MEDFORD (July 8, 2026) – Following one of the most successful years in its history, the Tufts University Department of Athletics has selected the recipients of its 2025-26 Annual Awards.
Nine awards are presented annually for Athletics at Tufts - The Clarence "Pop" Houston Award to the best male athlete; The Hester L. Sargent Award to the best female athlete; The Rudolph J. Fobert Awards for combine athletics and academics performance; The Murray J. Kenney Awards for positive attitude and persistence; The Madie "Scooter" Nicpon Awards for spirit and service; and The Timothy J. Horgan Award for media.
The honorees for the 2025-26 are:
Houston Award - Jack Regnery, Men's Lacrosse
Regnery was the USILA's Iroquois National Outstanding Player of the Year and Lt. Col. JI Turnbull Outstanding Attackman of the Year after leading the Jumbos to a third straight NCAA title in May. Drafted professionally by the Boston Cannons of the Premier Lacrosse League in April, Regnery finished the 2026 season with 74 goals and 48 assists for 122 points in 23 games. He was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, as he finished with three goals and two assists in Tufts' 17-11 win in the final against RIT.
Sargent Award - Hannah Biccard, Field Hockey
Biccard earned the NFHCA National Player of the Year award and was the finalist in field hockey for the DIII Honda Athlete of the Year award after leading the Jumbos to an NCAA Championship victory. She scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the NCAA final, giving Tufts a 2-1 win against Johns Hopkins and earning NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Also the NFHCA Regional Player of the Year, Biccard finished the season with 17 goals and six assists for 40 points in 22 games.
Fobert Award (M) - Scott Gyimesi, Men's Basketball
Gyimesi was a D3hoops.com and NABC All-American on the court, and a CSC first-team Academic All-American® off it this year, when he helped lead the Jumbos to the NCAA Elite Eight for just the second time in team history. The NESCAC Player of the Year, as well as D3hoops Region 1 and NABC District 1 Player of the Year, Gyimesi averaged 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 55-percent from the field. The NESCAC leader in rebounds, he graduated as Tufts' all-time leader in rebounds (949).
Fobert Award (W) - Hannah Jiang, Women's Rowing
As coxswain of the women's rowing first varsity eight, Jiang steered Tufts to its third consecutive NCAA Championship in the spring and a third straight Head of the Charles collegiate eights title in the fall. A CRCA first-team All-American for 2026, Jiang also guided the Jumbos to Points Trophy victories at the New England Rowing Championships and the National Invitational Rowing Championships. She graduated with summa cum laude honors and earned the second CSC Academic All-American® honor of her career.
Kenney Award (M) - Cole Donato, Baseball
Donato overcame Tommy John surgery early in his career to become the best pitcher in New England in 2026. Having thrown just 26.2 innings with no victories in his career prior to this spring, Donato finished 9-2 with a 2.40 era in 75 innings. He was an ABCA All-American, the ABCA Regional Pitcher of the Year and also NESCAC Pitcher of the Year. Earning the second-most wins in a season in Tufts history, he helped the Jumbos capture the NESCAC title and host an NCAA Regional for the first time ever.
Kenney (W) - Haley Leimbach, Softball
Leimbach earns this honor after a season and career in which she was willing to do anything for the good of the Tufts team. On a young squad featuring 11 first-year players this season, she took on an unfamiliar role offensively by batting lead-off. On defense, after stabilizing the Jumbos by taking over at shortstop last year, she returned to first base this season and won the second Rawlings Gold Glove Award of her career. Leimbach helped the Jumbos win 31 games, earn the #1 seed in NESCAC and host an NCAA Regional.
Nicpon (M) - Colin Cooper, Men's Rowing
A member of the Tufts men's rowing squad, Cooper was instrumental in the Tufts men's rowing squad earning the Community Service Award at the Annual Brown & Blues Award. The 2026 Tufts graduate in political science and economics, he also served on the Tufts Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Nicpon (W) – Nicola Donlan, Women's Lacrosse
Embodying the spirit of former women's lacrosse player Madie Nicpon, for whom the award is named, Donlan was a team leader on and off the field. An IWLCA All-American on the field and a CSC Academic All-American® in class, Donlan was also the Tufts Women's Lacrosse team's Civic Life Ambassador. She organized community service events, most notably as Co-President of Morgan's Message, the organization that strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community.
Tim Horgan - John Mulvihill
As a videographer for Tufts Athletics, Mulvihill earned 11 different Creative & Digital Design Contest honors presented by College Sports Communicators in the categories of "Hype/Pre-Game Videos", "Long Form Videos/Recaps/Features", and "Short Form Videos/Reels." Among Hype/Pre-Game Videos, Mulvihill helped Tufts earn first place in the College Division for the 2025 Men's Lacrosse National Championship hype video that played at Gillette Stadium. It was listed as the Best of Division III and Best of Student Workers overall.
--JUMBOS--
