Illinois senior captain Logan Bradley was a finalist for the 2016 Nissen-Emery Award. The honor is awarded annually to the top senior in college gymnastics and is regarded as the highest honor in the sport. 

Bradley, a Naperville, Illinois, native was one of eight finalists. Others in the field included Army West Point's Jesse Glenn, California's Kevin Wolting, Jack Boyle from Iowa, Ethan Lottman of Nebraska, Oklahoma's Kanji Oyama, Trevor Howard from Penn State and Stanford's Brian Knott. Glenn of Army West Point was the eventual winner, becoming the first gymnast from a service academy to bring home the accolade.

The original Nissen Award was named in honor of George Nissen, a former NCAA champion, for his contributions to men's gymnastics and debuted in 1966. The award was re-named the Nissen-Emery Award in 1998 to honor Dr. Robert Emery, a Penn State graduate, who won the Nissen Award in 1969.

Over the award's history, four Illinois gymnasts have earned the prestigious honor, including: David Zeddies (1989), Justin Spring (2006), Luke Stannard (2010) and most recently Paul Ruggeri (2012). Bradley is the 21st Nissen-Emery Award finalist in Illinois program history.