OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University named Evan Maun the male student-athlete of the year and Sophia Smith the female student-athlete of the year in the 2022-23 Jim Wade Awards on Friday at the W. Angie Smith Chapel.
Jim Wade Award winners annually have been chosen by OCU's athletic department as those who best represent the Stars on and off the field of competition and embody the spirit of the award's namesake, the late Gen. Jim Wade. Each OCU team selected its own Jim Wade Award winner to be considered for the overall awards. The Stars honored their latest induction class into Chi Alpha Sigma, a national student-athlete honor society as well as the Stars' most recent national champions.
Maun, a senior baseball student-athlete from Greencastle, Pa., has produced a 3.73 cumulative grade-point average as a graduate student working towards a master's in business administration. Maun has garnered acclaim for his academic prowess as an NAIA scholar-athlete, SAC scholar-athlete, three-time academic all-conference and four-time SAC commissioner's honor roll recipient.
In his OCU career, Maun has posted a .265 batting average, 14 home runs, 47 RBIs, five stolen bases, 53 hits, 36 runs scored, nine doubles and three triples. Maun's highlights include hitting two homers in the same inning against Bacone on April 18 and his walk-off two-run double vs. ninth-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan on Feb. 12, 2022 at Jim Wade Stadium.
Smith, a junior wrestler from Janesville, Wis., owns a 3.97 cumulative GPA studying philosophy. Her academic awards include NAIA scholar-athlete, two-time academic all-SAC and two-time conference commissioner's honor roll.
Smith has become a two-time NAIA all-American, three-time all-conference, two-time SAC runner-up, NAIA wrestler of the week and SAC wrestler of the week with a 30-19 record as a Star. Smith took fifth place at 123 pounds in the NAIA Championships on March 10-11 in Jamestown, N.D.
The Stars captured the national title in the National Dance Alliance College Nationals in the NAIA team performance category April 7 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Oklahoma City has accumulated 73 national championships in all sports and extended its streak of winning at least one national title per year to 30 years dating back to 1993-94. Last year, OCU took the NAIA softball championship with a 3-0 triumph June 1, 2022.
Wade competed for OCU in baseball, basketball and football and became an OCU Athletic Hall of Famer and university trustee emeritus. Wade was a general in the U.S. Air Force who was decorated for service in the Korean War and had tours of duty in World War II and the Vietnam War. He earned his bachelor of arts from the university in 1949. OCU's baseball field, office suites and soccer press box bear his name.
2022-23 Jim Wade Award winners by sport
Baseball: Evan Maun
Men's basketball: Zach Lerblance
Men's cross country: Pedro Becerra
Men's golf: Bosten Benn
Men's rowing: Nikola Uveric
Men's soccer: Thomas McElyea
Men's track & field: Milan Todorovic
Men's wrestling: Keegan Luton
Women's basketball: Annilia Dawn
Competitive cheerleading: Katelyn Gregory
Competitive pom/dance: Ally Setser
Women's cross country: Kaitlyn Heffernan
Women's golf: Natalie Gough
Women's rowing: Ruthie Lacy
Women's soccer: Madison Caputo
Softball: Mallory McCoy
STUNT: Madison Blakey
Women's track & field: Shawna Smith
Volleyball: Rylee Steward
Women's wrestling: Sophia Smith
Jim Wade Award Winners
MALE
2006–Jeff McLaughlin, baseball
2007–Kameron Gray, men's basketball
2008–Kameron Gray, men's basketball
2009–Brandon Hull, men's soccer
2010–Ben Bench, men's golf
2011–Chad Carman, baseball
2012–Chad Carman, baseball
2013–Charlton Jones, men's basketball
2014–Mark Anderson, men's golf
2015–Ryan Wright, baseball
2016–Hunter Marcum, baseball
2017–Terence Bonhomme, men's basketball
2018–Terence Bonhomme, men's basketball
2019–Quinton Walbergh, baseball
2021–David Meyers, men's golf
2022–Noah Barks, baseball
2023–Evan Maun, baseball
FEMALE
2006–Randi Scheer, softball
2007–Roxie Luegge, women's rowing
2008–Viola Beybeyah, women's basketball
2009–Mindy Crabaugh, softball
2010–Jenni Gaby, softball
2011–Brittany Tibbs, women's soccer-softball
2012–Emily Davis, women's basketball
2013–Lauren Gober, women's basketball
2014–Elia Folch, women's golf; Beatrize Martinez, women's wrestling
2015–Emily Webster, women's wrestling
2016–Caroline Goodin, women's golf
2017–Caroline Goodin, women's golf
2018–Aminat Olowora, women's cross country & track & field
2019–Cassidy Jasperson, women's wrestling; Dominique Kopecky, competitive cheerleading/STUNT
2021–Cierra Foster, women's wrestling
2022–Kennedy Jackson, softball
2023–Sophia Smith, women's wrestling
2022-23 Special Awards
Men's individual performance of the year: Milan Todorovic, men's track & field
Women's individual performance of the year: Rylee Steward, volleyball
Men's play of the year: Parker Jones, men's basketball
Women's play of the year: Annilia Dawn, women's basketball
Men's comeback of the year: Tristan Williams, baseball
Women's comeback of the year: Ginger MacInnis-Pierce, cross country/track & field
Coach of the year: Phil McSpadden, softball
Chi Alpha Sigma Inductees
Caleb Allen, men's golf
Grant Baber, men's wrestling
Bosten Benn, men's golf
Ella Benward, competitive pom/dance
Nick Bonifay, men's basketball
Amy Crabaugh, softball
Aja Crawford, STUNT
Katlyn Davenport, women's cross country/track & field
Lexi Duff, softball
Kelsi Fitzgerald, women's basketball
Katelyn Gregory, competitive cheerleading
Hannah Grundy, volleyball
Katilyn Heffernan, women's cross country/track & field
Jordan Iwuchukwu, men's track & field
Ruthie Lacy, women's rowing
Zachary Lerblance, men's basketball
Wyatt Long, men's soccer
Grace McLean, competitive pom/dance
Raeslyn Miller, competitive cheerleading
McLain Moss, women's soccer
Holly Parker, competitive pom/dance
Ally Qualls, STUNT
Ana Rivera, women's cross country/track & field
Derrick Rodriguez, men's soccer
Sonia Ruiz, women's track & field
Fiona Scott, competitive pom/dance
Alexandra Setser, competitive pom/dance
Rebekah Sewell, STUNT
Andrija Simeunovic, men's rowing
Sophia Smith, women's wrestling
Katylin Sweeney, competitive pom/dance
Stephanie Towle, competitive pom/dance/women's track & field
Sydney Trenary, competitive cheerleading
Lily Tucker, competitive pom/dance
Emma Vance, volleyball
Drake Vannoy, men's wrestling
Savannah Whitten, competitive cheerleading
Fiona Wilson, women's basketball/track & field
Blake Yohn, competitive cheerleading
Peyton York, competitive cheerleading
