National Women's Volleyball Player of the Year Abby Guezen and record-setting Golden Bears sprinter Ryder Rattee were named the 2026 U of A Athletes of the Year, as Golden Bears & Pandas Athletics announced their major award winners on Wednesday night at Myer Horowitz Theatre.

Guezen caps off her historic and award-winning season by becoming the 11th Pandas Volleyball athlete since 1990 to win the Bakewell Trophy. Rattee is just the seventh Golden Bears Track & Field athlete to win the Wilson Challenge Award, and first since Austin Cole in 2019. Guezen and Rattee now move forward as Alberta's nominees for both the Canada West and U SPORTS Athlete of the Year awards. 

Fellow Bears sprinter Nico Claramunt and national individual champion wrestler Victoria Stefanov were named the Rookies of the Year, with Naoki Miyashita (Pandas Volleyball) and Steve Kasowski (Golden Bears Football) being named the co-recipients of the R.G. Glassford Coaching Award. 

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2025/26 Golden Bears & Pandas Major Award Winners

Bakewell Trophy
Female Athlete of the Year

Abby Guezen – Pandas Volleyball
 
Simply put, there was nothing else Guezen could have won in 2025/26, either as an individual or with Pandas Volleyball. The third-year outside was named both Canada West and U SPORTS Player of the Year, propelled Pandas Volleyball to the #1 ranking in U SPORTS for the entire season and the top seed in Canada West, followed by decisive Canada West and U SPORTS Championship wins. 

Her 277 kills, 3.90 kills/set, 344.5 points and 44 aces this season were each top three in Canada West. She also added 173 digs and 39 total blocks, with her .304 attack % ranking second among all outside hitters in the conference. Her 44 aces were the second most in a single season in Pandas history, with her 3.90 kills per set ranking ninth ever for a Panda.

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Wilson Challenge Trophy
Male Athlete of the Year

Ryder Rattee – Golden Bears Track & Field 

From record-setting performances to standing atop the podium multple times at the U SPORTS Championship, second-year Bear Ryder Rattee put forth one of the best individual seasons in program history. 

His early season success included wins in the 600m at the Pandas Open, and a 300m win at the Golden Bears Open. He was then named the Canada West Track Athlete of the Year following gold medals in both the 300m and 600m in Saskatoon. 

His pièce de résistance came in Winnipeg at nationals, which saw Rattee earn three gold medals, with all three races setting new Golden Bears program records. He first set the Bears and U SPORTS Championship records in the 300m with a time of 32.75, and followed it up with a gold in the 600m with a time of 1:16.75. The climax came in the 4x400m relay, which Rattee anchored to a gold-medal winning time of 3:12.82, breaking the Bears program record by over two full seconds. To cap off his tremendous season, he received the U SPORTS Athlete of the Meet award. 
 

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Female Rookie of the Year

Victoria Stefanov – Pandas Wrestling
 
Helping lead the Pandas to a second national title in four seasons, Victoria Stefanov had one of the most impressive debut seasons in team history. Competing in the 50kg weight class, Stefanov earned gold medals at both the Canada West and U SPORTS Championships, not losing a single match in either competition. 

She was earned both Canada West and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year awards, becoming just the second Panda ever to win both. Earlier in the season, Stefanov also earned top-place finishes at the Dinos Open, Huskie Open, and Golden Bears Open, along with a third-place finish at the SFU Open in the fall. 

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Male Rookie of the Year

Nico Claramunt – Golden Bears Track & Field

Let by both Rattee and Claramunt, Golden Bears Track & Field put forth one of the best seasons in program history. Claramunt was sensational in his first season on the track, helping lead the Bears to a Canada West Championship and U SPORTS team silver. At the conference level, he was named the Canada West Rookie of the Year after earning a gold medal in the 4x400m relay, silver in the 300m, and bronze in the 4x200m relay. 

Claramunt continued to shine at the U SPORTS Championship in Winnipeg, highlighted by a record-setting performance in the 4x400m relay, which saw the Bears earn a third national gold medal in four seasons, while also shattering the Bears program record. He also added a bronze in the 300m at nationals. 

Prior to championship season, Claramunt also earned top-place finishes in the 300m at the Pandas Open and Bison Classic, and sits third in program history in the event following his rookie season. 
 

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Dr. R.G. Glassford Award for Coaching

Naoki Miyashita – Pandas Volleyball
Steve Kasowski – Golden Bears Football
 
Miyashita has had an immeasurable impact on the Pandas Volleyball program, most notably as an assistant coach for the past 13 seasons. He has been responsible for individual skills, team training, tactical skill development, all while providing unmatched enthusiasm and energy not only to the Pandas Volleyball team, but anyone fortunate to be around Saville Centre over the last decade.

Not only has he elevated the Pandas varsity program on a daily basis, he also raised the level of the Pandas Volleyball Club, helping produce future varsity athletes at Universities across North America.

Kasowski has been a familiar face on the Golden Bears sideline since the early 1980's. As a record-breaking student-athlete, a proud alumni, and as a volunteer assistant coach, he embodies what it means to be a Golden Bear. 

For the past 14 seasons, he has been the kicking coach for Golden Bears Football, helping produce numerous conference all-stars, U SPORTS All-Canadians, and professional athletes. 

As a student-athlete himself, he held the Golden Bears program record for points for 34 years, before coaching and developing the athlete who would break his record two years ago.