It’s awards season at Rock M Nation, and we’ve got a lot to celebrate from the 2025-26 school year. New hires, postseason highs, incredible individual and team performances… There’s a lot of good things going on in CoMo, and we intend to talk about it.
And because we always strive to do things a bit differently around here, we created our own award, the Rock M’my, a few years ago. Consider it to be part Emmy, part Espy, and all parts love of Mizzou Athletics. (pronounced Rock Emmy)
I encouraged the
staff to not just consider the major sports and the top dogs, but to dig below the surface and select worthy nominees from all the teams. Luckily, Rock M Nation represents a diverse group of writers with knowledge about a variety of Mizzou sports, so this wasn’t too much of an ask. With each nomination, you’ll also find a bit of backstory, so you, the fans, can make an informed decision, because at the end of each post, you’ll vote. Forget to cast your ballot one day? No big deal. I’ll provide links to the other awards from the preceding posts.
Once all the votes for each award have been tabulated over the next few weeks, I’ll present a winners list, and that student-athlete will win our completely serious award that will undoubtedly be the greatest triumph of their lives thus far.
Voting closes Friday, July 31 at 10pm CST.
In case you missed the earlier votes:
Let’s begin.
There were so many great moments this season in Mizzou Athletics. Snapshots in time that, no matter how the season ultimately ended up, left you feeling a sense of utter euphoria at that moment. It could have been an astonishing win that no one saw coming, a buzzer beater, a weather phenomenon that dramatically impacted a game, a champion crowned, a program-defining finish… In fact, there were so many great memories, we’ll undoubtedly be reliving these over and over again in our minds for the rest of summer.
Enjoy! This is gonna be a tough one to decide.
Here are the nominees for Most Euphoric Moment:
Women’s Hoops beats Cal on buzzer beater
After losses to Maryville in an exhibition showdown and falling to kU on a neutral court, the first non-conference slate for coach Kellie Harper was off the a rough start. But after a win against Northwestern, the Tigers were riding high entering the ACC/SEC Challenge against Cal at home. It started to slip away from the Tigers, as the Golden Bears built a 7-point lead late in the third quarter. But the Tigers rallied thanks to nine fourth-quarter points from Shannon Dowell, including a clutch layup at the buzzer to give Mizzou the 68-67 win. This may have been the Tigers’ best win at Mizzou Arena in the Harper era thus far, but I doubt that stays true for long. Still, a truly great moment in her first year at the helm. –Dylan Heinrich
Gymnastics knocks off #2 Florida for highest ranked win ever
On a Friday night in Mizzou Arena, the Tigers knocked off their highest ranked competition in program history when they swiftly took down the no. 2 Florida Gators on February 6 by a score 0f 197.200 to 196.500.
The Tigers actually didn’t get started on the best foot, earning just a 49.15 on vault — their lowest of the season at that point— but the Gators were worse, earning an astonishingly bad 48.475, as they had three routines with major issues and ended up counting TWO scores in the 9.4 range. This gave the Tigers an early 0.675 lead that they would fight like hello to hold on to. After both teams earned matching 49.250 scores on bars (Mizzou) and vault (Florida), they moved to the third rotation. There, the Gators to gain a little ground, scoring a 49.325 on floor while Mizzou earned a 49.275 on beam, bringing the point differential down to 0.600 heading into the final rotation.
On floor, though, the Tigers couldn’t be stopped, and they earned a season high 49.525, which featured career-highs of 9.925 by Ayla and Kaia and a career-high 9.875 from Kimarra. Kennedy, in the fifth spot, tied her season-high with a 9.925 of her own, and that’s basically all she wrote, as Florida earned a 49.450 on beam. The end result wasn’t close. Missouri beat Florida convincingly — by 0.700!!! — earning them their first SEC win of the season and their highest ranked win in program history. —Karen Steger
Softball Hands #4 Alabama Second Loss of Season
While Mizzou softball just missed the NCAA Tournament by one game, they put up a fight all season. This best showcased during SEC play, knocking off a variety of top 25 opponents. This included a 5-2 win at home over no. 4/6 Alabama on March 21, who came into the second game of the series at 27-1. The Tide rolled early, hitting a pair of solo shots in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. But the Tigers rebounded with three runs in the third inning to take lead, helped in large part by two RBI from a Sophie Smith ground-rule double with the bases loaded. Mizzou added two more insurance runs, including a solo home run from Stefania Abruscato. Pitcher Cierra Harrison bounced back from the early homers, striking out five and not allowing another run in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Abby Carr entered the game in relief, earning the first save of her career after pitching the final 2 2/3 innings and allowing no runs with three strikeouts. While the Tigers didn’t quite have the season they expected, there were still plenty of opportunities to showcase the talent this team possesses. —Dylan Heinrich
Volleyball beats Tennessee on road
Missouri entered Knoxville riding a six-match SEC winning streak, but a road matchup against No. 16 Tennessee represented the Tigers’ biggest test yet. Instead of shrinking under the moment, Mizzou delivered one of its signature performances of the season, defeating the Lady Vols 3-1 for its first ranked victory of the year and first win in Knoxville since 2019. Behind 19 kills from Caylen Alexander, a dominant defensive effort that held Tennessee to a .173 hitting percentage and a complete team performance led by freshman libero Zoey Matias-Lopez’s match-high 14 digs, the Tigers proved they belonged among the SEC’s elite. The emotional road upset became a defining moment of Missouri’s season, validating the program’s rise and fueling its push toward another NCAA Tournament appearance. —Aaron Segal
Women’s Golf Shocks the Country at NCAAs
After earning just their eighth ever visit to NCAA Regionals, the Tigers continued to tee off, finishing sixth in the NCAA Regional Second Round to earn a spot in the NCAA Third Round, where they had to finish in the Top 15 to advance. They did just that, finishing the round in 11th place, thereby securing the best finish in program history and making a fan out of me. We’re even going to cover golf at Rock M in 2026-27, you guys!
I was glued to live results on my phone Memorial Day weekend, frantically refreshing to see where they’d end up. It was exhilarating. The Tigers finished a program-best 12th at the national championships, which topped a previous best 16th place set in 2005. In case math isn’t your strong suit, that was 21 years ago.
Per MU Tigers, the team’s 1,175 stroke total topped the team’s previous-best by 30 strokes. The Tigers were led by freshmen Ebba Liljeberg, who finished 30th with a +2. Senior Addie Dobson placed 46th with a +7. Fleur van Beek rounded out the top Tiger finishers in 55th place at a +9. The trio posted the best scores by a Tiger at the NCAA Finals in school history with 290, 295 and 297 over 72 holes. –Karen Steger
Mizzou Basketball’s SEC Opening Win over Defending National Champions Florida
Mizzou Hoops was 10-3 heading into the SEC slate, but no notable non-conference wins were going to make it tough sledding to make the NCAA Tournament. Against the defending National Champions, Mizzou upset Florida 76-74 in front of a raucous crowd at Mizzou Arena on January 3. Anthony Robinson II scored a team-leading 19 points, and the atmosphere was electric. The Tigers’ win over the Gators proved to be the turning point of the season to get them back in the March Madness hunt. —Sammy Stava
Collier Dyer, 3-meter National Champ
What could be more euphoric than doing something never done before in Mizzou diving history? Especially when the year before, the same person failed to even qualify for the finals in that very event? At the NCAA Men’s Championships in Atlanta, senior diver Collier Dyer came from the back of the pack, finishing prelims in sixth place before roaring to the top of the podium to take home Mizzou’s first-ever Diving National Championship in school record fashion, earning a 497.75 in the 3-meter springboard event over SMU’s Luke Sitz, who scored a 495.30. With the win, Dyer became just the second Mizzou swimming & diving athlete to earn a national title, joining swimmer Fabian Schwingenschlogl.
“It’s really special,” he said in the Mizzou media session that was held upon his return. “Just like in life, there’s there’s going to be days where it goes really well, and there’s going to be days where it’s disappointing. But the important thing is to just keep coming back, keep showing up,” said Dyer.
Well said, Collier. And now you’ll leave Mizzou in the record books forever.—Karen Steger
The Vandy Fog Game
This Mizzou-Vandy game really felt like the perfect bow on top of my 2-3 years’ worth of covering games at Taylor Stadium. As midnight closed in and after nearly three hours of waiting through weather delays and playing deep into the night, the Tigers erupted for a six-run eighth inning that erased a 6-1 Vanderbilt lead and turned the game on its head as Mizzou stormed back to take a 7-6 lead. Then, in the thick fog at 12:10 a.m., after Sam Rosand put two Vanderbilt runners on in the ninth, Raden Holcomb lifted a ball into a wall of fog so thick that no one — players, coaches, fans — could tell where it landed. Mizzou right fielder Donovan Jordan threw both hands straight up, signaling a ground‑rule double, and the game was suspended immediately after. The ruling was controversially upheld, and Mizzou then picked up a walk off win in the 10th on the following day. —Henry Chappell
Jamal Roberts ices kU
You know when I’m often feeling euphoric? Right when I think everything has gone to shit. And nothing made me feel that way more in 2025’s Mizzou Football campaign than going down 21-6 to kU within the first quarter of the Border War revival. Luckily the Tigers got back into the game just fine, but the slow start allowed the Jayhawks to keep themselves in the game far too long. Even with the Tigers up 35-31, I didn’t feel comfortable. Then Jamal Roberts cut through the Jayhawks defense like butter and put sealed Mizzou’s first win (of hopefully many) in the revived rivalry matchup. The result of the season notwithstanding, I still get a rush out of making kansas miser. —Josh Matejka
