LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV track & field's Krishna Jayasankar Menon and football's Reid Williams garnered the top honors among a group of student-athletes recognized at the Eighth Annual Scarlet & Gray Awards Show held Wednesday night at the Pavilion.
Williams captured the Mehdi Bouras Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Jayasankar Menon claimed 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.
Jayasankar Menon, who will be graduating with her master's degree in higher education, threw together a stellar year both athletically and academically. Boasting a 4.0 GPA, she made history as the first Indian thrower to qualify for the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships, while breaking the Indian national record in the shot put (Mountain West Indoor Championships). For her academic work, Jayasankar Menon earned Academic All-Mountain West honors and was a Dean's List honoree. Among her other athletic highlights, she set the program record in the discus (NCAA Outdoor West Regional), posted the school's second-best shot put mark (Mountain West Indoor Championship) where she became the first Indian woman to surpass the 16-meter mark, earned Second Team All-American accolades in the shot put (NCAA Indoor Championship) and was named USTFCCCA Honorable Mention in the discus throw (NCAA Outdoor Championships).
Williams, who maintained a 3.94 GPA working on his master's in business administration, excelled on the field and in the classroom. The standout center led the Rebel offensive line, allowing just one sack and avoiding any penalty call, for an offense that scored at least 29 points in every game. For his academic performance, the former FCS Rimington Award winner earned Academic All-Mountain West, Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-District honors. On the field, his athletic prowess earned him Second Team All-Mountain West accolades as he helped the Scarlet & Gray earn a trip to the Mountain West Championship game as the league's top seed and a bid to the Frisco Bowl.
Other honors, voted on by the student-athletes, included Outstanding Team (Men's Swim & Dive - Fifth Consecutive WAC Championship), Best Upset (Women's Golf Wins Mountain West Championship Over SJSU), Newcomers of the Year (Jaida Harris from volleyball and Zach Little from men's golf), the Perseverance Award (Jet Thomas from football) and the Be A Rebel Award (Trevor Lewis from men's golf).
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, 216 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, 151 Rebel student-athletes were recognized on the 2024-25 Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award list for recording a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater in at least two semesters at UNLV.
2025-26 UNLV SCARLET & GRAY AWARDS
Mehdi Bouras Scholar-Athletes of the Year:
Reid Williams (Football) and Krishna Jayasankar Menon (Women's Track & Field)
Athlete of the Year:
Krishna Jayasankar Menon (Women's Track & Field) and Ilia Snitari (Men's Tennis)
Newcomers of the Year:
Jaida Harris (Volleyball) and Zach Little (Men's Golf)
Best Upset Award:
Women's Golf Wins Mountain West Championship Over SJSU (2025)
Perseverance Award:
Jet Thomas (Football)
Outstanding Team Award:
Men's Swim & Dive
Be A Rebel Award:
Trevor Lewis (Men's Golf)
Academic Career Breakthrough Awards:
Hunter Brown (Cheer) and Anthony Costanzo (Football)
Kenny Keys SAAS Choice Awards:
Marta Klimek (Women's Swim & Dive) and Joel Gibson (Men's Tennis)
SAAC Leadership Award:
Erica Collins (Women's Basketball)
UNLV TEAM ACADEMIC CHAMPIONS
Baseball: Carson Lane
Men's Basketball: Jacob Bannarbie
Women's Basketball: Erica Collins
Football: Reid Williams
Men's Golf: Zach Little
Women's Golf: Zi Yu Foong
Men's Soccer: Kai Merrill
Women's Soccer: Elizabeth Bautista
Softball: Bri Williams
Men's Swim and Dive: Wikus Potgieter
Women's Swim and Dive: Erika Carlson
Men's Tennis: Vitaliy Horovoy
Women's Tennis: Hudson Hawkins
Cross Country: Alana Sangprasit
Track and Field: Kaitlynn Webbe
Volleyball: Basia Latos
Pom: Breanna Adams
Cheer: Jayden Jaster
Rebel Girls and Company: Kaitlyn Martin
