Valparaiso University student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff members gathered at the Harre Union on Sunday evening for the annual ARC Awards ceremony, celebrating the successes of this academic year and presenting the year-end awards, as voted on by Student-Athlete Advisory Committee team representatives and athletics coaches and staff.
 
The evening culminated in the presentation of the Athlete of the Year honors. The Male Athlete of the Year was claimed by swimming's Jackson Oostman, who capped his stellar career as a Beacon by breaking three school records this season and qualifying for the National Invitational Championship postseason meet for a second straight year. The Female Athlete of the Year went to volleyball's Emma Hickey, who was named MVC Libero of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-Region selection after finishing the season 11^th nationally in digs/set and closing her career 17^th in NCAA D-I history in digs.
 
The Male Freshman of the Year went to men's basketball's JT Pettigrew, who was a four-time MVC Freshman of the Week and runner-up for MVC Freshman of the Year as he set the program's freshman rebounding record and finished the year ranked sixth on its freshman scoring list. This year's Female Freshman of the Year was soccer's Kiara Desiderio, who earned MVC Freshman of the Year accolades as she scored seven goals, third-most among MVC players and tied for seventh among D-I freshmen.
 
The Female Performance of the Year went to tennis' Lacey Tanner, who rallied from down one set and 0-5 in the second set to earn a three-set win in singles action against Drake, winning the decisive point in the program's first-ever victory over the Bulldogs. The Male Performance of the Year went to baseball's Connor Lockwood, who threw the program's first nine-inning complete-game shutout since 2017 in a blanking of Alabama State, matching his career high with 11 strikeouts while allowing just three hits. Softball earned the Team Performance of the Year honor for its 3-2 win at Notre Dame April 8, the program's first win over the Fighting Irish since 1989 — snapping a 37-game Notre Dame winning streak in the series.
 
Valparaiso University President Rev. Brian E. Konkol, Ph.D. addressed the student-athletes before presenting the night's first honors, the Beacon of Light Leadership Awards, which went to baseball's Adam Guazzo and tennis' Moira Silva. Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer addressed the student-athletes as well and recognized award winners from throughout the academic year prior to presenting the Anderson-Hoffman Memorial Service Award — which goes to the student-athlete who best serves the community, contributing positively to the life of the campus and broader communities — to women's swimming's Grace Schaekel.
 
Men's swimming's Anthony Martin and soccer's Molly O'Rear received the Bill Steinbrecher Sportsmanship Award and the Rebecca D. Carter Memorial Award, respectively, which are given to the male and female student-athletes who have best exemplified integrity and sportsmanship while representing Valparaiso University. Women's swimming's Natalie Eaton and football's Devin Yeats were honored with the Unsung Hero awards, while women's cross country/track & field's Alina Worzella and men's swimming's Sean Toolis earned the Perseverance awards.
 
At the conclusion of the show, a tradition continued as all the student-athletes in attendance who are graduating this spring posed for a group photo on stage, all wearing their student-athlete graduation stoles.