CLEVELAND, Ga. – Truett McConnell University Bears and Lady Bears teams all took part in a success filled 2025-2026 season with team and individual accomplishments scattered throughout all sports.
 
Overall, there were a combined two Appalachian Athletic Conference championships, 36 All-AAC nominations, eight individual NAIA Championship appearances, three NAIA Tournament team appearances and four NAIA All-American nominations.
 
FALL
One AAC Championship, 14 All-AAC Nominations, Two NAIA All-Americans, 1 NAIA Tournament Appearance
 
Women's Soccer
Women's soccer continued the prestige the program has accumulated in the 2025 season. The Lady Bears finished with an overall record of 19-2-2, their highest mark in wins since 2021, when the team finished 19-4. TMU also earned an undefeated 13-0 record in AAC play, resulting in the fourth consecutive regular season conference championship.
 
Despite losing in the conference championship game in tournament play, the Lady Bears still entered the NAIA Tournament as an at-large bid, marking the eighth straight year the program has made it. After defeating Cumberland University (Tenn.) 4-2 in the program's first hosted second-round match, the Lady Bears entered war with Grace College (Ind.), in which regulation and two overtime periods could not solve a 1-1 tie. In the penalty-kick shootout, TMU made its first four shots while the Lancers made just two, resulting in its first ever NAIA Quarterfinal appearance in program history. The season ended with a 1-0 loss to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.).
 
The team was led by junior defender Erin Ward and senior forward Annabel Trauschke, with the former making Second-Team NAIA All-American and the latter making Third-Team NAIA All-American. Ward held down the defensive line, playing a part in the 14 total goals allowed during the season, while also contributing two goals and four assists, totaling eight points. Trauschke led the team offensively with 18 goals scored and 11 assists, resulting in 47 total points.
 
Furthermore, Trauschke was named AAC Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and the Golden Boot winner, leading the league in goals and points. Ward and Marisol Esparza were also named AAC Co-Defensive Players of the Year while Celiane Pereira won Newcomer of the Year. Head coach David McDowell won Coach of the Year for the conference while Isabella Hodson, Trauschke, Pereira, Evangelina Seidel, Esparza, Ward and Danica Wittmann were all named First-Team All-AAC.
 
Men's Soccer
The Bears had another winning season in 2025, earning a 10-5-3 overall record while finishing 7-2-3 in AAC play. They entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed with 24 points in the standings. TMU opened the postseason at home with a 1-0 win over Columbia College (S.C.) before falling in the semifinals 1-0 to Milligan University.
 
Four Bears made First-Team All-AAC in forward Jovica Lazarevic, midfielder Pablo Farrona, defender Marco Mandelka and goalkeeper Euan Brindley. Second-Team nominations included midfielder James Aspinall and defender Nico Rudolph. Toby Berry was also named to the Champions of Character Team.
 
The team was led by Lazarevic who accumulated seven goals and two assists for a total of 16 points in ten starts. Farrona also collected double-digit points with six goals scored and one goal assisted. Brindley posted 79 saves on 99 shots, resulting in a .798 save percentage on the year.
 
Women's Volleyball
The Lady Bears collected an overall record of 12-23 with a conference mark of 5-14. They played their best matches at home, finishing with a 7-10 record at the Harris Athletic Complex. Julia Fisher earned Second-Team All-AAC honors with her team-leading 341 kills (2.80 per set) and 403.5 points on the year. She was also the team leader in digs with 452 on the year, good for 3.70 digs per set and was fourth in total blocks with 34 with 15 block solos. Emma Boland was named the Champion of Character for the Lady Bears.
 
Cross Country
TMU competed in six meets in the 2025 season. At the AAC Championships the men placed 11^th out of 14 teams while the women placed ninth. Connor Morgan led the Bears with a 25^th place finish and a time of 26:56.21 in the men's 8k while the Lady Bears were led by Riley Stevens, who placed 41^st with a 24:10.33 time in the 6k. Andrew Nix and Autumn Shepherd were named Champions of Character for the men and women, respectively.
 
Cycling
Truett competed in five meets during the Fall of 2025, which included the Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals for the sixth time in program history. The team sent two Bears in Cameron Kowalski and Garrison Riker along with two Lady Bears in Avery Van Laar and Kayla Liles. Van Laar finished 48th in the short track event on day one while Kowalski placed 63rd in the men's event.
 
WINTER
One All-AAC Nomination, Three NAIA Championship Individual Appearances
 
Men's Basketball
The Bears finished the 2025-26 season with a 12-16 record overall and a 9-10 mark in conference play. The team posted a winning record at home with six wins in 11 home games played in Benjamin F. Brady Arena. TMU entered the AAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and was bounced in the first round with a 62-57 loss to Bryan College.
 
Jadon Yeh received All-AAC First-Team honors while Calvin Carter earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Eli Underwood was named the Champion of Character.
 
Yeh led the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game and in assists with 4.0 per game. He was also third on the team in rebounding with 5.2 boards per contest. Preston Tuggle was the team leader in rebounds with 6.6 per game and posted 33 blocks, second to Omari Joseph's 36 blocks. The Bears had two other athletes with double-digit scoring figures in Shawn Walker (10.3 ppg) and Isaac Brtio-Vasquez (10.2 ppg).
 
Women's Basketball
The Lady Bears totaled a 6-22 overall record with a 5-15 mark in AAC competition. They finished 12^th in the conference standings out of 14 teams overall. Destinee Lovejoy was named the Champion of Character for the team.
 
In 13 games started, Brinkley Kate-Reed posted 12.2 points per game which included a 16.6 ppg mark in conference play. Lovejoy averaged 7.0 boards per contest while Ava Queen was the team leader in blocks with 22 on the season.
 
Wrestling
TMU wrestling total a 6-11 overall record in the 2025-26 season which includes a 3-3 split in AAC matches. The team finished fifth place out of ten at the AAC Championships and sent three wrestlers to the NAIA National Championships in Tyler Ramos, Nate Napolitano and Philip Terrell.
 
Napolitano was the strongest performer, advancing to day two of competition before finishing with a 2-2 record. Ramos and Terrell ended their impressive season on the first day.
 
SPRING
One AAC Championship, 21 All-AAC Nominations, Two NAIA Tournament Appearances, Five NAIA Championship Individual Appearances, Two NAIA All-Americans
 
Golf
TMU ends its most successful season since 2022, finishing the year as the No. 13 ranked team in the NAIA. The Lady Bears placed third in the AAC Fall Championship and were the runner up squad in the Spring meet. Brianna Bassett placed 36^th at the national meet and was also named First-Team All-AAC. Abby Bryant earned All-AAC Second-Team honors as both athletes were named to the All-AAC Tournament Team. Nicoline Eide was named the Champion of Character for the Lady Bears.
 
The men's team also saw success in 2025-26, taking third place at the spring conference championships, its highest placement since the 2024 season in which the team won the conference tournament. Matthew Bible was nominated to an All-AAC Second-Team selection while Grant Holder was the Champion of Character.
 
Softball
Although the team entered the AAC Tournament as the sixth seed, four straight wins resulted in the program's second ever conference tournament championship and marking the Lady Bears' first ever undefeated tournament run. Truett won a shootout over No. 3 seeded Brenau University 12-7 in the opening round before making quick work of Milligan with an 8-0 victory.
 
A narrow 3-2 win over Bryan College set up a championship game against Reinhardt, in which the Lady Bears pitched a 3-0 shutout to secure the title.  The season ended with a 3-2 defeat at the NAIA Tournament.
 
TMU softball compiled a 30-19 overall record with a 15-11 mark in conference. It especially played well on its own turf, winning 12 of 14 games which included a five-game home winning streak to end the season. Shortstop Cassie Boatright and Grace Folds at third base were named All-AAC First-Team while Morgan Kacalek at first base, utility player Emma Skipper and outfielder Reagan Chizek earned second-team honors. Georgia Patton was named the Champion of Character.
 
Folds led the team in batting average with a .452 mark with 61 hits, 35 RBI, 17 doubles and 10 homers. She also slugged at an astounding .859 mark and stole 20 bases while not being caught once. Rylee Walker hit a team-leading 12 home runs with a .360 average and was the team's RBI leader with 46. Chizek contributed 44 RBI of her own while hitting .321. Overall, TMU led the conference in total home runs with 43 on the year, which is also the most in a single season in program history.
 
Baseball
The Bears finished the 2026 season with an overall record of 17-28 and a AAC mark of 8-19, good for tenth in the standings. They were bounced in the opening round of the conference tournament. Dylan Sargent was the Champion of Character.
 
Donovan Parker led the team in hitting with a .361 batting average and contributed six home runs on the year. Jordan Cox hit .298 in 2026 with 45 hits while Caleb Williams added 34 RBI. On the mound, Ryan Coughanour posted a 4.67 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched while collecting 51 strikeouts with a 7-8 record.
 
Track and Field
The Bears and Lady Bears produced an eventful 2026 campaign. The men's team finished runner up at the AAC Outdoor Championships while the women placed in seventh. For the men, four events were won, starting with the 4x100m relay team of Simeon Simmons, Elijah Goddard, Brett Wilgus and Kimal Marshall taking first with a time of 40.78. Dylan Simms secured a 16.32m throw in the discus event while Brandyn Jackson recorded 7.06m in the long jump, both of which were meet records. Goddard also won the 200m event with a 21.07 time, also a meet record.
 
Julia VanMinnen was the lone gold medalist for the women, producing a 1.63m height in the high jump. Overall, the 4x100m relay team, Simms and Goddard earned NAIA national qualification.
 
At the NAIA Outdoor National Championships, Goddard qualified for the 200m final, where he finished sixth place overall, earning him NAIA All-American honors. Simms also became an All-American with his eighth-place finish in the discus throw with a distance of 16.64m. The 4x100m team finished 11^th at the championships with a season-best 40.58 time.
 
Making all-conference teams include Goddard, Simms, Jackson, VanMinnen and the 4x100m team on the first team, Tyler Crow and Corey Rooks on the second team and Jamari Jermon on the third team. Champions of Character were Micheal Gilmore for the men and Brooke Wilmoth for the women.
 
Men's Volleyball
The Bears finished the 2026 campaign with a 7-17 overall record, going 6-8 in AAC play and 3-3 at home. They entered the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed before being defeated in the first round by Life. Alex Bosman represented TMU on the All-AAC First-Team while Eduardo Andrade earned second team honors. Adam Shuman was the Champion of Character.
 
Bosman led the team offensively with 3.42 kills per set with a total of 339 points on the year and 22 aces. Andrade contributed 3.15 k/s and produced a .223 hitting percentage. On defense, Alexi Sassier was the team leader in digs with 2.88 digs per set while Jed Bailey controlled the net with 55 total blocks including 18 block solos.
 
Tennis
The Lady Bears went 4-12 in 2026 with a 1-7 mark in conference. They were eliminated in the first round of the AAC tournament with a loss to Tennessee Wesleyan. Ashley Johnson was named the champion of Character for TMU. Johnson and Adlyne Benton led the team in double wins with the pair earning two on the year.
 
For the men, the Bears compiled a record of 3-12 with an 0-7 mark in AAC play. They were also bounced in the first round of the conference tournament to Tennessee Wesleyan. William Grable was named the Champion of Character. Caden Cook collected a record of 2-1-1 in singles play while the duo of Santiago Vicente Cruz and David Andrau went 2-2-1.
 
Beach Volleyball
Truett finished a quality-filled 2026 schedule with an overall record of 11-19 with a 4-7 mark in Sun Conference play. They were ranked eighth in the conference standings going into the postseason tournament, where they were bounced in two games with two losses. The team ended the 2026 season in Gulf Shores, Ala. at the AVCA Small College Championship, losing a doubleheader.
 
Lacrosse
The Lady Bears produced a 2-9 overall record with a 1-4 mark in AAC play in 2026. Marlo McBrayer was named to the All-AAC Second Team and Josslyn Munn earned Champion of Character honors. McBrayer led the team in goals with 45, which is almost half of the 93 total goals scored in 2026. Munn and Aisley Whipple also contributed offensively with 26 and 18 goals, respectively.
 
Life Sports
Disc golf completed an event-filled 2026 season which featured competition at the Collegiate Disc Golf National Championship. The team of Silas Smith, Riley Boggess, Elijah Johnson and Grant Holder finished tied for 28^th in the MC3 results, which featured 67 teams in total.
 
The TMU shotgun team brought home hardware from the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target National Championships. Kyle Landrum and Ethan Ledford took gold while Michael Bowen earned silver.
 
Pickleball competed in its inaugural season in 2025-2026, taking on six meets. At the national championship, the team was eliminated in the first round to the eventual national runner-up Utah Tech. In the consolation game, the Bears won in four sets against GVSU.
 
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