Garcia, Zeplin take home top honors at Jag Awards
On Wednesday night, the Texas A&M University-Victoria Athletic Department capped off a historic year with the 2025-26 Jag Awards at Power Avenue Warehouse.
Student-athletes from each of the department's six sports were recognized for their accomplishments on and off the field.
To close the night, A&M-Victoria presented its highest awards for Female and Male Athlete of the Year.
Ayloni Garcia, of women's soccer, was named Female Athlete of the Year and Blane Zeplin, of baseball, was named Male Athlete of the Year.
Garcia had a stellar first season with the Jaguars, tying the single-season records for goals (14) and points (31). The Mission, Texas, native played and started in all 18 games for A&M-Victoria this season and scored in nine of those games. She had five multi-goal performances this year to help the Jaguars reach the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
After that performance, she earned a spot All-RRAC First Team. She was also a two-time RRAC Player of the Week selection.
Zeplin was a key factor into A&M-Victoria baseball's first-ever regular season conference championship.
The Victoria native, who joined the Jaguars in January, ranks third nationally in strikeouts (110) and fourth in wins (10) after throwing 85 innings this season for the Jaguars. He had six games with double-digit strikeout performances. That helped Zeplin earn Co-Pitcher of the Year in the RRAC and a spot on the All-RRAC First Team.
He was also a three-time RRAC Pitcher of the Week selection.
The Athletes of the Year awards were decided on by A&M-Victoria Athletics staff from a pool of each sport's award nominees.
Below is the full list of awards in alphabetical order by sport.
Baseball
The A&M-Victoria baseball award recipients pose with their trophies and coaches during the Jag Awards. (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Pitcher of the Year: Blane Zeplin
- Offensive Player of the Year: Antonio Benitez
- Heart of the Jag: Jonathan Jones
- Champion of Character: Jackson Purcell
Men's Golf
A&M-Victoria's Brandon Gratton poses with his Golfer of the Year award at the Jag Awards. (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Golfer of the Year: Brandon Gratton
- Heart of the Jag: Charlie Ward
- Champion of Character: Lucky Boonsrirat
Men's Soccer
From L-R: A&M-Victoria men's soccer's Mosiah Bonney, Jervan Matthew and Jack Dibble pose with their awards and head coach Vince Martinez and assistant Curtis Watson during the Jag Awards (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Defensive Player of the Year: Mosiah Bonney
- Offensive Player of the Year: Jervan Matthew
- Heart of the Jag: Jack Dibble
- Champion of Character: Sheik Bah
Softball
The A&M-Victoria softball award winners pose with their awards during the Jag Awards on May 6, 2026. From L-R: head coach Lindsey Ortiz, Kitty Coe, Angelina Morales, Alyssa Carter and assistant Cameron Henneke. (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Player of the Year: Alyssa Carter
- Newcomer of the Year: Angelina Morales
- Heart of the Jag: Kitty Coe
- Champion of Character: Emily Mayo
Women's Golf
The A&M-Victoria women's golf team poses with the Heart of the Jag award during Wednesday's Jag Awards at Power Avenue Warehouse. From L-R: Kaitlin Lopez, Madeline Pate, Laney Glass, Tindra Bergholtz, Miriam Ballart and Camila Delgadillo. (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Golfer of the Year: Madeline Pate
- Heart of the Jag: Madeline Pate, Kaitlin Lopez, Laney Glass, Tindra Bergholtz, Miriam Ballart, Camila Delgadillo
- Champion of Character: Laney Glass
Women's Soccer
The A&M-Victoria women's soccer award winners pose with their awards during the Jag Awards on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. From L-R: Vanessa Bevalian, Rosa Reyes, Ayloni Garcia, head coach Kimberley Uetrecht and assistant Lexi Day. (Oliva Rodriguez/A&M-Victoria Athletics)
- Offensive Player of the Year: Ayloni Garcia
- Defensive Player of the Year: Rosa Reyes
- Heart of the Jag: Vanessa Bevalian
- Champion of Character: Cheyenne Grant