New York, NY - The John Jay Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated its end of year student-athlete banquet, THE HOUNDS, on Wednesday, May 13, at The Doghouse.
THE HOUNDS, an acronym for
Honoring Of Unwavering Nonstop Dedication of Student Athletes, recognized and celebrated the achievements of student-athletes during the 2025-26 season.
The program presented over 65 awards, including Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, and Newcomer of the Year, for each team.
This year's format was reinvented, and began with an opening "monologue," read by four-year student-athletes,
Natalie Simonds from women's basketball and
Logan Ramos from men's volleyball.
The "voice" of the Bloodhounds,
Jon Perez, was again given the honor of being the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
President Karol Mason then addressed the student-athletes, noting her admiration for their accomplishments on and off the field. The Department honored over 125 scholar-athletes, 32 four-year student-athletes, over 40 CUNYAC and conference all-stars, and various award winners.
Before dinner, the Athletics Department recognized the softball team for its 3.671 team GPA, which was the highest in the Fall 2025 semester, followed by rifle at 3.642 and women's tennis at 3.531.
Presenting the 2025-2026 Rookie of the Year was 2023 John Jay Athletics Department Male Rookie of the Year,
Jaxen Gangwish, while 2024-25 Co-Female Athlete of the Year,
Miranda Perez, presented this year's Athlete of the Year.
Madison Mullan (women's volleyball) and Sekou Sherriff (men's soccer) were selected as this year's John Jay College Rookies of the Year.
The 2025-26 Female Athlete of the Year went to softball's
Lindsay Ogden while
Logan Ramos (men's volleyball) was named the John Jay College Male Athlete of the Year.
The final award of the night was Best Dressed, as the winners were based on the number of "likes" received on social media.
Manuela Orrego of women's tennis and Ramos were the award winners. For Ramos, this was a clean sweep as the Riverdale, NY native has won the award for the last five years running, while Orrego earned her first honor.
New to the banquet format this season was the "Who Can Draw the Bloodhound" contest, in which participants submitted their drawings for consideration. Using Kahot to tabulate the winner, the inaugural recipient of the award was
Sebastian Rodriguez from men's volleyball.
In addition, student-athletes were given a chance to submit their "top pictures" of the year. Ranging from huddles, to media shots to action shots, to van rides, over 100+ pictures were submitted and voted down to three. This year's winner, using Kahot to gauge responses from over 200 student-athletes, was the team pictured, submitted by the men's soccer team.
The Department concluded the night with a "'Senior Salute' video honoring the seniors.
AWARD WINNERS (in order of program)
John Jay Scholar-Athletes (4.0 GPA)
Team Awards (In order of presentation)
Softball
Most Valuable Player -
Lindsay Ogden
Most Improved Player -
Samantha Santana
Newcomer of the Year -
Adrianna Barragan
Women's Volleyball
Most Valuable Player -
Madison Mullan
Most Improved Player -
Theresa Schmitt
Newcomer of the Year -
Lizbeth Martinez
Men's Basketball
Most Valuable Player -
Keyshawn Miller
Most Improved Player -
Adrian Kopec
Newcomer of the Year -
Ronnie McIntyre
Women's Soccer
Most Valuable Player -
Daniela Vazquez
Most Improved Player -
Sofia Astarbi
Newcomer of the Year -
Natalie Mack
Rifle
Most Valuable Player -
Danny Canning
Most Improved Player -
Marian Kopram
Newcomer of the Year -
Mahek Dalwala
Baseball
Most Valuable Player -
Sebastian Sanchez
Most Improved Player -
Jaxen Gangwish
Newcomer of the Year -
Thiago Telles
Women's Swimming
Most Valuable Player -
Victoria Hapsis
Most Improved Player -
Julia Murray
Newcomer of the Year -
Aydan Damirova
Highest Team GPA
Softball, 3.671
CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honorable Mentions
Kelly Fajardo (Softball),
Samir Ghimire (Men's Tennis),
Maxwell Law (Men's Volleyball),
Natalie Simonds (Women's Basketball)
John Jay College Rookies of the Year
Madison Mullan (Women's Volleyball)
Sekou Sheriff (Men's Soccer)
Men's Volleyball
Most Valuable Player -
Nick Fuentes
Most Improved Player -
Quez Martin
Newcomer of the Year -
Brandon Roman
Women's Basketball
Most Valuable Player -
Michaela Lattimore
Most Improved Player -
Natalie Simonds
Newcomer of the Year -
Bryan Bascones
Men's Tennis
Most Valuable Player -
Davio Rossilevin
Most Improved Player -
Ian Hartigan
Newcomer of the Year -
Agustin Lopez
Women's Tennis
Most Valuable Player -
Thawann Ogle
Most Improved Player -
Flor Caro
Newcomer of the Year -
Muy Sim Wong
Comeback Player of the Year
Hailey Waugaman, Women's Volleyball
Logan Ramos, Men's Volleyball
Susan Larkin "SAAC" Leadership Award
Alex Overkamp, Women's Volleyball
Student Workers Award Recognition
Eliangel Ayala,
Alex Daly (baseball), Josue Diegue Ramirez,
Jaxen Gangwish (baseball), Sabrina Haque,
James Horodyski (baseball), Joanna Khedr, Grace Lee, Patricia Lyakh, Angel Montalvo,
Lindsay Ogden (softball),
Isaac Salazar (baseball),
Sebastian Sanchez (baseball),
Kayla Sauers (softball),
Hayden Tackett (baseball)
Men's Cross Country
Most Valuable Player -
Tony Echeverria
Newcomer of the Year -
Luke Morton
Women's Cross Country
Most Valuable Player -
Jennifer Herrera Vazquez
Most Improved Player -
Maria Belov
Newcomer of the Year -
Laisha Gomez
Cheerleading
Most Valuable Player -
Kim Perez
Most Improved Player -
Araceli Gamarra
Newcomer of the Year -
Justine Nollido
Men's Soccer
Most Valuable Player -
Josh Clemas
Most Improved Player -
Josh Brayan
Newcomer of the Year -
Sekou Sheriff
Female Athlete of the Year
Lindsay Ogden, Softball
Male Athlete of the Year
Logan Ramos, Men's Volleyball
Bloodhound Art Drawing Winner
Sebastian Rodriguez, Men's Volleyball
