Carolina Athletics Gathers To Celebrate 2025 RAMMYs

2025 Rammys
University of North Carolina Athletics
Memorial Hall
Chapel Hill, NC
Monday, April 28, 2025

Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim

April 28, 2025 | Baseball, Field Hockey, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling, Cross Country, Track & Field, Fencing, Swimming & Diving, Academics, Athletics

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Following a year of excellence in athletics and in the classroom, North Carolina student-athletes dressed to impress and came together to commemorate and celebrate championships and outstanding feats at the 2025 RAMMY Awards on Monday night.

Members from all 28 of UNC's varsity teams, along with coaches, staff, band and spirit squads strutted across the Carolina Blue carpet into Memorial Hall at the heart of campus.

Hosts Austin Alexander from football, Tessa Dellarose from women's soccer, Carlie Myrtle from softball and Chelsea Thorpe of volleyball welcomed all in attendance to cheers throughout the crowd.

The first of the 2025 RAMMYs were awarded to the Male and Female Newcomers of the Year, with Jason DeCaro and Luke Stevenson from baseball and Chloe Humphrey from women's lacrosse and Jojo Valahovic from gymnastics taking home the honors.

DeCaro and Stevenson were instrumental in Carolina reaching the 2024 Men's College World Series. Leading No. 1 ranked women's lacrosse, Humphrey has been on a tear this season with a team-high 73 goals. Valhovic made an immediate impact in Chapel Hill, winning four ACC Newcomer of the Week Awards and earning All-ACC honors on vault.

Earning the RAMMY for Best Play, Olivia Thomas' goal in the 2024 Women's Soccer National Championship to lift the Tar Heels over Wake Forest picked up the nod. Thomas was a key contributor in Carolina's 23rd national title and was named the 2024 NCAA College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

Presented to a student-athlete who has demonstrated a passion to succeed under adverse circumstances, the John Lotz Award in honor of the former Carolina coach and administrator was awarded to Kiannah Pierce from softball, who overcame a serious car accident to return to play on the diamond.

The Tar Heels also took time to pay homage to Tylee Craft after he passed away in October 2024 due to his battle with Stage 4 lung cancer. Craft inspired others throughout his battle through working with Team Draft, the White Ribbon Project, LiveLung and the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, while remaining an integral part of the Carolina football program as a student-coach.

The crowd was then treated to a performance on the piano along with a song from Alexander, as he showcased his talents off the gridiron.

Thomas followed up soon with her second RAMMY of the night, this time for Best Championship Performance.

Coming away with RAMMYs for Best Individual Performance were David Ford from men's golf and Makayla Paige from women's track & field.

Ford ended the fall season ranked No. 1 in the PGA Tour University standings and No. 2 by the NCAA's Scoreboard/Clippd. He also picked up two tournament wins in the fall and was named Third-Team All-America (Golf Week) and an honorable mention All-America (PING/GCAA).

Setting records on the track, Taylor set the school record in the 800m this spring and ran the 6th fastest indoor time in NCAA history (2:00.57). She was also named Second-Team All-America in the 800 and was named outdoor Academic All-ACC.

At halftime of the night, student-athletes were treated to a t-shirt toss as well as cookies from Rameses and RJ and a performance on the trumpet by Myrtle's dad, Joe.

Overcoming all odds to win the ACC Men's Fencing Championship in Epee as a nine-seed, Eli Lippman earned the RAMMY for the Best Upset. Lippman bookended his career with his second ACC title and went on to become the ACC Men's Epee Fencer of the Year.

Ella Webb from women's fencing gave the Tar Heels a treat with a performance on the harp for the crowd.

Showing significant strides in their craft, the Best Breakthrough Athlete RAMMYs were awarded to Colton Sands from men's track & field along with Reniya Kelly from women's basketball and Safi Hampton of volleyball.

Sands was named a 2024 All-ACC Performer in cross country after finishing 12th at the 2024 ACC Men's Cross-Country Championships. He also recently ran his first career sub-four-minute mile at the John Thomas Terrier Classic.

Breaking out in her sophomore season, Reniya Kelly was named Second Team All-ACC and was an instrumental leader for women's basketball en route to its 19th Sweet 16 appearance. Kelly averaged 9.6 points per game and was the only Tar Heel to post back-to-back 20-point performances this year.

Recording a career-best season, Hampton appeared in 29 matches for the Tar Heels en route to a second-round appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. She finished the year with a career-high 291 kills and 139 digs and tallied a career-high 22 kills against Michigan.

In honor of Mildred McCaskill, the McCaskill Award was created to recognize her contribution and support of UNC athletics. Presented to a student-athlete for their excellence in athletics, and service to the community, RJ Davis of men's basketball was honored with the award.

Shattering the NCAA mile record during the indoor track & field season at a time of 3:48.32, Ethan Strand was honored with the RAMMY for Record Breaking Performance.

In posting excellent seasons in their sports, Strand and Kate Faasse took home the RAMMYs for the Outstanding Athletes of the Year.

In honor of his dedicated service to Carolina Athletics, Larry Gallo who retired last summer was honored with the Unsung Hero award. Gallo spent 27 years at UNC as a senior and executive associate athletic director and impacted countless student-athletes throughout his tenure.

Gracie Bolick (Women's Track & Field), Garrett Jordan (Football), Cade Tenold (Wrestling), Jae'Lyn Withers (Men's Basketball), men's lacrosse and baseball were honored for their commitment to the Chapel Hill area and their service throughout the community.

Making history of his own, Strand set his second NCAA record of his career by running a 3:48.32 mile and is the first college runner to post a 3:50 mile time. He was also named the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track & Field National Athlete of the Year.

Instrumental in women's soccer earning its 23rd national title, Faasse cemented herself as one of the Tar Heel greats this past season by earning the MAC Hermann Trophy and the Honda Sport Award for Soccer while also being named the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year. The junior led Carolina and the nation with 20 goals this past season.

Wrapping up the night and presented with the RAMMY for Outstanding Team, the women's soccer took home its fourth award of the evening. Earning its first national title since 2012 and 23rd overall, the Tar Heels reclaimed their crown as the queens of college soccer. Carolina has now won 22 of the 43 NCAA titles in history. No other women's soccer team owns more than four.

With the playing of Hark the Sound to close out festivities, Tar Heels flooded outside Memorial Hall to end their night with ice cream.