Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges tennis student-athlete
Ella Brissett and University of Redlands men's water polo student-athlete
Max Wagener have been named the Division III Commissioners Association 2024-25 Region X Student-Athletes of the Year.
The (D3CA) selected 20 outstanding student-athletes selected as the 2024-25 Regional Student-Athlete of the Year winners. These prestigious awards, now in their third year, recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and service throughout their collegiate careers. The SCIAC has been represented with regional winners each year of the award's existence.
2021-22: Kellan Grant (Pomona-Pitzer, Sophie Srivastava (Chapman)
2022-23: Josh Angle (CMS)
2023-24: Alex Turvey (PP)
Brissett, a biology major with a 3.96 grade-point average also focusing on gender and secuality studies, won two team NCAA Championships with the Athenas. A two-time All-American in doubles and three-time All-SCIAC selection, she also earned the West Region
Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award and ITA
Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award in addition to making the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team in 2025. Brissett has been very active on campus over her four-year career, serving as founder and president of the Women's Empowerment in Sports Club, a college peer mentor for Women in STEM, Athletics Department Title IX peer leader and SAAC representative as well as volunteering with Elementary School Youth Engagement, House of Ruth and a variety of other organizations. She conducted neurobiology research into degenerative diseases as a Caltech Amgen Scholar, completed a clinical research internship in oral imagining and authored multiple undergraduate research papers.
Wagener, a psychology major with a 3.931 GPA, won a pair of national championships and was named First Team All-America in 2024, when he also was a CSC Academic All-District selection. Graduating Summa Cum Laude, he made the Dean's List all four years at Redlands and earned SCIAC Athlete of the Year recognition as a senior. Wagener volunteered in the University garden and rehabilitating elementary school gardens in addition to campus activities that included serving as vice president of the Psychology Honors Society, a psychology department tutor and SAAC representative.
Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, serves as the presenting sponsor of these awards. “Chi Alpha Sigma is honored to partner with the D3CA in recognizing these incredible student-athletes,” said Kellen Wells-Mangold, Executive Director of Chi Alpha Sigma. “Our mission to celebrate excellence in both academics and athletics perfectly aligns with this initiative. These recipients exemplify the highest ideals of collegiate athletics and leadership.”
Each regional winner now advances to the national ballot for the D3CA Men’s Sport Student- Athlete of the Year and D3CA Women’s Sport Student-Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced next month.
Award Selection & Criteria
Graduating seniors were the only student-athletes eligible for nomination. Each conference was permitted to submit up to two nominees for each gendered award, provided at least one was an international student or from an ethnic minority background. Selection was based on four key areas:
? Academic Achievement
? Athletic Excellence
? Service and Leadership
? Personal Statement
Voting took place among commissioners within each of the 10 Division III regions. The top men's and women's sport honoree in each region will be considered for the two national awards.
Follow the SCIAC on Threads (@theSCIAC), X - formerly Twitter (@theSCIAC) and Instagram (@thesciac) with hashtags #SCIACtion and #SoCalSoGood. Watch all home SCIAC games, matches, and meets online through FloSports: https://flosports.link/SCIAC