Eddleman Award History | @IlliniAthletics
Champaign, Ill. – The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) announced Thursday that volleyball setter Jordyn Poulter and track and field sprinter Devin Quinn are recipients of the 2018-19 Dike Eddleman Awards, which are presented annually to the top Fighting Illini female and male athlete. The recipients were selected by vote of Illinois head coaches, DIA executive staff and the DIA athletics awards committee.
Poulter, who also won the 2017-18 Eddleman Award, becomes the first repeat female winner since Angela Bizzarri won it three straight times from 2008-10. It marks the 10th time a volleyball player has been named Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year since it was first handed out in 1977. She joins three-time winner Mary Eggers (1987, '88, '89), Laura Bush (1990), Tina Rogers (1994), Christy Chapman (1999), Colleen Ward (2012), Jocelynn Birks (2016) and herself (2018) as volleyball Eddleman Award winners.
Quinn is the 17th men's track and field Eddleman Award recipient and the first since Andrew Riley went back-to-back in 2011 and 2012. On the men's side, the Eddleman Athlete of the Year Award dates back to 1940. Other notable men's track & field recipients include Buddy Young (1940), award namesake Dike Eddleman (1948 & '49), Craig Virgin (1977) and Marko Koers (1993).
As Fighting Illini Athletes of the Year, Poulter and Quinn become Illinois' nominees for Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors, which will be announced later this month.
The Eddleman Awards are the final major individual honors announced by the DIA this year. Ali Bastianelli (volleyball) and Nick Allegretti (football) were recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, while Veronica Ruelius (softball), Beth Prince (volleyball) and David Craan (baseball) took home the Illini Spirit Awards at the annual OSKEE Awards in April. Kornkamol Sukaree (golf) and Ayo Dosunmu (basketball) won Freshman of the Year, announced Wednesday.
JORDYN POULTER | 2019 Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year
- Finalist for the Honda Award (National Player of the Year)
- AVCA and VolleyballMag.com first-team All-American
- Senior CLASS Award finalist & first-team honoree
- AVCA Northeast Region Player of the Year and All-Northeast Region selection
- Big Ten Co-Setter of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten
- NCAA Champaign Regional Most Outstanding Player and All-Region Team
- Led the Illini to their fourth NCAA Final Four appearance in program history
- Totaled the second-most assists in the NCAA and led the Big Ten Conference with 1,521 helpers on the season
- Finished career ranking third all-time in program history with 5,156 career assists and is the first Illini setter to reach both 400 blocks and 1,000 digs
- Five-time Big Ten Setter of the Week on the season (9/4, 9/10, 9/17, 10/22, 10/29)
DEVIN QUINN | 2019 Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year
- Fastest man in Big Ten history – ran a 10.01 in the NCAA Semifinal to break the Big Ten's 100m record that had stood since 2012
- His 10.01 currently ranks as the 13th-fastest in the world this year, and fifth among U.S. times
- First-team All-American in the 100m dash, placing seventh in the NCAA Final
- Big Ten Champion in the 100m Dash
- Re-set his own school record in the 200m dash with a 20.31 finish time in the NCAA Semifinal to earn second-team All-America honors with 9th-place finish
- That 200m time of 20.31 ties for 30th-fastest in the world this year, and 11th among U.S. times
- Originally set the school record in the 200m dash at Big Ten Outdoor Championships with his 20.35 finish, which earned him the silver medal
- Second-team All-American as the anchor leg on the Illini 4x100m relay which placed ninth with a finish time of 39.01, the fourth-fastest 4x100m relay time in program history.
- Bronze medalist anchoring the 4x100m Relay at Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
- Second-team All-American in the Indoor 200m
- Earned bronze medals in the 60m (6.67) and 200m (20.71) at Big Ten Indoor Championships, setting school indoor 200m record in the Big Ten final
- Earned a total of four All-America honors on the season – three outdoors (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and one indoors (200m)
2018-19 Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year Finalists
Female
Asuka Kawai – Tennis
Ling Kuhn – Swimming & Diving
Bella Loya – Softball
Katie Murray – Soccer
Mary Jane Otto – Gymnastics
Jordyn Poulter – Volleyball
Crystal Wang – Golf
Alex Wittinger – Basketball
Male
Garrett Acton – Baseball
Reggie Corbin – Football
Alex Diab – Gymnastics
Michael Feagles – Golf
Aleks Kovacevic – Tennis
Emery Parker – Wrestling
Devin Quinn – Track & Field
THE DIKE EDDLEMAN AWARD
The University of Illinois Athlete of the Year was first awarded in 1940. The award was given annually until it was discontinued for a brief period in 1973. Since 1983, the University of Illinois has recognized both a Male and Female Athlete of the Year. In 1993, the awards were named in honor of the 11-time UI letterman and former Olympian Dwight "Dike" Eddleman.
Poulter and Quinn join the list of all-time Fighting Illini greats who have been bestowed the Eddleman Award, including names like Dike Eddleman himself (football, basketball and track, 1948 & '49), Dick Butkus (football, 1964 & '65), Nancy Thies (gymnastics, 1977), Craig Virgin (track and cross country, 1977), Tony Eason (football, 1982 & '83), Mary Eggers (volleyball, 1987-89), Kendall Gill (basketball, 1990), Renee Slone (Heiken) (golf, 1991 & '92), Tonya Williams (track, 1995-96), Ashley Berggren (basketball, 1997 & '98), Perdita Felicien (track, 2001-03), Justin Spring (gymnastics, 2004 & '06), Deron Williams (basketball, 2005), Kevin Anderson (tennis, 2007), Angela Bizzarri (track and cross country, 2008-10), Paul Ruggeri (gymnastics, 2009), Scott Langley (golf, 2010), Andrew Riley (track, 2011 & '12), Janelle Flaws (soccer, 2014), Tyler Jay (baseball, 2015) and last year's winners, Poulter and Bren Spillane (baseball).
Dike Eddleman Athlete of the Year History
