TicketsCINCINNATI — The Cincinnati athletics department has announced its top team and student-athlete awards following the 2025-26 academic year. Each recipient was voted on by the athletics leadership team.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
The 2026 baseball season was one of the best in school history, as Cincinnati advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time. It marked the first time ever that UC played in back-to-back NCAA Regionals. The team finished the year with a record of 38-22, the second-most wins in a season in school history and the third consecutive 30-win campaign, the first stretch of three-straight 30-win seasons since 1999-01.
The Bearcats were led by All-Americans Quinton Coats and Nathan Taylor, Freshman All-American Enzo Infelise, and MLB Draft selections Jack Natili and Dominic Mauro.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | JULIETTE LARACUENTE-HUEBNER
An incredibly decorated track and field standout and winner of the Bob Bowlsby Award, the Big 12’s highest individual honor, Laracuente-Huebner set five school records during her historic 2025-26 campaign, establishing the UC indoor record for the pentathlon with 4,442 points, the UC indoor record in the 60m hurdles at 8.24 seconds, the UC indoor long jump record at 6.36 meters, the UC outdoor record for the heptathlon with 6,086 points and the UC outdoor long jump record at 6.42 meters. Her phenomenal year is further highlighted by being named the 2026 Big 12 Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year, capturing the 2026 Outdoor Big 12 Champion title in the heptathlon, earning 2026 Outdoor First Team All-American honors with a runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, claiming the 2026 Indoor Big 12 Champion title in the pentathlon and securing a third-place finish as a 2026 Indoor First Team All-American at the NCAA Indoor Championship.
CO-MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | QUINTON COATS AND NATHAN TAYLOR
Coats earned All-America honors this past season from ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America, College Baseball Foundation, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game. In addition to his All-America accolades, Coats was also named the NCBWA District 5 Player of the Year and earned All-Region honors from ABCA/Rawlings. The Olathe, Kan., native turned in one of the best offensive seasons ever by a Bearcat, setting single-season school records in home runs (28) and total bases (183) while tying the single-season RBI record (79). Coats hit .339 and slugged .738 and ended his season ranking among the Top 10 nationally in home runs, total bases and RBI.
Taylor, who was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 2026 MLB Draft last week, became the first UC pitcher to be named an All-American since Tim Burman in 1974 when he received the honor from Perfect Game earlier this summer. He earned his third all-conference nod this season as well and left his mark on the Cincinnati record book, setting career record for wins (22) and finishing third all-time in strikeouts (276) while also breaking the single-season strikeout record this year (115). Taylor ranked 23rd nationally in strikeouts in 2026.