Award History | DIA Awards | @IlliniAthletics
Champaign, Ill. – The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) announced Wednesday its 2018-19 Freshmen of the Year. Basketball's Ayo Dosunmu and golf's Kornkamol Sukaree have been named winners of the annual award, presented to the top male and female freshmen competing for the Fighting Illini. The recipients were selected by vote of Illinois head coaches, DIA executive staff and the DIA athletics awards committee.
Dosunmu becomes the fourth basketball player and first since 2010 to win Illinois Male Freshman of the Year. He joins D.J. Richardson (2010), Cory Bradford (1999) and Deon Thomas (1991) as men's basketball freshman of the year winners.
Sukaree is the second golfer to win Illinois Female Freshman of the Year since the award began in 1990. Sukaree joins Becky Biehl (1992) as freshman of the year recipients from the women's golf program.
AYO DOSUNMU | Men's Basketball
- Big Ten All-Freshman Team & honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches & media)
- First true freshman in school history to lead the Illini in scoring for the season (13.8 ppg)
- Recorded the fourth-best scoring average by a freshman in Illini history
- Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Feb. 11 & Feb. 18)
- 23 games scoring in double figures with seven performances of 20 or more points
- Led Illini in assists (3.3 apg), second on team in steals (1.3 spg) and third on team in rebounding (4.0 rpg)
KORNKAMOL SUKAREE | Women's Golf
- First-team All-Big Ten
- Led the Illini with a 72.62 stroke average, the third-best in program history
- Seven top-10 finishes on the year, and was Illinois' fop finisher in six tournaments
- Helped Illini to a ninth-place team finish at the NCAA Championships, placing 19th individually as Illinois' top finisher
- Placed sixth individually at the NCAA Regional and eighth at the Big Ten Championships
- Fired the best round in program history, carding a 6-under-par 66 in the final round of the Westbrook Invitational to equal the school record
2018-19 Illinois Freshman of the Year Finalists
Male
Ayo Dosunmu – Basketball
Adrien Dumont de Chassart – Golf
Michael Fletcher – Gymnastics
Cam McDonald – Baseball
Female
Ashley Cathro – Soccer
Taylor Kuper – Volleyball
Madison Marasco – Cross Country
Sydney Sickels – Softball
Kornkamol Sukaree – Golf
Fighting Illini Freshman of the Year Award History
