Kaboom! Awards Show Returns Monday Night

Bradley Athletics annual awards will be presented Monday night at Renaissance Coliseum

Bobby Parker, Sr. Associate AD for Communications and Event & Facility Operations General 4/29/2022 10:34:00 AM

PEORIA, IL – For the first time since 2019, the annual Kaboom! Awards, presented by RE/MAX Traders, will be delivered live at Renaissance Coliseum as Bradley Athletics recognizes the accomplishments of its student-athletes during the 2021-22 school year and the graduating senior class of 2022.

Monday's activities will begin with a student-athlete red carpet entrance and social hour at 6:00 p.m., followed by the awards show at 7 o'clock. The 2022 Kaboom! Awards will be live streamed from the Bradley Athletics YouTube channel.

2022 Bradley Athletics Kaboom! Awards | Monday, May 2, 2022
6:00 PM CT Red Carpet Entrance and Social Hour | 7:00 PM Awards Show | Watch Live on YouTube

The awards show will culminate with presentation of the 69th Charles Orsborn Award, the most-prestigious honor bestowed on Bradley University to a graduating student-athlete. Named in honor of the school's former four-sport student-athlete, men's basketball coach and athletic director, the Orsborn Award recognizes the graduating senior student-athlete who has best combined athletic and academic achievement with community service.

Orsborn was a member of the "Famous Five" Bradley Basketball teams that played in the first two National Invitation Tournaments in 1938 and 1939 and earned an invitation to the first NCAA Tournament in 1939. Orsborn directed the Braves to three NIT championships during his nine-year tenure as men's basketball head coach from 1956-65, earning the distinction of Bradley Basketball Coach of the Century during the celebration of the program's first 100 seasons, and he served as Director of Athletics from 1965-78.

The three finalists for the 2022 Charles Orsborn Award are cross country and track runner McKenzie Altmayer (Geneva, IL/Geneva HS), baseball player Connor O'Brien (San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) and volleyball player Hannah Thompson (Pekin, IL/Pekin HS).

Altmayer is a four-time individual All-Missouri Valley Conference performer in cross country and indoor track and a member of two MVC Indoor Track Championships distance medley relay winning teams. A 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team selection, Altmayer earned the MVC Elite 17 Award at both the 2019 Indoor Track Championships and the 2020-21 Cross Country Championships. Altmeyer earned her bachelor's degree in English (creative writing) and currently boasts a perfect 4.0 grade point average as she pursues her master's degree in counseling (clinical mental health).

O'Brien is a two-time All-MVC first-team selection at first base who entered the 2022 season with a .375 career batting average in Missouri Valley Conference games. A starter in all 34 games to date this season, O'Brien enters this weekend's series at Evansville leading the Braves with a .386 batting average, .598 slugging percentage and 1.060 OPS. Majoring in business (management & leadership), O'Brien sports a 3.40 cumulative GPA.

One of the most-accomplished student-athletes in Bradley Volleyball history, Thompson is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning second-team honors in 2021 after collecting third-team recognition in during the delayed 2020-21 season. The 5-foot-8 outside hitter was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection, ending her career as one of just three student-athletes in Valley history to collect 1,300 career kills (1,377) and 1,900 career digs (1,902). Boasting a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average, the health science major was the 2021 MVC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

In addition to the Orsborn Award, former Bradley Baseball student-athlete and current U.S. District Court judge Hon. James E. Shadid will receive the 20th Orville Nothdurft Lifetime Achievement Award. Shadid played baseball at Bradley from 1976-79, finishing his career with a .300 batting average in 156 games and he remains the program's all-time leader with 85 career stolen bases. Shadid currently serves as one of 10 justices for the United States District Court, Central District of Illinois. He is a former Chief Justice of the Central District of Illinois and he is a long-serving member of the Bradley University Board of Trustees.

The list of awards to be presented Monday night also includes the 20th Megan C. Fong Inspiration Award, 39th Carl Grose Service Award, 24th Special Recognition Award, 16th Coach Joe Stowell Awards (male and female) and the Men's and Women's Individual Performances of the Year. With four teams still competing in the 2021-22 school year, the annual Varsity Club Male and Female Most Outstanding Athletes will be announced this summer.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Hannah Thompson: OH; 5' 8"; Senior

McKenzie Altmayer: Graduate Student

#41 Connor O'Brien: 1B/OF; 6' 1"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#6 Hannah Thompson
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OH

McKenzie Altmayer
: Graduate Student

#41 Connor O'Brien
: 6' 1"; Junior; R/R
: 1B/OF

Kaboom! Awards Show Returns Monday Night

Bradley Athletics annual awards will be presented Monday night at Renaissance Coliseum

Players Mentioned

#6 Hannah Thompson

McKenzie Altmayer

#41 Connor O'Brien

Players Mentioned

#6 Hannah Thompson

McKenzie Altmayer

#41 Connor O'Brien