2025 Bannies Nominations: Male Athlete of the Year

It’s time for our 2025 Black & Gold Banneret Awards! This week, we present our nominees for each award honoring the best people, moments and performances from your UCF Knights in the 2024-25 athletic year.

Our staff has chosen the nominees for each award. We will then vote on them this week, and you, the fans, can vote as well in the poll below. The winner of the fan vote counts as one vote, and in the event of a tie, the award goes to the winner of the fan vote.

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Male Athlete of the Year Nominees

Yassine Dlimi — Men’s Tennis

All eyes on Yassine A dominating 2025

campaign from our captain pic.twitter.com/4XlLuoafzt

— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) June 10, 2025

• Named ITA’s Player to Watch in Southeast Region
• Named to All-Big 12 Singles Team
• Finished season ranked #52 in the nation and #7 in the Southeast Region in singles play
• Went 17-10 in singles play during dual match season, mostly on Court 1
• Went 13-16 in doubles play during the dual match season
• Defeated Ohio State’s Aidan Kim (finished season ranked #8 in the nation)

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Anderson Rosa — Men’s Soccer

Brenna Johnson

• Returned to UCF for 5th Year after getting drafted by Colorado Rapids in the 2nd Round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft
• Became the first men’s soccer player to receive the Order of Pegasus, the most prestigious honor any UCF student can receive
• Named All-Sun Belt First Team
• Scored 2 goals and got 6 assists (T-2nd in Sun Belt), averaging 0.375 assists per game (3rd in Sun Belt)
• Finished his UCF career having not missed a single match (76 consecutive matches played, program record)

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Darius Johnson — Men’s Basketball

Brenna Johnson

• Named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
• Played 1,270 minutes across 37 games (all starts)
• Made 205 FGs (5th in Big 12), 93 3-PT shots (4th in Big 12, 5th-most in a single season in program history) and 139 FTs (4th in Big 12, 5th-most in a single season in program history)
• Scored 644 points (Most in Big 12 and 7th-most in a single season in program history)
• Averages 17.4 points per game (T-4th in Big 12)
• Recorded 160 assists (6th in Big 12, Most in a single season in D1 Era), averaging 4.3 per game (T-6th in Big 12), and 83 steals (7th in the nation, 2nd in Big 12, Most in a single season in D1 Era), averaging 2.2 per game (2nd in Big 12)
• Finished with 8th-most (5th in D1 Era) career points (1,586), 2nd-most (Most in D1 Era) steals (241), 3rd-most assists (478), 4th-most made three-pointers (218), 5th-highest free-throw percentage (.814%) and 3rd-most games (125) in program history

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Andrew Williamson — Baseball

Rizzy Irizarry

• Named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
• Hit for third cycle in program history (first since April 27, 2007)
• Started all 55 games he played in
• Recorded .352 batting average (10th in Big 12), .448 on-base percentage (8th in Big 12), .662 slugging percentage (5th in Big 12), 1.110 OPS (3rd in Big 12), 13 HRs (Most on team), 53 RBIs (Most on team), 58 runs scored (7th in Big 12), 75 hits (10th in Big 12) and 19 doubles (T-5th in Big 12)

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RJ Harvey — Football

Photo: Brenna Johnson

• Named First-Team All-Big 12 and Third-Team All-American (AP & Phil Steele)
• Started 12 games. Rushed 232 times for 1,577 yards (2nd in Big 12), averaging 6.8 yards per carry (3rd in Big 12), 131.4 yards per game (3rd in Big 12) and 22 touchdowns (Most in Big 12, 4th in nation)
• 20 receptions for 267 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns
• Led Big 12 with 152 points scored, averaging 12.7 points per game
• Set program record for career total touchdowns (48)
• Joined Marquette Smith (1994-95) as the only Knights to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons

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