Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Student-Athletes Celebrate at the 2026 Owlspys
4/7/2026 2:44:00 PM | Academics
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic student-athletes gathered Tuesday evening to celebrate team and individual successes at the 12th annual Owlspys, an event hosted and organized by the FAU student-athlete advisory committee.
The featured event was held in the Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, and the post-awards event was in the Flagler Credit Union Stadium Delray Genesis Club.
This year's top honors were awarded to senior swimmer Daniel Laureyssens and senior softball pitcher Autumn Courtney. The duo is the first in Owlspys' history to receive both the Student-Athlete and the Athlete of the Year awards.
Laureyssens came to Florida Atlantic from Brasschaat, Belgiumin the fall of 2024. He has rewritten the record books in his time at FAU as the school record holder in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly and is a part of five school record relays. His 200 free school record performance this past November, broke former Owl Olympian and national champion, Bela Szabados's record which stood for 29 years. Laureyssens was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team in 2025 and has earned ASUN Swimmer of the Week honoree. In 2026, Laureyssens was named the ASUN Male Most Outstanding Swimmer and the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and he became the first male swimmer since 2006 to represent FAU at the NCAA national meet.
Courtney, from Tappahannock, Virginia, arrived at Florida Atlantic for the 2025 season and quickly established herself as one of the top pitchers in the nation. She became FAU softball's fifth All-American in program history after unanimously earning American Conference Pitcher of the Year honors after leading the Owls to their second consecutive American regular season championship as well as a NCAA Regional appearance. In 2025, she finished top 30 nationally with 24 wins, an ERA of 2.03, and 172 strikeouts, all of which are the best marks for an Owl since 2016. She finished the season with a conference-high four Pitcher of the Week Awards on the way to a unanimous American First Team selection and was a First Team All-Region recipient, while earning 50 career wins and 500 career strikeouts in the process.
Florida Atlantic President Adam Hasner joined the student-athletes to present the Dr. Shaw Award to Cica Carvalho, a member of the FAU swimming & diving team.
EVENT WINNERS
Male All-Freshman Team – Josiah Parker (basketball), Nazayer Franco (cross country), Josh Roberts (football), Noah Reeves (swimming & diving), Bullion Sharp (tennis), Louka Morin (golf), Garrett Grant (baseball), Emil Lausten (soccer)
Female All-Freshman – Isabel Bostic (soccer), Makenna Lee (softball), Viktoria Sorensen (swimming & diving), Erin Rodgers (basketball), Sophie Dethier (cross country/track & field), Mia Scanlon (beach volleyball), Katrin Pavkova (tennis), Tina Genoulaz (golf), Kyliee Topelski (cheer), Payton McGuire (dance)
Male Individual Performance of the Year – Mamadou Diarra
Female Individual Performance of the Year – Jaden Martinez
Team Performance of the Year – Beach Volleyball
Staff Member of the Year – Terrance Tarver
Picture Perfect Award – Linnea Magee
Male Iron Owl Award – Jack Brugman (Men's Golf)
Female Iron Owl Award – Kendall Mignerey (Beach Volleyball)
Individual Community W.I.N.G. Award – Malwina Rowinska and Maya Shanok (women's tennis)
Team Community W.I.N.G. Award - Softball
Coach of the Year – Joey Worthen (Men's Soccer)
Male Athlete of the Year – Daniel Laureyssens (swimming & diving)
Female Athlete of the Year – Autumn Courtney (softball)
Male Student-Athlete of the Year – Daniel Laureyssens (swimming & diving)
Female Student-Athlete of the Year – Autumn Courtney (softball)
Dr. Shaw Award for Academic Excellence – Cica Carvalho (swimming & diving)
Male New to the Nest Award – Marshall Lipsey (baseball)
Female New to the Nest Award – Malwina Rowinska (tennis)
Owl Cup - Softball
OWLstanding Spirit Award – Yani Guzman (softball)
Male Leadership Award – Payne Smith (swimming & diving)
Female Leadership Award – Kendall Mignerey (beach volleyball)
Video of the Year – Beach Volleyball (Maddie Sides / Ben Chitoff)
PHOTO GALLERYGallery: (4-7-2026) 2026 Owlspys
The featured event was held in the Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, and the post-awards event was in the Flagler Credit Union Stadium Delray Genesis Club.
This year's top honors were awarded to senior swimmer Daniel Laureyssens and senior softball pitcher Autumn Courtney. The duo is the first in Owlspys' history to receive both the Student-Athlete and the Athlete of the Year awards.
Laureyssens came to Florida Atlantic from Brasschaat, Belgiumin the fall of 2024. He has rewritten the record books in his time at FAU as the school record holder in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly and is a part of five school record relays. His 200 free school record performance this past November, broke former Owl Olympian and national champion, Bela Szabados's record which stood for 29 years. Laureyssens was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team in 2025 and has earned ASUN Swimmer of the Week honoree. In 2026, Laureyssens was named the ASUN Male Most Outstanding Swimmer and the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and he became the first male swimmer since 2006 to represent FAU at the NCAA national meet.
Courtney, from Tappahannock, Virginia, arrived at Florida Atlantic for the 2025 season and quickly established herself as one of the top pitchers in the nation. She became FAU softball's fifth All-American in program history after unanimously earning American Conference Pitcher of the Year honors after leading the Owls to their second consecutive American regular season championship as well as a NCAA Regional appearance. In 2025, she finished top 30 nationally with 24 wins, an ERA of 2.03, and 172 strikeouts, all of which are the best marks for an Owl since 2016. She finished the season with a conference-high four Pitcher of the Week Awards on the way to a unanimous American First Team selection and was a First Team All-Region recipient, while earning 50 career wins and 500 career strikeouts in the process.
Florida Atlantic President Adam Hasner joined the student-athletes to present the Dr. Shaw Award to Cica Carvalho, a member of the FAU swimming & diving team.
EVENT WINNERS
Male All-Freshman Team – Josiah Parker (basketball), Nazayer Franco (cross country), Josh Roberts (football), Noah Reeves (swimming & diving), Bullion Sharp (tennis), Louka Morin (golf), Garrett Grant (baseball), Emil Lausten (soccer)
Female All-Freshman – Isabel Bostic (soccer), Makenna Lee (softball), Viktoria Sorensen (swimming & diving), Erin Rodgers (basketball), Sophie Dethier (cross country/track & field), Mia Scanlon (beach volleyball), Katrin Pavkova (tennis), Tina Genoulaz (golf), Kyliee Topelski (cheer), Payton McGuire (dance)
Male Individual Performance of the Year – Mamadou Diarra
Female Individual Performance of the Year – Jaden Martinez
Team Performance of the Year – Beach Volleyball
Staff Member of the Year – Terrance Tarver
Picture Perfect Award – Linnea Magee
Male Iron Owl Award – Jack Brugman (Men's Golf)
Female Iron Owl Award – Kendall Mignerey (Beach Volleyball)
Individual Community W.I.N.G. Award – Malwina Rowinska and Maya Shanok (women's tennis)
Team Community W.I.N.G. Award - Softball
Coach of the Year – Joey Worthen (Men's Soccer)
Male Athlete of the Year – Daniel Laureyssens (swimming & diving)
Female Athlete of the Year – Autumn Courtney (softball)
Male Student-Athlete of the Year – Daniel Laureyssens (swimming & diving)
Female Student-Athlete of the Year – Autumn Courtney (softball)
Dr. Shaw Award for Academic Excellence – Cica Carvalho (swimming & diving)
Male New to the Nest Award – Marshall Lipsey (baseball)
Female New to the Nest Award – Malwina Rowinska (tennis)
Owl Cup - Softball
OWLstanding Spirit Award – Yani Guzman (softball)
Male Leadership Award – Payne Smith (swimming & diving)
Female Leadership Award – Kendall Mignerey (beach volleyball)
Video of the Year – Beach Volleyball (Maddie Sides / Ben Chitoff)
PHOTO GALLERY
2026 Owlspys
Tuesday, April 07
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #6
Monday, March 30
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #5
Monday, March 16
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #4
Friday, February 27