Griffon Nation,
There is a palpable excitement and sense of real momentum as we enter the 2025-26 school year. The belief level among our staff, coaches and teams is exciting and contagious. There is a lot to look forward to as we enter the fall. Before we kick off, let's take a look back at what the last 12 months have brought us:
Our Pillars - "The 3 C's":
Classroom. Competition. Community
Our Focus:
Student-Athlete Experience.
Student-Athlete Welfare.
Equitable Experiences across all programs.
Our Values:
TRUTH - Builds trust so authentic relationships develop.
LOVE - Our people, our department, our teams and our university.
BELIEF - Uncommon levels of belief leads to action!
*People will fight for those they know, love and believe in and the result will be a magnet for others to join us in our work
Our Promise:
Our student-athletes will graduate.
Our coaches and staff will pursue the greater good for all student-athletes and coach/teach them with passion and respect.
Our coaches and staff will love our student-athletes as if they were our own family.
Major Accomplishments in 2024-25:
- 3rd most wins in teams sports in MWSU Athletics history
- 3.301 department-wide cumulative GPA
- 304 student-athletes earned a 3.0 or higher
- 4 athletic teams recorded their highest annual GPA in program history
- 4005 hours of community service
- 2024-25 MIAA SAAC Cup Champions
- MIAA SAAC Mentor of the Year – Madeline Simmon
- 2024-25 MIAA/GLVC Honors
- 28 Players of the Week
- 47 all-conference accolades
- 16 all-conference first team selections
- 6 Conference Player of the Year Honors
- Lilly Kurz, Volleyball, MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year
- Lauren Nylund, Soccer, MIAA Defensive Player of the Year
- Keeley Kroonenberg, Soccer, MIAA Goalkeeper of the Year
- Celia Castano Mainero, Tennis, MIAA Newcomer of the Year
- Grace Williams, Lacrosse, GLVC Defensive Player of the Year
- Cristina Granero Boj, Tennis, MIAA Player of the Year
- 2 Coach of the Year Awards
- Jacob Plocher, Soccer MIAA Coach of the Year
- Griffon Soccer Staff, United Soccer Coaches Association Central Region Staff of the Year
- 2 Finalist for prestigious Ken B. Jones Award (first time in program history)
- 4 CSC Academic All-Americans
- Cody Watson, Football, 1st team
- Bella Mahone, Women's Track & Field, 1st team
- Lilly Kurz, Volleyball, 2nd team
- Makenzie Garr, Women's Track & Field, honorable mention
- 4 Team Sport All-Americans
- 4 NCAA Tournament Team Qualifiers
- Soccer (first NCAA Tournament win in program history)
- Volleyball
- Women's Basketball
- Women's Golf
- 7 NCAA Championships Individual Qualifiers
- Makenzie Garr, Women's T&F – MIAA Indoor Shot Put Champion, 2nd Team All-American Indoor Shot Put, 1st Team All-American outdoor shot put, 2nd Team All-American outdoor discus
- Bella Mahone, Women's T&F – 2nd team All-American indoor shot put, 1st Team All-American indoor weight throw
- Lucas Trotter, Men's T&F – 2nd Team All-American outdoor shot put
- Wimach Gilo, Men's T&F – NCAA outdoor qualifier
- Pau Valderrama, Men's T&F – NCAA outdoor qualifier
- Jeffrey Johnston, Men's Golf – NCAA Regional qualifier
- Hosted the 2024 MIAA Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships for the first time in school history
- 1st time in school history to have a runner place in top 10 at MIAA Championships
- Both men's and women's XC teams earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors
THE TEAMS BEHIND THE TEAMS
- Sports Performance
- Donation and construction of Biozyme Nutrition Center
- Full implementation of GPS technology as team monitoring systems
- Creation of mass KPI monitoring programs assisting in reducing soft tissue injuries
- Griffon Athletic Bands
- Assumed responsibility of MWSU pep and marching band to form first-ever "Griffon Athletic Bands" Program
- 42 members as of August 30th, 2025 on pace to more than double last year's numbers
- External Relations and Creative Content
- 3.47 million total engagements across all social media platforms
- Produced 294 pieces of unique video content in 12 months to tell the story of MWSU
- Produced television broadcasts for 2 MIAA "38 The Spot Game of the Week" contests (football and women's basketball) which were broadcast live in the Kansas City market
- Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp
- 2024 marked the completion of the 15th Chiefs Camp at MWSU
- University signed multi-year deal to keep camp at MoWest
In conclusion, we have so much to be thankful for and excited about as we move into new seasons of competitions. Our students, staff and coaches are worth your time and support. I look forward to seeing you on campus supporting the Griffons.
Go Griffs!
Andy Carter
Director of Athletics
