CLEVELAND, Ga. (May 29, 2025) - The Truett McConnell University Bears are carrying the momentum of the accumulated successes and historical moments from all athletic teams in 2024-2025 to prepare for the 2025-2026 seasons.
 
FALL
Women's soccer had another successful season, earning the title of AAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions for the third consecutive year, with a conference record of 12-0-1. TMU maintained their spot at the top of the conference standings for the entire duration of the season, while clinching the title of AAC Regular Season Champions after a 4-0 shutout victory over the University of Pikeville. In the AAC Tournament, the Lady Bears bested No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan University in a penalty kick shootout with the winning shot placed by Megan Darden to secure the title for the third consecutive year.  
 
Eliska Dvorakova was named the 2024 AAC Player of the Year and the four-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year. Ella Weir was named AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Ashley Johnson, Dvorakova, Lindsey Fowler, Marisol Esparza, Weir, and Emelie Taylor all earned spots on the AAC All-Conference First Team while Brianna Hernandez and Erin Ward were named to the AAC All-Conference Second Team. Dvorakova was also featured being named to the NAIA All-American third team
 
TMU traveled to the NAIA National Championships Opening Round for their seventh straight appearance, where the Lady Bears put up a fight against No. 14 Missouri Valley College but ultimately fell to a final score of 3-2. 
 
Men's soccer had a historical season in both the regular season and conference play, finishing 11-5-3, 8-3-1 AAC. The Bears entered the AAC Tournament as they No. 4 seed, tying the No. 5 seed Columbia International University (1-1), ultimately besting the Rams in a penalty kick shootout to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinals, TMU faced the No. 1 seed Union College where the Bears upset the Bulldogs, 3-1, advancing to the championship game for the first time since 2017. TMU ultimately fell to the No.3 seed Bryan College in a hard-fought loss (2-1). Three Bears earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team, including Hendrik Metje, Euan Brindley and Pablo Farrona.    
 
Women's Volleyball finished their season with an overall record of 14-18, 10-10 AAC. Three Lady Bears were featured hitting career milestones, including Katie Williams and Jordan Roberts recording their 1,000th career kills, while Deomi Valmus individually recorded her 1,000th career dig. The Lady Bears entered the AAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and faced the No. 9 seed Montreat College, where TMU won in three sets (25-9, 25-17, 25-18). The Lady Bears went on to face the No. 1 seed Columbia International where they fell short losing in three sets (20-25, 11-25, 15-25).  
 
TMU Cycling had a successful season, sending two Bears to the MTB Nationals (Avery VanLaar and Adin Chandler), TMU's fifth appearance since the addition of the sport in 2019. Chandler was featured finishing in 42nd in the men's Downhill, while Vanlaar finished in 44^th in women's cross country. 
 
Men's cross country had an eventful season, finishing in sixth at the AAC Conference Championship out of 11 teams. The Bears recorded two first place team finishes at the Yeti Invitational and Bob Jones Invitational. Connor Morgan led the way for the Bears this season, featuring a personal best time of 26:49.8 at the AAC Conference Championship in the 8K race, followed by  Marco Flores who had a sharp performance at the conference championship as well, hitting a time of 27:24.49. 
 
Women's cross country had a successful season, finishing in sixth place out of 12 teams at the AAC Conference Championship. Evelyn Brodeen was featured finishing in 27th place out of 91 runners with a time of 23:56.48, along with finishing in the top seven of freshman finishers, proving capable of securing her spot on the AAC All-Freshman Team. TMU was also crowned meet champions at the Yeti Invitational and runners-up at the Bob Jones Invitational.
 
WINTER  
Wrestling finished the 2024-25 season with a conference record of 2-4. The Bears placed sixth at the AAC Championship, earning 47 team points against a tough field of competitors. At the Conference Championship Phillip Terrell placed third in the 285-weight class after going 4-1 with two falls and two decision wins, ultimately securing his spot on the All-Conference Team. William Parker followed finishing in fourth in the 184-weight class, while Chase Bond finished in fifth in the 157-weight class.
 
Women's Basketball had an eventful season finishing with an overall record of 12-17, 9-13 AAC. The Lady Bears traveled to the AAC Tournament as the No. 9 seed, ultimately falling in the opening round to the No. 8 seed Columbia College in a hard-fought match-up, 71-62. Alexis Brewster was featured receiving AAC All Conference First Team honors while five Lady Bears earned AAC All-Academic Honors. 
   
Men's Basketball finished their season with an overall record of 13-15, 9-10 AAC. TMU entered the AAC Tournament as the No. 9 seed, where the Bears went on to upset the No. 8 seed Reinhardt University (78-77) and fell to the No. 1 seed University of Pikeville, 72-58. Myles McCrary, EJ Smith, and Jadon Yeh were all featured earning AAC All-Conference Second Team honors while six Bears earned AAC All-Academic Honors.  
 
SPRING
Men's and Women's Track and Field had an impressive 2025 season, qualifying in seven total events at the 2025 NAIA National Championship. The men's team saw  Connor Morgan  punch his individual ticket in the 800m race, Dylan Simms in the Shot Put, and Elijah Goddard in the 100m and 200m dash, while the women's team saw  Myesha Hall  individually qualify in three different events (long jump, triple jump, 100m dash). At the National Championship, Hall secured her fourth consecutive NAIA All-American title in the long jump after finishing in seventh place with a mark of 5.63m. Hall was also seen earning the NAIA All-American title in the triple jump with a mark of 12.08m. Connor Morgan was seen recording a time of 1:52.89 in the men's 800m race, while Dylan Simms recorded a throw of 15.75m in the shot put. 
 
At the AAC Championship, the men's team finished in fourth place out of 11 teams, featuring nine podium finishes. Simms was featured earning the title of AAC Field Athlete of the Year after being crowned the individual champion in the men's shot-put a with a mark of 16.18m, while also earning fifth place finishes in both the javelin (44.99m) and discus (44.84m) throws. Goddard also earned the title of AAC Track Athlete of the Year after securing the individual championship titles in the 100m dash with an NAIA Nationals A Standard time of 10.35, and in the 200m dash with a time of 21.11. 
 
The women's team was featured finishing in sixth out of 13 teams at the AAC Championship. Grace Jones was featured earning the title of AAC Field Athlete of the Year after being crowned the individual champion in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 47.36m, while also earning a third-place finish in the javelin throw (33.68m) and fifth place finishes in both the discus (36.65m) and shot-put (11.38m) throws. Myesha Hall was also featured being crowned the individual champion in the long jump with a mark of 6.05m, and in the 100m dash with a time of 11.85. Hall also recorded a fourth-place finish in the triple jump (11.31m). Autumn Shepherd earned an Individual championship title in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:07.27.
 
Softball had a successful season, finishing with a record of 29-15, 20-8 AAC. The Lady Bears traveled to the AAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, ultimately suffering a tough loss in game one to No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan (7-6) and in game two against the No. 9 seed Columbia College (8-6). Kyndall Gipson was named to the AAC All-Conference First Team while Cassie Boatright and Isabelle Sullivan earned AAC All-Conference Second Team honors.  Gipson was also featured earning a spot on the NFCA All-Region NAIA Second Team.
 
Women's golf had a great fall season, featuring the Lady Bears finished runners-up at the AAC Fall Championship. At the AAC Spring Championship, TMU was seen finishing runners-up with a combined team score of 911. Additionally, two Lady Bears were named to the All-Conference First Team (Sylken November and Audrey Grace Holder) and two Lady Bears earned spots on the All-Conference Second Team (Gracie Doke and Brianna Bassett). 
 
In the post season, TMU received and At-Large Berth to the NAIA National Championships after topping out at No. 12 in the NAIA National Top 25 Poll. At the National Championship, the Lady Bears were seen facing some of the toughest competition in the nation. November was featured earning an individual spot on the 2024-25 NAIA All-American Third Team.  
 
Men's Golf also had a successful fall season, placing fifth out of fifteen teams in the AAC Fall Conference Championship. Ty Cranford led the Bears tying for fifth out of 90 golfers, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. At the spring AAC Championship, the Bears finished fourth out of fourteen teams with Matthew Bible tying for seventh place overall. 
 
Baseball had an eventful season, finishing 15-28 overall, 9-21 AAC. Jacob Edwards was featured earning a spot on the AAC Champions of Character team, while 10 Bears earned AAC All-Academic team and NAIA Scholar Athlete honors (Caleb Adair, Reece Blackiston, Jackson Blackwood, Ryan Coughanour, Edwards, Hunter Fleming, Brodie Genter, Ben Glines, Austin Gurley, Marshall Hongkham).
 
Women's lacrosse concluded their season with a record of 3-11, 1-4 AAC, along with the Lady Bears earning their spot at the AAC Tournament for the fifth time in program history. TMU worked hard in postseason play, securing the lead over the No. 4 seed Tennessee Wesleyan at the half, but ultimately fell in a devastating loss to a score of 11-9. The Lady Bears competed against some of the best teams in the NAIA, while maintaining reputable character. Shelby Nail and Marlo McBrayer were featured earning spots on the AAC All-Conference Second Team, while Maddie Donnelly was named to the AAC Champions of Character team.
 
Men's volleyball had a historical season under new head coach Michael Shea finishing the season with a record of 10-12, 5-9 AAC, the best record since the addition of the sport in 2021. Alex Bosman was named to the AAC All-Conference Second Team, while five Bears were named to the AAC All-Academic Team (Bosman, Caleb Bosveld, Troy McAlister, Adam Shuman, Marshall Hongkham). 
 
Women's Beach Volleyball had a great season, finishing 20-13 overall, 8-4 SUN. TMU started the season off strong with Jordan Roberts and Emma Boland earning SUN Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week honors in week one of play. The Lady Bears were featured earning national recognition on the week two and three releases of the 2025 NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Coaches' Top 10 Ratings, receiving votes. TMU was featured qualifying for the SUN Conference Tournament earning the No. 5 seed spot, finishing 2-1 on the weekend. The Lady Bears went on to finish their season at the AVCA Small College Championship where they finished 2-3 on the weekend. Elizabeth Franklin and Kaleigh McFarland were featured earning the AVCA Top Flight Award for flight three in the NAIA Division.
 
Men's Tennis had a historical season finishing 5-10, 2-6 AAC. The men's team made program history, earning their first ticket to the AAC Conference Tournament as the No. 8 seed, where they suffered a 4-0 loss against No. 2 Union College. Nine Bears were featured earning AAC All-Academic Team honors including Cameron Lewis, Jonathan Adair, Ethan Carlson, Will Grable, Landon Guthrie, Tate Bennett, Peter Heinz, Kadin Pilz and Ross Stewart.
 
Women's Tennis had an eventful season finishing 5-10, 3-6 AAC. The Lady Bears made their third straight appearance at the AAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed, where they concluded their season against the No. 3 seed Union College (4-0). Six Lady Bears were featured earning AAC All-Academic Team honors including Hannah Davidson, Ashley Johnson, Rebekah Scott, Emma Michna, Katie Stanfield and Lydia Clack.
 
The TMU Shot Gun Team had an impressive 2025 season, sending four Bears to the SCTP Nationals. Ethan Ledford had a great performance against some of the best shooters in the nation, recording a runner-up finish in Double Trap (99 out of 100) and a personal best in Double Skeet, hitting 83 out of 100 targets. Michael Bowen was seen recording new personal records in Double Skeet, Double Trap, Trap, and Skeet, while Lexi Bullard recorded personal bests in Double Skeet, Double Trap, Trap, and Sporting Clays.
 
Competitive Gaming had a successful season ending with a record of 7-2 in League of Legends. The Bears competed in the NACE League of Legends Open+ Finals against Emerson College, while also making an appearance in the NACE Rocket League Open+ Playoffs against Northern Michigan University and Louisiana State University Alexandria.
 
Disc Golf had a great season sending three teams to the College Disc Golf National Championship. TMUs Ma2 team, featuring Cooper Gibson,  Ellis Hendrix,  Luke Evans and Chandler Bagley were featured finishing 35th overall in the final rankings of the DIII category after recording a team score of 228 (-7). In the DII category, the Ma1 team featuring Grant Holder, Silas Smith, Riley Boggess, and  Eli Johnson recorded a final ranking of 57th with a team score of 234 (-3), while the Fa1 team featuring Myra Ehrenberg and Jocelyn Halker, finished in 24th (+62). Earlier this season for the first time in program history, the Lady Bears were featured earning a spot in the College Disc Golf Women's Team Power Rankings, at No. 15. 
 
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