student-athletes since 1980 in honor of a Grand Canyon founding professor who championed academic excellence and supported Lopes athletics. The award annually recognizes a student-athlete who excels in competition, leads with integrity achieves in the classroom and carries out the University's Christian values.
"Representing not only my swim team but the core values of this university is something I'll treasure forever," Martinez Moreno told the audience. "It really means the world to me. Coming from Spain, I've always felt a bit hesitant to express my faith. These four years have changed that. I found a community where love and faith are everywhere. I'm not leaving as the same person I started. So thank you GCU for being the place where I finally found this picture based on my faith.
"Not everyone gets a chance to keep fighting for their athletic dream while getting an education. So be present, be grateful and don't forget to enjoy. They say that people are like puzzles. I firmly believe that we are made of real pieces of one another. I take this honor home. But in reality, this trophy is made of fragments of every single person who has shared this experiences with me."
The women's tennis team claimed its first L.O.P.E.S. (Leadership, Ownership, Purpose, Excellence, Service) Cup under head coach Dané Vorster, who bonded a team on and off the court despite only two returnees for the 2025 spring season.
Along with its excellence on the courts as a 2025 WAC champion to earn its third consecutive NCAA Championship qualification, the Lopes players also devoted hundreds of hours cumulatively to community service, earned a strong team GPA and attended Lopes for Life events and other GCU teams' competitions.
Men's golf
The beach volleyball team carried the top overall team grade point average for the second consecutive year under head coach Abra Rummel while men's golf head coach Mark Mueller's squad became a three-peat champion, following up the men's swimming and diving three-peat of the previous three years. Beach volleyball won the GPA honor for the fourth time, matching softball for the most by any women's program in the Lopeys' 11 years.
The fifth annual Oscar Frayer Spirit Award, honoring the memory of the late GCU basketball player, recognizes a GCU student-athlete who carries on Frayer's legacy with the same love for the team, GCU Athletics, the campus community and the university's Christian mission.
Bulgheroni, who is from Varese, Italy, is a senior golfer who has been an integral part of the program's three consecutive NCAA Regional qualifications as a leader. He also has performed well, including a 12th-place finish at the Southern Dunes Invitational. He has also served a student manger with GCU men's basketball, a program that he will continue to assist as a graduate.
GCU Provost Randy Gibb said Bulgheroni "is someone who leads with humility. His kindness and selflessness don't seek recognition. He takes great pride in representing GCU, and he embodies what it means to be part of this community."
Awards were voted on by GCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and GCU Athletics administration. Performances from spring of 2025 and the fall/winter of 2025-26 were considered.
Hundreds of GCU student-athletes experienced their purple carpet moments entering Global Credit Union Arena before a ceremony honored achievements and distinctions for a historic Lopes year. GCU moved into the Mountain West last summer and maintained its winning ways while maintaining the sense of campus continuity, serve more than 3,000 community hours and setting the athletic department's cumulative GPA record.
"We have fully stepped into a brand new conference, a more competitive conference," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "We have had record-breaking academic success. We've had record-breaking, unprecedented levels of national exposure on television. And we're still in position right now with our spring sports to pursue championships.
"It has been an unbelievable year of transformation, but one thing has remained constant through all this and that's our why. God has entrusted us with the platform of athletics to not just compete, but to serve and glorify Him. I want to recognize each of you tonight for living that out, the way you represent our university and the way you fiercely compete."
GCU President Brian Mueller told the student-athletes how their teams act as windows into the university.
"People love to come and watch you play," Mueller said. "And when they see people that are really joyful about the experiences that they're having and they see them putting the needs of their teammates above their own, you know what happens? They feel good about the future of the world. They feel good about the future of America
"It's going to help us grown this athletic program in a way that you can't even imagine. Thank you for what you did this year. It was a tremendously successful year."
MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Junior Diouf, men's soccerJunior Diouf became the first-ever freshman winner of the TopDrawer Soccer Player of the Year as the nation's top player. The 6-foot-1 forward from Senegal scored the second-most goals in the nation, 18, to finish one off the leader in one fewer game.
Diouf became the first GCU Division I student-athlete to receive a national player of the year award and also was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. The striker's 18 goals were the most by a D-I freshman since 2010, and seven of them were game-winners for GCU's Sweet 16 team. After the season, he signed with S.K. Beveren in Belgium.
FEMALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Savannah Kirk, softballSavannah Kirk, who is from nearby Waddell, Arizona, was named WAC Player of the Year last season. As a sophomore, the second baseman set the GCU single-season hits record with 97 and ranked second in the nation with a .505 batting average.
Kirk also stole 50 bases, the second most in GCU history, without being caught to also rank second nationally in that category. Kirk was named Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year for this season but is rehabilitating after a preseason knee injury.
ROLAND L. BECK SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
Paula Martinez Moreno, swimmingPaula Martinez Moreno, a senior from Madrid, Spain, has been a leader in the swimming and diving program and GCU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past three years. She was a WAC champion in the 200-yard butterfly and was part of a conference championship team in the 400 medley relay. Martinez Moreno, the daughter of swimming and field hockey Olympians, also has been honored on the conference's all-academic team while becoming more involved in her faith.
She wins GCU Athletics' most prestigious award, which has been given to Lopes student-athletes since 1980 in honor of a Grand Canyon founding professor who championed academic excellence and supported Lopes athletics. The award annually recognizes a student-athlete who excels in competition, leads with integrity achieves in the classroom and carries out the University's Christian values.
"Representing not only my swim team but the core values of this university is something I'll treasure forever," Martinez Moreno told the audience. "It really means the world to me. Coming from Spain, I've always felt a bit hesitant to express my faith. These four years have changed that. I found a community where love and faith are everywhere. I'm not leaving as the same person I started. So thank you GCU for being the place where I finally found this picture based on my faith.
"Not everyone gets a chance to keep fighting for their athletic dream while getting an education. So be present, be grateful and don't forget to enjoy. They say that people are like puzzles. I firmly believe that we are made of real pieces of one another. I take this honor home. But in reality, this trophy is made of fragments of every single person who has shared this experiences with me."
THUNDER AWARDS
The awards go to an impact athlete for each GCU team. The winners are:- Elijah Higginbottom, baseball
- Nana Owusu-Anane, men's basketball
- Chloe Mann, women's basketball
- Sarah Edler, beach volleyball
- Michael Archie, men's cross country
- June Zimmerman, women's cross country
- Connor Kittelson, men's track and field
- Taliyah Booker, women's track and field
- Antonio Bulgheroni, men's golf
- Jessica Haines, women's golf
- Ben Assane, men's soccer
- Sabrina Guzman, women's soccer
- Sydney McCray, softball
- Eli Cohen, men's swimming and diving
- Paula Martinez Moreno, women's swimming and diving
- Tristan Berard, men's tennis
- Karina Hofbauer, women's tennis
- Taylor Kubacak, volleyball
- Allison Owen, cheer
- Maya Kitching, dance
- Isaiah Grepke, band
L.O.P.E.S. CUP
Women's tennisThe women's tennis team claimed its first L.O.P.E.S. (Leadership, Ownership, Purpose, Excellence, Service) Cup under head coach Dané Vorster, who bonded a team on and off the court despite only two returnees for the 2025 spring season.
Along with its excellence on the courts as a 2025 WAC champion to earn its third consecutive NCAA Championship qualification, the Lopes players also devoted hundreds of hours cumulatively to community service, earned a strong team GPA and attended Lopes for Life events and other GCU teams' competitions.
TOP TEAM GPA OF THE YEAR
Beach volleyballMen's golf
The beach volleyball team carried the top overall team grade point average for the second consecutive year under head coach Abra Rummel while men's golf head coach Mark Mueller's squad became a three-peat champion, following up the men's swimming and diving three-peat of the previous three years. Beach volleyball won the GPA honor for the fourth time, matching softball for the most by any women's program in the Lopeys' 11 years.
OSCAR FRAYER SPIRIT AWARD
Antonio Bulgheroni, men's golfThe fifth annual Oscar Frayer Spirit Award, honoring the memory of the late GCU basketball player, recognizes a GCU student-athlete who carries on Frayer's legacy with the same love for the team, GCU Athletics, the campus community and the university's Christian mission.
Bulgheroni, who is from Varese, Italy, is a senior golfer who has been an integral part of the program's three consecutive NCAA Regional qualifications as a leader. He also has performed well, including a 12th-place finish at the Southern Dunes Invitational. He has also served a student manger with GCU men's basketball, a program that he will continue to assist as a graduate.
GCU Provost Randy Gibb said Bulgheroni "is someone who leads with humility. His kindness and selflessness don't seek recognition. He takes great pride in representing GCU, and he embodies what it means to be part of this community."
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
- Jada Cooper, softball
- Bella Crossman, women's tennis
- Matthew Diehl, men's golf
- Junior Diouf, men's soccer
- Karina Hofbauer, women's tennis
- Andreas Loizas, men's tennis
- Bella Nunez, volleyball
SPIRIT PROGRAM AWARDS
- Cheerleader of the Year: Jeremiah Park
- Dancer of the Year: Delanie Morlock
- Musician of the Year: Trevor Twining
Awards were voted on by GCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and GCU Athletics administration. Performances from spring of 2025 and the fall/winter of 2025-26 were considered.
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