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WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven Department of Athletics held its annual Athletics & Senior Awards Banquet on Sunday, April 28 at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium, where approximately 500 people gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of New Haven's student-athletes during the 2023-24 academic year. The event concluded by recognizing football's Giye Jenkins (West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) and Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) from women's volleyball as the department's Male and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.

The activities began with Associate Director of Athletics Dan Ruede delivering remarks on behalf of the administration, including highlighting the numerous successes from throughout the year. Among the highlights from 2023-24 were more than 120 combined wins across the 20 varsity sports, 44 All-Conference honorees, 18 All-Region athletes, six major conference awards, four All-Americans, and 330 student-athletes named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll following the fall semester, including 46 with a perfect 4.0 GPA and 168 on the Dean's List, with more accolades to come following the conclusion of the spring seasons.

Following the opening remarks from Ruede, Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance and Student-Athlete Services Sara Richwine provided a brief recap of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's initiatives throughout the year while also naming the Northeast-10 Conference President's Award winners. The NE10 President's Award is an honor bestowed upon graduating student-athletes who have attained the Latin honor of Magna Cum Laude or higher and have participated in at least two seasons of NE10 competition.

Returning to the podium, Ruede doled out the 20 Most Valuable Player awards, which are presented to one student-athlete from each team and Cheerleading and Dance with the awards selected by the coaches. A complete list of this year's team MVP's can be found below.

After presenting the MVP honors, the evening continued by presenting the first department wide awards, the Rookie of the Year accolades which were presented to Jada Kamtha (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Wolmer's Trust High School for Girls) of women's track & field and men's basketball's Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy).

Kamtha joined the program mid-year and has made an immediate impact, setting a school record in the 55-meter hurdles during the second half of the indoor season. She would go on to earned All-New England and All-Region honors and has qualified for the Northeast-10 Outdoor Championships next weekend at Southern Connecticut State University.

King started in all but one game for the Chargers this past season and led the team in scoring (17.0 ppg), assists (80) and steals (38). He followed up his first season with the Blue and Gold earning Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year accolades as well as being named to the All-Rookie Team.

Following the presentation of the Rookie of the Year honors, Faculty Athletics Representative Mary Miller presented the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award, which is presented annually to a student-athlete who has positive interaction with faculty, is a contributing active member of a team, has demonstrated superior achievement in academics and has demonstrated involvement in University and community service. The 2024 Distinguished Scholar-Athletes were Joe Vitale (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) from Football and Sophia Ruh (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) from field hockey.

After the Scholar-Athlete awards were presented, Ruede returned to present the Gold Standard Award and True Blue Award. The Gold Standard Award is presented to a student-athlete who displays all the characteristics of a Chargers by enjoying exceptional success in their sport, in the classroom and in the community. The third ever Gold Standard Award was presented to Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) from Women's basketball. Stepping up as an offensive leader for the Chargers, Bassett was second on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and top three assists and steals. Off the court, she boasts a remarkable 4.00 cumulative GPA in the second semester of her junior year and was recently named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Additionally, she is a leader on the SAAC Executive Board as the Campus and Community Liaison.

The True Blue Award is presented to a student-athlete who embodies the Charger spirit by overcoming adversity to achieve success. The third ever True Blue Award was presented to Viana McKinley (North Chesterfield, Va./Monacan) from softball. Following a car accident over the summer, McKinley nearly saw her collegiate career end before even stepping foot on campus. After arriving, McKinley batter through physical, mental and emotional challenges to not only return to the field but return as a starter and leader, even earning the teams first win in the circle.

The final awards of the evening were the Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The Athlete of the Year awards are chosen among the list of Most Valuable Player awards and are based on the individual players' contributions to his or her team's success and/or individual success for the given academic year.

Helping lead the football team to its fifth Northeast-10 Conference Championship and third-straight, 10th overall, trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs, Jenkins was named the Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and received All-America distinction from the Associated Press. On the field, Jenkins was 13th in the nation in interceptions per game, closing out the season with five total, which also led the Northeast-10 and was among the top-10 in a single season in program history. In addition to his conference and all-America selections, Jenkins was also named All-New England and All-Region by both the D2CCA and AFCA.

The Northeast-10 Player of the Year, an All-American and NE10 First Team selection, Brown led New Haven to its seventh NE10 Championship and a return to the NCAA Division II Championship after a one-year absence. Brown led New Haven and the NE10 and was 20th in the nation in kills with 445 and top-50 in NCAA D2 in kills and points per set. In addition to her Player of the Year and All-America selections she was a two-time All-Region selection and was named the East Region Player of the Year by the D2CCA.

University of New Haven 2023-24 Athletics & Senior Awards Banquet

Female Athlete of the Year: Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac), women's volleyball
Male Athlete of the Year: Giye Jenkins (West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), football
Gold Standard Award: Charlotte Bassett (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury), women's basketball
True Blue Award: Viana McKinley (North Chesterfield, Va./Monacan), softball
Female Rookie of the Year: Jada Kamtha (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Wolmer's Trust High School for Girls), women's track & field
Male Rookie of the Year: Jah'Likai King (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy), men's basketball

Most Valuable Players
Baseball: Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy)
Men's Basketball: Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie)
Women's Basketball: Aurora Deshaies (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden)
Cheer: Gianna Prados (Jackson, N.J./)
Dance: Taliyah Johnson (Pawtucket, R.I./)
Men's Cross Country: Mohammed Abunar (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull)
Women's Cross Country: Elsie Kaas (Elverson, Pa./Bishop Shanahan)
Miles McPherson Football MVP: Giye Jenkins (West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep)
Field Hockey: Kat Trammel (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown)
Men's Golf: Aissa El Khadri (Kingdom of Morocco/Sotogrande International School)
Women's Golf: Wynter Flores (San Antonio, Texas/Incarnate Word)
Women's Lacrosse: Gabby Buscemi (East Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford)
Women's Rugby: Damaris Williams (/)
Men's Soccer: Oskar Kvarnback (Stockholm, Sweden/Bromma Gymnasium)
Women's Soccer: Caitlin Daley (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Academy)
Softball: Meg Anderson (Cranston, R.I./Cranston)
Women's Tennis: Risako Umekuni (Saitama, Japan/Shumei Eiko)
Men's Track & Field: Kenneth Holland (Circleville, N.Y./Pine Bush)
Women's Track & Field: Gabrielle Teel (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland)
Women's Volleyball: Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac)