2020 Kaboom! Awards: Moments of the Year

The 2020 Kaboom! Awards conclude with a look back at the top moments of the 2019-20 school year

General 5/30/2020 11:00:00 AM

PEORIA, IL - The 2020 Kaboom! Awards, presented by RE/MAX Traders Unlimited and supported by PNC, come to close Saturday with a video presentation of the top moments of the 2019-20 school year. Although the year came to an abrupt end in March, canceling the remainder of the basketball and spring sports seasons, Bradley Athletics excelled in competition throughout the year.

For the first time in department history, Bradley's four fall sports teams - Men's Cross Country (1st), Women's Cross Country (2nd), Soccer (3rd) and Volleyball (4th) - all finished among the top four in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. The men's cross country team earned its fifth consecutive Valley title, matching the league record for consecutive titles, while posting a record-low 17 points at the MVC Championship. Women's Cross Country finished among the top two at the MVC Championship for a seventh consecutive season after winning its elite Bradley Pink Classic for the first time in the meet's 16-year history. Soccer jumped four places in the final MVC standings en route to a third consecutive winning season, defeated the same team (Evansville) three times in a season for the first time in program history and delivered veteran head coach Jim DeRose his 250th career victory by downing the Purple Aces, 2-0, in the first round of the MVC Tournament. With its fourth-place regular-season finish, Volleyball finished among the league's top four and advanced to the six-team MVC Volleyball Championship in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001 and 2002.

In addition to the success of the four teams competing during their championship season in the fall, Bradley Tennis excelled during the fall's tournament season. Sophomores Bozana Lojpur (Flight 2 Singles) and Nikki Perlwitz (Flight 5 Singles) both captured flight titles at the 2019 MVC Women's Tennis Individual Championships and the Braves recorded a program-record six victories at the 2019 ITA Central Region Championship. Senior Sandra Maletin was undefeated (10-0) during the spring dual match season, leading the Braves to a 7-5 record and consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the mid-1990s.

The momentum from the fall carried over to the basketball season as the Bradley men's basketball team successfully defended its Arch Madness title. After winning 20 games during the regular season for the first time since 2006-07, the Braves earned consecutive MVC Tournament titles for the first time in program history to secure consecutive NCAA Tournament bids for the first time since 1954 and 1955. While Men's Basketball's final 23 victories were the most since 1993-94, Bradley Women's Basketball set the program record for wins by completing the regular season with a 22-7 record. The Braves also won a program-record 13 Valley games, leading to their best-ever finish (sole possession of third place) in the MVC regular-season standings.

Though the spring sports season was halted March 12, Bradley's Baseball and Softball teams both enjoyed highlights during their abbreviated campaigns. Bradley Softball opened the season with a 3-2 win against No. 20/24 Arkansas at New Mexico State's Troy Cox Classic, while Baseball ended the season with a 3-game sweep at Tennessee Tech, where senior outfielder Dan Bolt blasted four home runs to land on the Collegiate Baseball News National Team of the Week. Softball's 14-9 record heading into its league-opener was the team's best record through 23 games since the 2007 squad started with the same record. On the links, Bradley Women's Golf ranked second in The Valley in the GolfStat rankings when the season was halted with senior Taylor Ledwein perched atop the league's individual rankings.

The Braves once again were recognized for their academic excellence during the 2019-20 school year. Jake Hoffert (Men's Cross Country), Natalia Barbery (Tennis) and Luke Shadid (Baseball) all were selected the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in their respective sports, while Jack Franklin (Men's Cross Country), Hoffert (Men's Indoor Track) and Ari Boya (Men's Basketball) all earned the MVC Elite 17 Award at their respective Missouri Valley Conference Championship events. Bradley's six award winners were the most in The Valley in 2019-20. Eight Bradley student-athletes also were selected Academic All-District 5 by the College Sports Information Directors of America, matching the most Academic All-District awards in program history. Six of those honorees are still under consideration for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, while a trio of basketball student-athletes - Chelsea Brackmann, Gabi Haack and Nate Kennell - all were selected for the I-AAA Athletic Director's Association Scholar-Athlete Team as Bradley matched Gonzaga for the most combined men's and women's basketball honorees in the nation.

The 2020 Kaboom! Awards have celebrated the year in Bradley Athletics by transitioning to a virtual presentation throughout the month of May. Each year on the final night of spring semester classes, the Bradley Department of Athletics gathers at Renaissance Coliseum for the annual Kaboom! Awards, an event modeled after the popular awards shows in the entertainment industry (Oscars, Grammys, ESPYs) and recognizes all of the graduating seniors, spotlights the team and individual achievements from throughout the year. Traditionally preceded by a red-carpet reception, the awards show is filled with video and graphic tributes, which have been presented this year through the Bradley Athletics website, BradleyBraves.com, and the department's social media accounts -- culminating with the announcement of the 67th Charles Orsborn Award Friday and viewing of the Moments of the Year Saturday.

Bradley will conduct voting for the 2019-20 Varsity Club Most Outstanding Athletes in June.

2020 Kaboom! Awards Presentation Schedule

Day, Date	Feature	Video Links
Monday, May 4	Men's Golf highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 5	Charles Orsborn Award candidates	Article
Wednesday, May 6	Women's Cross Country and Track	Video
Thursday, May 7	Charles Orsborn Award finalist #1 - Nate Kennell	Video
Friday, May 8	Softball highlights	Video
Saturday, May 9	Female Individual Performance of the Year	Video
	Male Individual Performance of the Year	Video
Monday, May 11	Soccer highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 12	Orsborn Award finalist #2 - Jake Hoffert	Video
Wednesday, May 13	Tennis highlights	Video
Thursday, May 14	Megan C. Fong Inspiration Award	Video
Friday, May 15	Baseball highlights	Video
Saturday, May 16	Graduating Class of 2020	Video
Monday, May 18	Volleyball highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 19	Orsborn Award finalist #3 - Chelsea Brackmann	Video
Wednesday, May 20	Men's Cross Country and Track highlights	Video
Thursday, May 21	Female Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video
	Male Coach Joe Stowell Award	Video
Friday, May 22	Women's Golf highlights	Video
	Cheerleading highlights	Video
Saturday, May 23	Men's Team Performance of the Year	Video
	Women's Team Performance of the Year	Video
Sunday, May 24	Women's Basketball highlights	Video
Tuesday, May 26	Orsborn Award finalist #4 - Luke Shadid	Video
Wednesday, May 27	Men's Basketball highlights	Video
Thursday, May 28	Bradley Athletics community service	Video
	Carl Grose Service Award	Video
Friday, May 29	Charles Orsborn Award	Video
Saturday, May 30	Moments of the Year	Video