After a two-year absence due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, The University of Tulsa’s Golden ‘Cane Awards Gala returned to an in-person event on April 26 as Golden Hurricane student-athletes were honored for their athletic and academic achievements for the 2021-22 season.

A crowd of over 600 gathered for the 25th Golden ‘Cane Awards Gala, a Grammy Awards-type Ceremony, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on the TU campus.

The night was highlighted by the announcement of this year’s “Ultimate Team”, an award recognizing TU’s top student-athletes based on academic achievement, athletic success, campus involvement, character and community outreach.

There were five female and five male selections to the Ultimate Team which included three-time recipient Chris Paul, from the Tulsa football team, and repeat winner from women’s basketball Rebecca Lescay.

Paul has served the last two years as the American Athletic Conference’s representative to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). He was also a member of the NCAA Committee to Promote Cultural Diversity and Equity and the DI Football Oversight Committee. Lescay was the 2021 AAC Scholar Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball and has been involved in SAAC, Tulsa Athletics DEI and Mortar Board at TU.

In his career, Paul started 38 of 42 games including starts at four of the five offensive line positions. Lescay played in 139 career games with 119 starts and had a 7.0 career scoring average.

Darien Jackson (Men’s Basketball) returned for his fifth season in 2021-22 and was the recipient of The American’s Sportsmanship Award after a year earlier being recognized as the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.

A 10-time letterwinner, Caroline Miller (Track/Cross Country) is a three-time all-conference selection for cross country as well as a three-time AAC all-academic team performer.

Henry Visser (Track & Field) has placed among the top-3 five times at the AAC Championships during his track career. He graduated with a double major in finance and economics.

Men’s soccer teammates Mitchell Cashion and Henry Sach helped their team post a 16-2 record, win the AAC Championship and advance to the NCAA Third Round, while the Hurricane team was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally.

Emily Brandenburg (Women’s Soccer) has served as TU’s SAAC President while also serving as a member of the Future Alumni Council and the Mortar Board at TU.

Maggie Hembree (Volleyball) and Samantha Pochop (Softball) have played vital roles for their teams as the final two members of the Ultimate Team. One of the league’s top middle blockers in each of the last two seasons, Hembree had a team-best .304 attack percentage in the fall of 2021, while ranking second on the team for kills, blocks and points. Hembree has maintained a 3.88 GPA in speech pathology and has spent time as a Young Life counselor.

A pitcher for the Golden Hurricane softball team, Pochop has moved herself into the top-10 for most strikeouts in school history.

A new award in 2021-22 is the Wilson Holloway Unsung Hero award, which is given to the student-athlete who has helped their team achieve success in ways that may not be found on the stat sheet.

The inaugural winner is football’s Tiller Bucktrot. Coach  Philip Montgomery said Tiller is the consummate team player who is always willing to do whatever is best for the team.

Volleyball student-athlete Lauren Isenberg was recognized as the Warren Garrison Academic Excellence Award Winner, presented in honor of TU’s first academic advisor and given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade point average. Isenberg has maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA in mechanical engineering.

The Ultimate Service Award was established in order to recognize the efforts of student support staff for service to teams and student-athletes. This year’s recipient is football equipment manager Bobby Hester.

The Dan Bitson Courage Award is presented annually to the TU student-athlete who exemplifies courage, perseverance and tenacity for overcoming adversity. Senior softball student-athlete MaKayla Jackson is this year’s winner. Jackson overcame childhood cancer at the age of 13, lost both her parents and suffered an ACL injury, all while in high school, and at TU recovered from shoulder surgery as a freshman.

The Dr. Christopher Anderson Classroom Grit Award, which recognizes one female and one male graduating senior student-athlete who has faced the rigors of TU classes with extraordinary commitment and effort, went to Addyson Guthrie from women’s soccer, and football’s TK Wilkerson.