MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State honored its top performing student-athletes for the 2025-26 season in Taylor Center Monday evening (April 20) at the Maverick Awards Celebration. The event featured 14 award categories and was hosted by Director of Alumni Relations Brian Zins.
Individual award winners include…
NIL Athlete of the Year Award – Ella Huettl (women's soccer)
Male Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year – Sam Backer (football)
Female Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year – Aubri Brown (track & field)
Male Newcomer of the Year – Hayden Bills (men's track & field)
Female Newcomer of the Year – Mercury Bischoff (hockey)
Performance of the Year – Women's Hockey double overtime win vs. UMD to force game three
Paul Allan Spirit of the Maverick Award – Avery Stillwell (women's tennis/women's hockey and
Cailey Priem (athletic training men's basketball)
Support Group of the Year – Maverick Machine and MSU Dance Team
Female Athlete of the Year – Miranda Lauvstad (women's track & field)
Male Athlete of the Year – Louis Magers (baseball)
Coaching Staff of the Year – Women's Basketball
Georgene Brock Student-Athlete Career Achievement Award – Natalie Bremer (women's basketball)
Don Buchanan Student-Athlete Career Achievement Award – Alex Tracy (men's hockey)
Team of the Year – Men's and Women's Track Field
Hayden Bills (Male Newcomer of the Year, track & field) - A transfer who placed 6th in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, helping MSU to 6th place finish as a team and earning All-American honors. Also won the shot put at the NSIC Indoor Track & Field Championships, earning all-conference honors. Named NSIC Field Athlete of the Year and NSIC Newcomer of the Year. Named NSIC Field Athlete of the Week four times. Named USTFCCCA All-Region in the shot put. Placed 1st in all but one regular season meet where he came in second to the 58th-ranked shot put athlete in the world.
Mercury Bischoff (Female Newcomer of the Year, hockey) - Freshman forward who led the team in goals (19) and points (29). Was top-10 in the WCHA in goals. Was named to the WCHA's All-Rookie Team and was a finalist for the WCHA's Rookie of the Year. Earned three WCHA Rookie of the Week Honors. Had a hat trick (3 goals) in a 4-1 win to help sweep Minnesota for the first time since 2006.
Miranda Lauvstad (Female Athlete of the Year, track & field) - National Champion in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships and finished runner-up in the pentathlon. Was named the High Point Earner at the NCAA Indoor Championships after earning 18 points, which accounted for more than half of the team points leading to a 5th place team.
finish. Was named USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year and earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the 60 meter hurdles, 200 meter dash, the long jump, and the pentathlon. Was named the NSIC Field Athlete of the Year and earned All-Conference recognition in four events after placing 1st in the 200 meter dash, 1st in the long jump, 3rd in the 60 meter hurdles, and 5th in the high jump at the conference meet. Set a new NSIC Indoor Championships record of 6.35 meters in the long jump and set a new school record in the pentathlon. Named NSIC Field Athlete of the Week twice.
Louis Magers (Male Athlete of the Year, baseball) - Has started all 30 games for the Mavericks. Currently batting .319 with 8 home runs, 1 triple, 9 doubles, 29 runs scored, and 34 RBIs. Leads the team in total bases and is second on the team in RBIs. Has also made 6 appearances on the mound, starting 5 games. In 20.1 innings pitched he is holding teams to a .192 batting average. In the field, he has a .995 fielding percentage having only made one error all year. Named a NCBWA DII Pre-Season All-American.
Women's Basketball (Coaching Staff of the Year) – Won a NSIC Regular Season Championship and earned the #1 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Got off to the best start in school history, going 27-0. Spent most the year in the top-10 in the coaches' poll, including two weeks at #1, before finishing the year ranked 11th with a record of 29-3. Amy Sander was named WBCA DII Assistant Coach of the Year and Emilee Thiesse was named NSIC Coach of the Year.
Natalie Bremer (Georgene Brock Student-Athlete Career Achievement Award, women's basketball) – A guard from Lake City, Minnesota, who has earned 3.64 GPA majoring in Exercise Science. Has been named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence, NSIC All-Academic Team, and is a 2x CSC Academic All-District honoree. Three-time team captain who has lead off the court as well by being involved with numerous programs in the Mankato community including Girls on the Run, MyPlace, reading in local elementary schools, running youth basketball camps, assisting at local youth team practices, connecting with residents at Path Stone Senior Residence Community, and packing meals for underprivileged kids in addition to participating in Trick-or-Treat with the Mavs and Kiwanis Holiday Lights. Her Athletic Achievements include: 2026 WBCA National Player of the Year, 2026 WBCA All-America First Team, 2026 DII Central Region Player of the Year, D2CCA All-American First Team, All-Central Region First Team, NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year for women's basketball, NSIC South Division Player of the Year, 3x All-NSIC First Team, 8x NSIC South Division Player of the Week , 2025 WBCA All-American Honorable Mention, 2025 D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team, 2025 NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team, 2025 NCAA Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player, and All-NSIC Second Team. All-time leading scorer men's or women's (2,371) at MSU. MSU Women's Basketball records: Career Field Goals Made (901) and Career Free Throw Percentage (.834).
Alex Tracy (Don Buchanan Student-Athlete Career Achievement Award, men's hockey) – A goaltender from Chicago, Illinois, who has earned a 3.82 GPA majoring in Finance. Academic Awards: CSC First Team Academic All-America, 2x CSC Academic All-District, 2x AHCA All-American Scholar, and CCHA Scholar Athlete. Off the ice he is involved in SAAC (3 years) and has volunteered at numerous SAAC initiatives, Rake the Town, the Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Tournament, the YMCA's Corn Roast, Futures School, Miracle League, and Mankato Adaptive Floor Hockey. He was named a Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist. On ice awards and honors: 2x Mike Richter Award Semifinalist, CCHA Student-Athlete of the Year Finalist, 2026 All-CCHA Second Team, CCHA Goaltender of the Month in November 2025 and February2026, 14-time CCHA Goaltender of the Week, 2025 Hobey Baker Award Finalist, 2025 CCHA Player of the Year, and 2025 CCHA Goaltender of the Year. MSU Record Books: Games Played (2nd), Career Saves (4th), Career Save % (2nd), Career Goals Against Average (2nd), Career Shutouts (2nd), Season Save % (1st), Season Goals Against Average (2nd), and Season Shutouts (3rd).
Men's and Women's Track & Field (Team of the Year) – The women finished 5th at NCAA Indoor Championships with eight women finishing in the top-10 in their respective events. The men finished 6th at the NCAA Indoor Championships with four individuals and one relay finishing in the top-10 in their respective events. The men's team won their 15th consecutive NSIC Indoor Championship and the women's team won their 6th consecutive NSIC Indoor Championship. Both teams were selected by NSIC coaches to win the NSIC Outdoor Championship titles.
