Kansas Wesleyan's end of the year Yotee Awards ceremony was held on Monday afternoon inside Mabee Arena with several awards celebrating excellence in KWU Athletics being awarded.
Headlining the award winners were Alex Littlejohn and LaMyah Ricks being selected as the Dr. F. Gene Bissell Male and M. Virginia Bevan Female Athletes of the Year, respectively, and the women's basketball team being selected as the Team of the Year.
Nominations for the awards were made by coaches for the various awards and award winners were voted upon by the coaches and athletic administrative staff.
Littlejohn wrapped up a stellar Kansas Wesleyan career this year for the men's basketball team. He was a Second Team All-KCAC pick for the Coyotes this season He ranked second in the KCAC in scoring this season averaging 19.6 points per game. He also ranked second in the KCAC in rebounding averaging 10.5 rebounds per game. He ranked ninth in the KCAC in field goal percentage, shooting 54.4 percent from the field this season.
Littlejohn capped a incredible career for the Coyotes this season seeing him earning first-team honors the last two seasons and was an honorable mention pick as a freshman as well as a spot on the All-KCAC Freshman team his rookie campaign. Littlejohn broke many career records while at KWU, including double-doubles with 58. He also broke the all-time scoring record that had previously stood for 70 years, and the all-time rebounding record that had stood for 75 years. He also broke records for field goals made and attempted.
The Dr. F. Gene Bissell Male Student Athlete of the Year award is named for the late Dr. Franklin Gene Bissell who arrived at Kansas Wesleyan in 1950 as an assistant football coach and assumed the head coaching role in 1952 and remained in that role until retiring from coaching football in 1978. Bissell remained at KWU until fully retiring in 1994. While at KWU, Bissell also coached track and field, served as assistant basketball coach, helped reinstate the baseball program twice, and was a willing advocate for the addition of women's athletics. He also served as Athletic Director and a professor in the Kinesiology department. The field at the former Glenn Martin Stadium was named in his honor in 1994 and the field was rededicated in his name at the opening of the Graves Family Sports Complex in 2015.
Ricks had an outstanding campaign in her final season as a Coyote. She earned First Team All-KCAC honors and was named as an honorable mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
She was a team captain for the Coyotes who claimed the 2025 KCAC Regular Season Championship and advanced to the Second Round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship upsetting bracket No.2 seed MidAmerica Nazarene on its home floor in March.
She led the Coyotes in scoring at 12.7 points per game and in minutes played per game at 30.6. She shot 39.1 percent from the field and was a 75 percent shooter at the free throw line.
Her phenomenal season capped an outstanding Coyote career that spanned five seasons, where she scored 1449 points, which ranks fourth-best all-time in school history. She was a three-time All-KCAC pick and twice named WBCA NAIA All-America.
The M. Virginia Bevan Female Student Athlete of the Year award is named for M. Virginia (Ginny) Bevan, who was a pioneer in women's athletics. She organized opportunities for young women to compete in intercollegiate athletics before the implementation of Title IX. She made sure that Kansas Wesleyan was at the forefront of the Title IX movement and served as the first coach of women's sports at KWU. She also served as a professor in the Physical Education Department and was a life advisor to many students on the KWU campus.
The women's basketball team was named as the winner of the Team of the Year award. The Coyotes had an incredible season, posting a 24-8 record overall and an 18-4 record in the KCAC, winning the KCAC Regular Season championship outright for just the second time in program history. The Coyotes advanced to the NAIA National Championship and were the only No. 15 seed in the NAIA bracket to upset a No. 2 seed in the first round as KWU beat MidAmerica Nazarene on its home floor. Head Coach Ryan Showman was named as the Lonnie Kruse KCAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year and LaMyah Ricks was a WBCA NAIA All-America selection.
Mayce Russell, a freshman thrower for the Coyote track team, was named as the Female Freshman of the Year. In her first outdoor meet of the season, Russell hit the NAIA Automatic Qualifying standard and broke the KWU school record in the javelin throw with a mark of 44.08m.
Seth Flores, a freshman midfielder for the men's soccer team was named the Male Freshman of the Year. Flores played in 18 matches for the Coyotes, scoring three goals and had two assists on the season. He earned honorable mention All-KCAC honors this season.
Emma Gervy was named as the Female Newcomer of the Year. She played in 19 matches for the Coyotes, scoring seven goals and four assists. She was a second team All-KCAC pick at forward for the Coyotes. She led the team with 18 points.
Cole Segraves was the Male Newcomer of the Year. Segraves was the KCAC Bissell Division Special Teams Player of the Year and a first team All-Division pick for the Coyotes. He went 3 of 4 on field goals on the season, serving as the long distance kicker for the Coyotes. He also took over punting duties for the Coyotes after Griffin Wiltse was injured and ranked third in the division in punting yards with 632. He hit a 54-yard field goal on the season and was 2 of 3 on kicks over 50 yards.
Any victory over Bethany is a good victory, but one team had the best win over the Swedes this season. Softball won the Best Win over Bethany award as the Coyotes picked up a sweep of the Swedes in the doubleheader, winning the first game 8-7, and then winning the second game 3-0 after having to wait two days to complete the game that was suspended in the fifth inning due to weather. The sweep helped the Coyotes earn a spot in the KCAC Tournament for a second straight season and winning with a 14-12 KCAC record.
The Game Changer award is a new award this year at the Yotee Awards and it is given to the student-athlete that does things that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet or the results but positively contributes to their team's successes.
Women's Basketball's Angel Lee was named as the Female Game Changer. Lee was the player who always was given the toughest defensive assignment in games, and had the ball in her hands at the end of games. A nursing student who also was a resident assistant in the residence halls as well as playing basketball. She went above and beyond on any task given and was always looking to lend a hand when possible. She was a staple for KWU in the community, staying out on the floor after games to talk to families and give autographs and take photos with kids. Her positive attitude quickly spread to anyone in her presence.
Baseball's Ritter Steinmann was named as the Male Game Changer. He was a first team All-KCAC pick at relief pitcher for the Coyotes, but also contributed to campus in many ways off the field. This fall he served as an intern in the Everett Morgan Strength Training Center with Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim Farina and this spring completed another internship with the athletic training staff helping to reduce workload for the staff.
Next to be honored were the Lone Coyotes. These awards are given to student-athletes who are part of a team, but their individual play is what contributes to the team score, such as golf, track and field, and tennis
Abby Donovan from Women's Golf was named as the Female Lone Coyote.
Donovan led the team to a second straight KCAC Championship and a third title in the last four years. She claimed the tournament individual championship for the Coyotes as well. She earned the KCAC Player of the Year honor for a second straight year as well. She had a 77.6 scoring average on the season and had four wins and eight top 10 finishes and boasted a .905 win percentage in individual head-to-head competition.
The Male Lone Coyote Award is named in honor of Randy Bemiss who served as golf coach for several seasons before passing away in 2017. Those who knew Randy knew about his love of every single one of his student-athletes and of Kansas Wesleyan. His positive outlook on life rubbed off on everyone he talked to.
The Randy Bemiss Male Lone Coyote Award winner is Julian Avila from track and field and cross country. Avila was part of the KWU men's cross country team that qualified for the NAIA National Championships and finished 22nd as a team. He was a 2-time NAIA All-American in the indoor season in the 4x800m relay and the 1000m, was the KCAC Champion in the 4x800m, 1000m, and earned second place in the distance medley relay and the 800m run. Outdoors he finished third in the 800m and fifth in the 1500m and was part of the KCAC Champion 4x800m relay team.
Next was the Best Developmental Team Win award. Many strong candidates were nominated for the award. Ultimately it was decided that women's basketball's domination of the Bethany Swedes was the winner. The Coyotes dominated the Swedes this season winning by an average score of 71.7 to 50.7 after having dropped the last 11 games the past four seasons.
Assistant Coach of the Year was won by Madelyne Denslow of the women's basketball team. Denslow served as assistant coach for the Coyotes who won the KCAC Regular Season Championship and advanced to the Second Round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship in March. She also served as head coach of the Developmental Purple team that went 11-6 overall, which included going 10-2 against other NAIA developmental teams.
The women's basketball team also picked up the Yotee for the best overall win of the season with the win over MidAmerica Nazarene in the first round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. The No. 15 seeded Coyotes were the lone 15-seed to win their first round match-up in the championship field as KWU knocked off the Pioneers 70-69 on their home floor in March. The Coyotes were down six early in the fourth quarter before coming back and tying it up at 60 with four minutes left. MNU took a 65-62 lead and then led again at 69-66 with 20 seconds left. Angel Lee scored to get the Coyotes within a point with 14 seconds left. After a MNU turnover, Hampton Williams scored what would be the game-winner with six seconds left. MNU had a couple chances to win it, but blocks by Lee, and then a block by Williams at the buzzer secured the win for the Coyotes.
Up next was the Head Coach of the Year award. The nominees were announced, and the winner was announced via a moving video presentation. Athletic Communications staff member Sheresa Layton did an outstanding job of assembling a video of current KWU coaches, and a long list of women's basketball greats wishing award winner Ryan Showman congratulations and good luck in his new endeavors as he departs KWU to become head coach at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas.
After the Athlete of the Year presentations, KWU Athletics revealed the big news of the afternoon via video presentation. All of KWU's conference champions were recognized and at the end of the video it was officially announced that KWU had won an unprecedented third consecutive KCAC Commissioner's Cup trophy that recognizes overall excellence in KCAC Championship sports. The achievement was the first time any school has won the Cup three straight years, and gives KWU five Cup wins overall, tying for the most all-time since the Cup's inception in 2012-13.
2025 Yotee Awards Winners
Female Freshman of the Year - Mayce Russell, Track and Field
Male Freshman of the Year - Seth Flores, Soccer
Female Newcome of the Year - Emma Gervy, Soccer
Male Newcomer of the Year - Cole Segraves, Football
Best Win over Bethany - Softball
Female Game Changer - Angel Lee, Basketball
Male Game Changer - Ritter Steinmann, Baseball
Female Lone Coyote - Abby Donovan, Golf
Randy Bemiss Male Lone Coyote - Julian Avila, Cross Country and Track and Field
Best Developmental Win - Women's Basketball Purple
Assistant Coach of the Year - Madelyne Denslow, Women's Basketball
Best Overall Win - Women's Basketball vs MidAmerica Nazarene in NAIA Tournament
Head Coach of the Year - Ryan Showman, Women's Basketball
M. Virginia Bevan Female Student-Athlete of the Year - LaMyah Ricks, Women's Basketball
Dr. F. Gene Bissell Male Student-Athlete of the Year - Alex Littlejohn, Men's Basketball
Team of the Year - Women's Basketball