The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Athletics Celebrates Achievements at 2025 Golden Grove Awards
4/21/2025 | Athletics, Social Responsibility & Engagement
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss athletic department celebrated the accomplishments of its student-athletes at the 2025 Golden Grove Awards, Monday evening, at The Inn at Ole Miss.
Previously known as the Rebels' Choice Awards, the 14th annual awards show was presented by the Ole Miss Social Responsibility and Engagement department and the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), honoring some of its highest achieving student-athletes from the past year.
Following remarkable postseason runs, men's and women's basketball were named the Teams of the Year after both squads reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. On the men's side, the Rebels matched the program's furthest run in the postseason with a Sweet 16 appearance and tallied the third-most wins in a single season with 24. Ole Miss women's basketball celebrated its 50th year of competition by reaching the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in program history. Ole Miss toppled two top-10 ranked opponents in No. 8 Kentucky and No. 7 LSU en route to its fourth straight year of double-digit SEC wins.
Track and field swept the Most Valuable Rebel category as McKenzie Long was the recipient on the women's side and Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan earned the honor for the men. At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Long won three national titles in a mere 90 minutes to put Ole Miss track & field's sprints group on the map. She finished the season as a Bowerman Award semifinalist and represented the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Robinson-O'Hagan has won three consecutive NCAA shot put titles, including wins outdoors in 2024 and indoors in 2025, making him as one of only 10 three-peaters in collegiate history. He stands as the second-best men's thrower in collegiate history in combined shot put and weight throw distances.
Transfers Caitlyn Macnab and Sean Pedulla were both awarded with the Golden Grove for Newcomer of the Year after stellar seasons for the Rebels. Macnab earned All-America honors last season from both Golfweek and the Women's Golf Coaches Association after shooting a team-best season average of 70.92. She secured an impressive four top-5 finishes and broke the program record of rounds even or below par with 25. Pedulla's lone season with the Ole Miss program was an impactful one, as he was named third team All-SEC and first team NABC All-District for his efforts in 2024-25. He led the team with an average of 15.4 points per game this past season, sinking 87 threes (eighth-most in single season at Ole Miss) and grabbing a team-best 68 steals (fifth-most in single season at Ole Miss).
Rifle's Audrey Gogniat and football's Jamarious Brown took home accolades for Rookie of the Year. Gogniat became rifle's first air rifle national champion earlier this year, following a perfect 600 performance in the qualifying match and preventing a comeback attempt in the final round. Gogniat is also Ole Miss' first conference champion in either event, after sweeping the smallbore and air rifle competitions at the Patriot Rifle Conference Tournament in February. Brown earned Freshman All-America accolades last season from the Football Writers Association of America, appearing in all 13 games for the Rebels as a redshirt freshman. Brown registered 20 tackles, 2.5 TFL, two pass breakups and one interception in 2024 for Ole Miss.
With the highest team GPA on the women's side for the fourth consecutive year, women's golf took home the Chancellor's Cup for the female teams, while men's cross country was awarded the Chancellor's Cup for the first time in program history.
Representing women's cross country, redshirt senior Loral Winn won the Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, while baseball's Mason Nichols earned the Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
For the fourth straight year, women's basketball was awarded the Community Engagement Award on the women's side, while baseball was recognized with the men's honor for the second year in a row.
In honor of former non-scholarship football player Bennie Abram, women's track and field's Kathryn Hosp earned the award given annually to a student-athlete with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
2025 GOLDEN GROVE AWARD WINNERS
Women's Team of the Year: Women's Basketball
Men's Team of the Year: Men's Basketball
Women's Most Valuable Rebel: McKenzie Long, Women's Track & Field
Men's Most Valuable Rebel: Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan, Men's Track & Field
Women's Rookie of the Year: Audrey Gogniat, Rifle
Men's Rookie of the Year: Jamarious Brown, Football
Women's Newcomer of the Year: Caitlyn Macnab, Women's Golf
Men's Newcomer of the Year: Sean Pedulla, Men's Basketball
Women's Chancellor's Cup: Women's Golf
Men's Chancellor's Cup: Men's Cross Country
Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Loral Winn, Women's Cross Country
Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mason Nichols, Baseball
Women's Community Engagement: Women's Basketball
Men's Community Engagement: Baseball
Bennie Abram Award: Kathryn Hosp, Women's Track & Field
Previously known as the Rebels' Choice Awards, the 14th annual awards show was presented by the Ole Miss Social Responsibility and Engagement department and the Ole Miss Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), honoring some of its highest achieving student-athletes from the past year.
Following remarkable postseason runs, men's and women's basketball were named the Teams of the Year after both squads reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. On the men's side, the Rebels matched the program's furthest run in the postseason with a Sweet 16 appearance and tallied the third-most wins in a single season with 24. Ole Miss women's basketball celebrated its 50th year of competition by reaching the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in program history. Ole Miss toppled two top-10 ranked opponents in No. 8 Kentucky and No. 7 LSU en route to its fourth straight year of double-digit SEC wins.
Track and field swept the Most Valuable Rebel category as McKenzie Long was the recipient on the women's side and Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan earned the honor for the men. At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Long won three national titles in a mere 90 minutes to put Ole Miss track & field's sprints group on the map. She finished the season as a Bowerman Award semifinalist and represented the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Robinson-O'Hagan has won three consecutive NCAA shot put titles, including wins outdoors in 2024 and indoors in 2025, making him as one of only 10 three-peaters in collegiate history. He stands as the second-best men's thrower in collegiate history in combined shot put and weight throw distances.
Transfers Caitlyn Macnab and Sean Pedulla were both awarded with the Golden Grove for Newcomer of the Year after stellar seasons for the Rebels. Macnab earned All-America honors last season from both Golfweek and the Women's Golf Coaches Association after shooting a team-best season average of 70.92. She secured an impressive four top-5 finishes and broke the program record of rounds even or below par with 25. Pedulla's lone season with the Ole Miss program was an impactful one, as he was named third team All-SEC and first team NABC All-District for his efforts in 2024-25. He led the team with an average of 15.4 points per game this past season, sinking 87 threes (eighth-most in single season at Ole Miss) and grabbing a team-best 68 steals (fifth-most in single season at Ole Miss).
Rifle's Audrey Gogniat and football's Jamarious Brown took home accolades for Rookie of the Year. Gogniat became rifle's first air rifle national champion earlier this year, following a perfect 600 performance in the qualifying match and preventing a comeback attempt in the final round. Gogniat is also Ole Miss' first conference champion in either event, after sweeping the smallbore and air rifle competitions at the Patriot Rifle Conference Tournament in February. Brown earned Freshman All-America accolades last season from the Football Writers Association of America, appearing in all 13 games for the Rebels as a redshirt freshman. Brown registered 20 tackles, 2.5 TFL, two pass breakups and one interception in 2024 for Ole Miss.
With the highest team GPA on the women's side for the fourth consecutive year, women's golf took home the Chancellor's Cup for the female teams, while men's cross country was awarded the Chancellor's Cup for the first time in program history.
Representing women's cross country, redshirt senior Loral Winn won the Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, while baseball's Mason Nichols earned the Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
For the fourth straight year, women's basketball was awarded the Community Engagement Award on the women's side, while baseball was recognized with the men's honor for the second year in a row.
In honor of former non-scholarship football player Bennie Abram, women's track and field's Kathryn Hosp earned the award given annually to a student-athlete with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
2025 GOLDEN GROVE AWARD WINNERS
Women's Team of the Year: Women's Basketball
Men's Team of the Year: Men's Basketball
Women's Most Valuable Rebel: McKenzie Long, Women's Track & Field
Men's Most Valuable Rebel: Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan, Men's Track & Field
Women's Rookie of the Year: Audrey Gogniat, Rifle
Men's Rookie of the Year: Jamarious Brown, Football
Women's Newcomer of the Year: Caitlyn Macnab, Women's Golf
Men's Newcomer of the Year: Sean Pedulla, Men's Basketball
Women's Chancellor's Cup: Women's Golf
Men's Chancellor's Cup: Men's Cross Country
Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Loral Winn, Women's Cross Country
Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mason Nichols, Baseball
Women's Community Engagement: Women's Basketball
Men's Community Engagement: Baseball
Bennie Abram Award: Kathryn Hosp, Women's Track & Field
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