Cal Poly Athletics celebrated its annual Night of the Mustang awards ceremony on June 2, recognizing outstanding student-athletes for their achievements during the 2025-26 season.
The university highlighted a year marked by a record 11 Big West Championships, over 100 all-conference selections, and numerous academic and athletic accomplishments. Ryan Tayman, catcher for Mustang Baseball, was named Male Student-Athlete of the Year after leading the conference in home runs and RBIs. Tayman also tied program records for home runs and grand slams while earning a spot on the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year Watch List. Izzy Martinez from Beach Volleyball received Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors as an AVCA Second Team All-American and key contributor to Cal Poly’s Big West Championship and NCAA quarterfinal run.
Jovan Lubbe (men’s tennis) and Hamad Mousa (men’s basketball) shared Male Newcomer of the Year honors. Lubbe earned Big West Men’s Tennis Freshman of the Year recognition after moving directly from high school to play at No. 1 singles and doubles. Mousa finished with 20.4 points per game, set a Division I program scoring record with 652 points, was named to All-Big West First Team, NABC All-Pacific District Second Team, and became a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award. Charlotte Kelly took Female Newcomer of the Year after stepping into a starting role in volleyball due to injury; she helped lead her team to multiple championships while earning all-freshman honors.
Scholar-Athlete awards went to wrestler Anthony Berg—who maintained a 3.95 GPA in civil engineering while finishing second at Pac-12 Championships—and Lexi Evans from women’s track & field, who broke her own pole vault record en route to NCAA Outdoor Championships qualification while maintaining strong academic performance as an aerospace engineering major.
Other honorees included Brooklyn Burns (volleyball) and Trevor Tinker (wrestling), who received The Mustang Way Award for leadership and character; Aaron Price Jr. (men’s basketball) and Sophia Minnite (women’s soccer), recipients of Iron Mustang Awards; as well as more than one hundred all-academic honorees across fall and winter sports.
Baseball remains active in NCAA tournament play following wins over Virginia Tech and Saint Mary’s in regional competition. With continued championship performances both athletically and academically throughout various programs—including men’s/women’s soccer, cross country, volleyball, tennis, track & field, baseball, golf—the Mustangs conclude what they described as one of their most successful seasons before looking ahead to next year.