TAMPA, Fla. — The Sun Conference announced its nominees for seven NAIA National Awards Day honors as voted by league membership.
The nominees for the A.O. Duer Award as voted on by the conference’s Champions of Characters liaisons are
Vanja Vidanovic and
Jaden Meizinger of Keiser. Also selected by the Champions of Character liaisons were
Charles Bwanika of St. Thomas as the Leroy Walker Award,
Jamon Copeland of Ave Maria as the Coach of Character nominee, and
Ave Maria Volleyball as the Team of Character nominee. Additionally,
Vincent Miszkiewicz and
Elise Ellison of Keiser men’s and women’s basketball are the nominees for the Emil S. Liston Award.
“This year’s award winners exemplify the honor, integrity, and character that is on display throughout the Sun Conference,” said Sun Conference Commissioner Dustin Wilke. “We congratulate each of our recipients and take great pride in the opportunity to nominate them in consideration for NAIA honors on behalf of our conference.”
Vidanovic holds a 4.0 grade point average as an interdisciplinary studies and business analytics double major and is also a member of the Keiser women’s tennis team, who were 2024 NAIA National Runners-Up. She went undefeated in conference play this season and was named a First Team All-SUN honoree as well as a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American.
“Vanja is incredibly driven, relatable to others, experienced beyond the majority, and above everything an incredibly loyal and genuine person,” Keiser Women’s Tennis Head Coach Daniel Finn commented. “Vanja is very caring and sees the best in people and does everything she can to bring that out in them. She leads by example each day with her effort, attitude, and team first mentality.”
Meizinger graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.70 grade point average in Exercise and Sport Science and is a member of the Keiser football team. The All-American running back from Port St. Lucie led the team this year to its first National Championship and was named the NAIA Outstanding Offensive Player of the Game in three straight games during the Seahawks’ postseason run. Meizinger appeared in 14 games this season for KU, rushing for 1,057 yards and tallied a team-leading 15 touchdowns.
“Jaden Meizinger is an outstanding young man who exemplifies everything we preach to our student-athletes, both on and off the field,” Keiser Football Head Coach Myles Russ stated. “He is the perfect representation for this award because of his long list of on-field accomplishments, his stellar academic record, and his outstanding reputation in the local community.”
Bwanika carries a 3.4 grade point average, pursuing a master’s degree in criminology, at St. Thomas and is a member of the men’s soccer team, 2024 SUN Regular Season Champions and national semifinalists. A Second Team All-SUN honoree, Bwanika has helped his communities throughout his life in ventures such as: volunteering his time to serve as a youth soccer coach, creating a foundation to help fund study abroad opportunities in his home country of Uganda, and has been a graduate assistant at STU working in the international student affairs department and campus ministry as well as the school of theology and ministry.
“Charles always pushes himself to be the best on and off the field and he demands the same from his teammates as well,” St. Thomas Men’s Soccer Head Coach Felix Mats said. “He is always positive and collected on and off the field, but more importantly he always looks out for others and balances athletics, academics, and community very well.”
Copeland was selected as the Coach of Character nominee after guiding the Ave Maria men’s basketball team the conference tournament semifinals and a national tournament appearance and NAIA First Round victory over Southwestern (Kan.) 97-92.
Through the team’s mentor dinners, player led drills and sessions, team retreats, and consistent emphasis on growth, Copeland instills a culture of character within the AMU program. “Everyone is our program would tell you that our number one emphasis and goal as a program is on each player’s growth into becoming a better version of themselves each and every day,” Coach Copeland said.
“Coach Copeland’s messaging to his players is consistently Christ-centered,” Ave Maria Vice President and Director of Athletic Joe Patterson commented. “He is humble, confident, charitable, and hard-working, which results in an attractive portrayal of these virtues to his players.”
This year’s Team of Character nominee is
Ave Maria Volleyball. The Gyrenes beach volleyball team secured this year’s Sun Conference Regular Season Title after going a perfect 10-0 in conference play. AMU was also one of the 10 teams invited to the 2024 NAIA Invitational in Greeneville, Tenn. During the 2023-24 calendar, the AMU volleyball program totaled 708 hours of service to the community, over 17 hours per player within the roster. Some projects the teams contributed to were serving the Ave Maria Parish, Lipman Family Farms Backpacks Give A Way, Meals of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, the Miami Soup Kitchen, and Immokalee Soccer School. Additionally, they were high achieving in the classroom with a team GPA of 3.39, the second highest among all AMU athletic teams.
Miszkiewicz and
Ellison, both Sun Conference Tournament semifinalists, led their teams to national tournament appearances this season. Miszkiewicz, Sun Conference Player of the year and an NAIA First Team All-American, led the NAIA in rebounds, averaging 15.9 per game. He also averaged 16.9 points per game and tallied 27 double-doubles, 70 assists and 45 blocks.
“Throughout this past season, Vincent has shown tremendous leaderships skills and outstanding character qualities allowing him to accomplish several individual on-and-off the court accolades, including the position as our Team Captain and the recognition as the “Face” of our program,” Keiser Men’s Basketball Head Coach Marcus Bryant commented. “He is the model student-athlete that every coach wants in their program.
Ellison, who carries a 4.0 GPA in criminal justice, averaged a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game and 9.7 points per game this season. She also shot 49.3 percent from the floor, scored in double-figures 15 times, and was named First Team All-SUN.
Keiser Women’s Basketball Head Coach Pam Oswald noted, “Elise is highly respected by her teammates, peers, faculty, and staff at Keiser University for her passion in the classroom and a strong dedication to working hard in whatever task lies before her and she is an invaluable asset to our program, consistently leading with pride, integrity, and loyalty.”
Additionally, Drew Watson (Athletic Director of the Year) and Donnie Smith (Sports Information Director of the Year) of Southeastern and James Tuffy (Athletic Trainer of the Year) and Dr. Jan Bell (Faculty Athletics Representative of the Year) of St. Thomas will be put forward for national awards as previously announced after votes by their peers.
The national winners will be announced on September 15th.
More information on each award can be found
here.
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now in its 34th year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 24 NAIA sports. Learn more at thesunconference.com
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