University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: NATE SKVORETZ
Carolina Athletics Celebrates Year Of Excellence At The 2026 Rammys
April 20, 2026 | General, Athletics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a year full of highlights in athletics and in the classroom, North Carolina student-athletes ditched their uniforms and came out in style to celebrate a year for the record books and outstanding achievement at the 2026 Rammy Awards from Memorial Hall.
All of UNC's 28 varsity programs, as well as coaches, staff, band, and spirit, dressed to impress as all walked across the Carolina Blue carpet prior to Monday night's festivities.
Hosted by Hannah Johann from women's soccer, Christo Kelly from football, Trevor Paschall from men's track and field, and volleyball's Lauren Schutter, the group kicked off the night with a welcome message before diving into the awards.
The first 2026 Rammys of the night were presented to the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year, with baseball's Walker McDuffie and Ryan Lynch taking home the award on the men's side and women's lacrosse's Eliza Osburn earning the honor.
McDuffie and Lynch both lit it up on the mound in their first seasons in Chapel Hill, with each named a second-team freshman All-America by multiple outlets. McDuffie posted seven saves last season and earned a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team. Lynch spent most of his freshman campaign as a key reliever before moving into a starting role last postseason.
Osburn got off to a hot start in her debut season, assisting the Tar Heels to their fourth national title in women's lacrosse. The Castle Rock, Colo., native was named Third-Team All-America after tallying 35 goals, eight assists, and 56 draw controls last season. She also earned honorable mention All-America by Nike Lacrosse Media and USA Lacrosse, as well as a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Executive Associate Athletic Director Steve Newmark was also awarded a Newcomer Rammy after joining Carolina Athletics this past summer, as he is set to assume the role of Director of Athletics in July.
A decisive winner for the Rammy for Best Play, Seth Trimble's game-winning three-pointer against No. 4 Duke earned the award as one of the most noteworthy moments of the year.
The annual John Lotz Award is given annually to a student-athlete who has demonstrated a passion to succeed under adverse circumstances, in honor of the former Carolina coach and administrator. After suffering a season ending injury prior to the start of his sophomore season, men's lacrosse's Peter Thomann has bounced back after a redshirt season. The defenseman remained optimistic last season and returned even stronger as he earned a spot on the mid-season Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
The 2025 NCAA Champion in the women's indoor 800m and the runner-up in the outdoor, Makayla Paige came away with the Rammy for the Best Championship Performance. As a senior, Paige's efforts on the track propelled her to earn the honors of the 2025 ACC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and the 2025 ACC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the year.
Two national champions each earned the Rammy for the Best Individual Performance on the men's and women's side, with fencing's Youssef Shamel and women's tennis' Reese Brantmeier each taking home a trophy.
Making a statement in his debut campaign, Shamel earned fencing's first individual national title in 43 years with the 2025 Men's Epee Individual crown. He became the second national champion in program history.
A dominant force in women's tennis, Brantmeier added to her crowded trophy collection with the 2025 NCAA Women's Singles title in November. She is only the second Tar Heel in program history to win the NCAA Singles National Championship.
Following a brief intermission, men's basketball picked up its second award of the night with the Rammy for Best Upset. Culminating in Trimble's game winner, the Tar Heels pieced together the comeback victory to knock off No. 4 Duke from the Smith Center after trailing by as many as 13 points.
Each year, a Rammy is presented to a group or person who contributes to Carolina Athletics behind the scenes. A fixture of a Carolina gameday, Associate Athletic Director of Event Management John Brunner was honored with this year's award. A surprise unsung hero Rammy was awarded to Associate Athletic Director for GoHeels Productions for all of his work on the Rammys as well as all of Carolina's televised athletic events.
Showing significant strides in their sport, the Best Breakthrough Athlete Rammys were presented to Riley Berge from men's soccer, as well as women's swimming and diving's Sophia Frei and Sofia Knight.
Berge anchored a backline that finished with an average of .850 goals against and eight clean sheets, as men's soccer reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
In the pool, Frei notched the No. 1 All-Time 200-Yard Backstroke at 1:51.24 at the 2026 NCAA Championships. She was also a member of the 400-medley relay team, which picked up All-America Honors. Shining as a sophomore, Knight posted top 10 marks on the 1M and 3M platforms this past season. At the 2026 NCAA Championships, Knight claimed two All-America honors on the 1M and 3M platforms.
The Mildred McCaskill Award was created to recognize her contribution and support of UNC Athletics. Annually presented to a student-athlete for their work in athletics and service to the community, baseball's Carter French was honored with the 2026 McCaskill award.
Shattering multiple NCAA and program records in her redshirt freshman season, Chloe Humphrey took home the 2026 Rammy for Record Breaking Performance. Lighting it up last season, Humphrey now sits atop the NCAA record book with goals by a freshman as she totaled 90 in her debut campaign as UNC went on to win the 2025 NCAA Women's Lacrosse National Championship.
Track and field's Joe Sapone and Delea Martins came dressed to impress, with the duo taking home Best Dressed Awards.
Shining all year long, the 2026 Rammy's for male and female outstanding athletes went to none other than men's basketball's Caleb Wilson and Humphrey from women's lacrosse.
Wilson's impact in Chapel Hill will be felt for years to come, as he posted a freshman season for the record books. A second-team All-America, first-team All-ACC and All-Rookie Team, Wilson became the first UNC freshman to make at least second-team All-America since Tyler Hansbrough in 2006. He also established UNC freshman records for most consecutive games scoring in double figures to begin a career and most 20-point games. Wilson wraps his time in Carolina Blue as the only player in ACC history to average at least 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as he is set to hear his name called at the NBA Draft in June.
Humphrey took home her second award of the night due to the multitude of honors accumulated during her redshirt-freshman season. The Darrien, Conn., native became UNC's first Tewaarton Award winner and the first freshman winner in the history of the women's award. Humphrey also earned the Honda Sport Award for lacrosse after leading
Carolina to its fourth NCAA Women's Lacrosse national title in 2025 and earning the Most Outstanding Player honor of the tournament.
Honoring all of his work throughout his tenure in Chapel Hill, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham was surprised with a Founders Award Rammy in celebration of his decade-plus service to Carolina.
Earning the final award of the night, women's lacrosse added to its night of honors with the Rammy for Outstanding Team. The 2025 National Champions finished the season with a perfect 22-0 record to match the school record for wins in a season. Earning the program's fourth championship, Carolina is now tied for the third most in the history of the sport, with all four national titles coming within the last 12 seasons.
With the playing of Hark the Sound to close out festivities, the Tar Heels gathered outside Memorial Hall to wrap the night with dessert.
All of UNC's 28 varsity programs, as well as coaches, staff, band, and spirit, dressed to impress as all walked across the Carolina Blue carpet prior to Monday night's festivities.
Hosted by Hannah Johann from women's soccer, Christo Kelly from football, Trevor Paschall from men's track and field, and volleyball's Lauren Schutter, the group kicked off the night with a welcome message before diving into the awards.
The first 2026 Rammys of the night were presented to the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year, with baseball's Walker McDuffie and Ryan Lynch taking home the award on the men's side and women's lacrosse's Eliza Osburn earning the honor.
McDuffie and Lynch both lit it up on the mound in their first seasons in Chapel Hill, with each named a second-team freshman All-America by multiple outlets. McDuffie posted seven saves last season and earned a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team. Lynch spent most of his freshman campaign as a key reliever before moving into a starting role last postseason.
Osburn got off to a hot start in her debut season, assisting the Tar Heels to their fourth national title in women's lacrosse. The Castle Rock, Colo., native was named Third-Team All-America after tallying 35 goals, eight assists, and 56 draw controls last season. She also earned honorable mention All-America by Nike Lacrosse Media and USA Lacrosse, as well as a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Executive Associate Athletic Director Steve Newmark was also awarded a Newcomer Rammy after joining Carolina Athletics this past summer, as he is set to assume the role of Director of Athletics in July.
A decisive winner for the Rammy for Best Play, Seth Trimble's game-winning three-pointer against No. 4 Duke earned the award as one of the most noteworthy moments of the year.
The annual John Lotz Award is given annually to a student-athlete who has demonstrated a passion to succeed under adverse circumstances, in honor of the former Carolina coach and administrator. After suffering a season ending injury prior to the start of his sophomore season, men's lacrosse's Peter Thomann has bounced back after a redshirt season. The defenseman remained optimistic last season and returned even stronger as he earned a spot on the mid-season Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
The 2025 NCAA Champion in the women's indoor 800m and the runner-up in the outdoor, Makayla Paige came away with the Rammy for the Best Championship Performance. As a senior, Paige's efforts on the track propelled her to earn the honors of the 2025 ACC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and the 2025 ACC Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the year.
Two national champions each earned the Rammy for the Best Individual Performance on the men's and women's side, with fencing's Youssef Shamel and women's tennis' Reese Brantmeier each taking home a trophy.
Making a statement in his debut campaign, Shamel earned fencing's first individual national title in 43 years with the 2025 Men's Epee Individual crown. He became the second national champion in program history.
A dominant force in women's tennis, Brantmeier added to her crowded trophy collection with the 2025 NCAA Women's Singles title in November. She is only the second Tar Heel in program history to win the NCAA Singles National Championship.
Following a brief intermission, men's basketball picked up its second award of the night with the Rammy for Best Upset. Culminating in Trimble's game winner, the Tar Heels pieced together the comeback victory to knock off No. 4 Duke from the Smith Center after trailing by as many as 13 points.
Each year, a Rammy is presented to a group or person who contributes to Carolina Athletics behind the scenes. A fixture of a Carolina gameday, Associate Athletic Director of Event Management John Brunner was honored with this year's award. A surprise unsung hero Rammy was awarded to Associate Athletic Director for GoHeels Productions for all of his work on the Rammys as well as all of Carolina's televised athletic events.
Showing significant strides in their sport, the Best Breakthrough Athlete Rammys were presented to Riley Berge from men's soccer, as well as women's swimming and diving's Sophia Frei and Sofia Knight.
Berge anchored a backline that finished with an average of .850 goals against and eight clean sheets, as men's soccer reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
In the pool, Frei notched the No. 1 All-Time 200-Yard Backstroke at 1:51.24 at the 2026 NCAA Championships. She was also a member of the 400-medley relay team, which picked up All-America Honors. Shining as a sophomore, Knight posted top 10 marks on the 1M and 3M platforms this past season. At the 2026 NCAA Championships, Knight claimed two All-America honors on the 1M and 3M platforms.
The Mildred McCaskill Award was created to recognize her contribution and support of UNC Athletics. Annually presented to a student-athlete for their work in athletics and service to the community, baseball's Carter French was honored with the 2026 McCaskill award.
Shattering multiple NCAA and program records in her redshirt freshman season, Chloe Humphrey took home the 2026 Rammy for Record Breaking Performance. Lighting it up last season, Humphrey now sits atop the NCAA record book with goals by a freshman as she totaled 90 in her debut campaign as UNC went on to win the 2025 NCAA Women's Lacrosse National Championship.
Track and field's Joe Sapone and Delea Martins came dressed to impress, with the duo taking home Best Dressed Awards.
Shining all year long, the 2026 Rammy's for male and female outstanding athletes went to none other than men's basketball's Caleb Wilson and Humphrey from women's lacrosse.
Wilson's impact in Chapel Hill will be felt for years to come, as he posted a freshman season for the record books. A second-team All-America, first-team All-ACC and All-Rookie Team, Wilson became the first UNC freshman to make at least second-team All-America since Tyler Hansbrough in 2006. He also established UNC freshman records for most consecutive games scoring in double figures to begin a career and most 20-point games. Wilson wraps his time in Carolina Blue as the only player in ACC history to average at least 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game as he is set to hear his name called at the NBA Draft in June.
Humphrey took home her second award of the night due to the multitude of honors accumulated during her redshirt-freshman season. The Darrien, Conn., native became UNC's first Tewaarton Award winner and the first freshman winner in the history of the women's award. Humphrey also earned the Honda Sport Award for lacrosse after leading
Carolina to its fourth NCAA Women's Lacrosse national title in 2025 and earning the Most Outstanding Player honor of the tournament.
Honoring all of his work throughout his tenure in Chapel Hill, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham was surprised with a Founders Award Rammy in celebration of his decade-plus service to Carolina.
Earning the final award of the night, women's lacrosse added to its night of honors with the Rammy for Outstanding Team. The 2025 National Champions finished the season with a perfect 22-0 record to match the school record for wins in a season. Earning the program's fourth championship, Carolina is now tied for the third most in the history of the sport, with all four national titles coming within the last 12 seasons.
With the playing of Hark the Sound to close out festivities, the Tar Heels gathered outside Memorial Hall to wrap the night with dessert.
UNC Baseball: Tar Heels Down #2 Georgia Tech in Series Opener, 5-2
Saturday, April 18
MTEN: Ratiu Clinches ACCT Win Over Clemson
Friday, April 17
UNC Women's Lacrosse: Tar Heels Take Down Duke, 11-5
Friday, April 17
UNC Baseball: Rose, Nicholson Shine in Win vs UNCW, 14-5
Wednesday, April 15