LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV softball leader April Visser and former football standout Austin Ajiake led a group of student-athletes recognized at the Fifth Annual Scarlet & Gray Awards Show Thursday night at Resorts World.

Ajiake was named the Mehdi Bouras Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Visser won the Mehdi Bouras Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The awards are named in honor of the memory of the late UNLV tennis star Mehdi Bouras, who passed away suddenly in 2013 at the age of 24.

Ajiake, who will be graduating with a master's in urban leadership, is coming off a record-setting season both in the classroom and on the field. The standout linebacker maintained a 4.0 GPA for his graduate coursework and finished tied for fifth nationally in tackles per game and top 10 in total tackles. For his academic performance, he garnered Academic All-Mountain West, Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-District honors. On the field, his athletic prowess earned him First Team All-Mountain West accolades and invitations to play in the East-West Shrine Game and Hula Bowl before signing a contract with the NFL's Carolina Panthers recently.

Visser, who is earning her master's degree in intercollegiate and professional sports management, took opponents by storm in the batter's box during her first season with the Rebels. A 2022 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, she posted a team-high 15 home runs and led the Mountain West with 51 runs scored. The NFCA All-Region and MW All-Conference First Team selection also helped guide the team to 14 records and a runner-up finish at the NISC in its first postseason trip since 2018.
 
Other honors, voted on by the student-athletes, included Outstanding Team (the World Champion Rebel Girls and Company), Best Upset (volleyball defeats No.19 Kansas), Newcomers of the Year (Essence Booker from women's basketball and Santino Panaro from baseball), the Perseverance Award (Rebecca Barajas from cheer) and the Be a Rebel Award, which was given to the late Ryan Keeler from football.

Also announced during the show were the Student-Athlete Academic Champion awards, which are given to each sport's most well-rounded leaders that demonstrate great academic achievement in addition to maintaining a productive role in their respective sport. Athletic academic advisors select each sport's academic champion based on the following criteria: GPA, degree path, credit load, academic class standing, contribution to their sport, community service and character.
 
Additionally, 242 UNLV student-athletes were honored for earning academic all-conference honors by achieving GPAs of 3.0 or higher in the MW and the Western Athletic Conference (men's soccer and men's swimming & diving). On top of that, 113 Rebel student-athletes were recognized in 2021-22 on the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award list for recording a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater in at least two semesters at UNLV.
 
2022-23 UNLV SCARLET & GRAY AWARDS
Mehdi Bouras Scholar-Athletes of the Year: 
April Visser (Softball) and Austin Ajiake (Football)

Athlete of the Year:
Desi-Rae Young (Women's Basketball)
 
Newcomers of the Year: 
Essence Booker (Women's Basketball) and Santino Panaro (Baseball)

Best Upset Award: 
Volleyball defeats No.19 Kansas

Perseverance Award: 
Rebecca Barajas (Cheer)

Outstanding Team Award: 
Rebel Girls and Company

Be a Rebel Award: 
Ryan Keeler (Football)

Academic Career Breakthrough Awards: 
Denise Armendariz (Softball) and Milos Dabic (Men's Tennis)

Kenny Keys SAAS Choice Awards: 
Jena Madrid (Women's Soccer) and Caden Fioroni (Men's Golf)

SAAC Leadership Award: 
Keyana Wilfred (Women's Basketball)

UNLV TEAM ACADEMIC CHAMPIONS
Baseball: Austin Kryszczuk
Men's Basketball: Justin Webster
Women's Basketball: Alyssa Brown
Football: Kyle Beaudry
Men's Golf: Ben Sawaia 
Women's Golf: Maddie Laux 
Men's Soccer: Gabe Sanchez 
Women's Soccer: Taylor Book 
Softball: Julia Vollmer 
Men's Swim and Dive: Reece Hemmens 
Women's Swim and Dive: Jenna Walch 
Men's Tennis: Thomas Navarro 
Women's Tennis: Cindy Hu 
Cross Country: LaKyla Yazzie 
Track and Field: Aaliyah Graves 
Volleyball: Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos 
Pom: Isabella Amburgey
Cheer: Star Acosta
Rebel Girls and Company: Taylor Freeman