Raya Surinx and Jackson Tachinski were named Bison Sports Athletes of the Year on Saturday afternoon, as the school's annual awards were handed out on campus.

Overall, 11 total awards were presented. Ken Bentley was named Coach of the Year after leading the women's volleyball program to its eighth career national title, and first since 2014. Meanwhile, Darya Rom was selected Female Rookie of the Year and Owen Weekes was named Male Rookie of the Year.

Leadership and Community Development awards were given to Janelle Chomini on the women's side and Cieran O'Hara on the men's side. Dave Mahussier took home the Pat Gill Legacy Award, and Jeff Ready was named Assistant Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Camryn Gillis earned Teammate of the Year and Simone Crevier received the Spirit of the Bison award.

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Surinx became just the sixth student-athlete in the 62-year history of the Female Athlete of the Year award to go back-to-back. She is also the only student-athlete in school history to recieve major award recognition at the Brown abd Gold Awards Banquet in each of her first three seasons (Female Rookie of the Year in 2023, Female Athlete of the Year in 2024 and 2025).

Despite missing the first two games of the season, Surinx – also the U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Player of the Year, First Team All-Canadian and National Championship MVP – still led the country in kills (310) and kills per set (4.84). It's the second straight year the Winnipeg product has accomplished such a feat, after amassing 388 kills and 4.85 kills per set in 2023-24. Her back-to-back Canada West Player of the Year nods were also the first in program history.

Surinx has 1,318 career kills as a Bison, which is the second-most in the rally scoring era for the program, and 11th all-time. Meanwhile, her 127 regular season aces are the second most in the rally scoring era in school history. Surinx's 4.168 career kills per set also ranks third all-time in Canada West history.

She racked up serious volume during U SPORTS Nationals at home, recording 59 kills on 148 total attacks to help lead the Herd to their first national title in 11 years. She hit .400 with 23 kills in the gold medal game against Montreal, contributing 25.5 points overall.

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Tachinski's selection as Male Athlete of the Year marked the first time in the history of the Bisons football program that a student-athlete won Canada West Player of the Year and Male AoY in the same season.

Tachinski became the first Bison since 2002 and third overall to be named Canada West Player of the Year. He was second in efficiency in Canada West at 150.6, while setting career highs in passing yards (1662), passing touchdowns (11) and rushing yards (570), leading the Bisons to a 7-1 regular season record, and first place in the regular season (best result since 2007). In his career as starting quarterback, he's won 15 games, leading the Bisons to a home playoff game in two of his three seasons as QB1, while also helping execute the largest comeback in school history (26 points against Alberta) on October 19.

Tachinski has 4,553 career passing yards and 1519 rushing yards as a Bison, with 28 passing scores and 21 rushing majors. His 1,305 career regular season rushing yards are the most of any quarterback in program history.

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The Spirit of the Bison Award, established in 2023 to recognize and honour a Bison athlete who has demonstrated exceptional resilience in the face of adversity, went to Simone Crevier.

Learn more about her story overcoming multiple shoulder injuries, and transitioning from a Bisons volleyball standout, to a Canada West and U SPORTS nationals travel roster member of the track team, below,

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The Female Rookie of the Year Award went to Darya Rom, marking the first time in school history that a women's basketball player received RoY recognition. 

Rom played in all 20 regular season conference games for Manitoba, starting seven while averaging 23.7 minutes and scoring 7.3 points per game.

Rom scored in double figures seven times during the season, including a career-high 17 points against MacEwan on February 7th. Four of her seven double digit scoring games came during starts, and she also shot 37.2 percent from the field. 

Overall, Rom finished in the top ten in 13 different rookie statistical categories for the program. That included her 41 assists, the fifth-most by a Bisons rookie in regular season conference play. 

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The Male Rookie of the Year Award went to Owen Weekes. His selection was the sixth for a men's volleyball player, the most of any program in the 15-year history of the award.

Weekes led all first-years in hitting efficiency, at 28 percent. He played in 19 matches for the Herd, showcasing his versatility by playing both left and right side. 

A right side by trade, Weekes started all ten games at left side during the second half of the season for the Bisons. During that span of time, he recorded double-digit kills on four different occasions, including a regular season best of 15 against UBC Okanagan on January 15. He finished his rookie year with 123 kills, third on Manitoba's roster, while averaging 2.32 kills per set, also third. 

Weekes added 15 service aces, seven of which came in the last three games of regular season play, and he posted a regular-season best 11 digs on January 24th against UBC. At the net, Weekes tallied 24 total blocks. 

In the Herd's Canada West Play-In series win against UBCO, the first-year phenom took his game to another level. He posted a career-high 22 kills in a Thursday victory, along with a career-high four services aces in the Friday rematch as part of a series sweep.

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Ken Bentley earned Coach of the Year for the second time in the 24-year history of the award, and has 1,175 career wins as Bisons head coach, the most in school history.

Under Bentley's guidance, three Bisons earned Canada West All-Star recognition (Raya Surinx, Katreena Bentley, Julia Arnold), and two earned Canada West Major Awards (Surinx for Player of the Year and Arnold for Libero of the Year). Surinx was also named U SPORTS Player of the Year and a First Team All-Canadian, while Bentley was a U SPORTS First Team All-Star. 

Manitoba's national title in 2025 was the seventh in Bentley's 39-year tenure as head coach. 

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Teammate of the Year was given to women's hockey defenceman Camryn Gillis.

The fifth-year senior and veteran of a team-high 135 career U SPORTS games, suited up as a forward and defenceman during her time with the Bisons, playing on both the left and ride side on the blue line. An assistant captain this past year, she was instrumental in helping the Herd win their first playoff series since 2019, leading by example in countless areas. 

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The Female Leadership & Community Development Award was presented to Janelle Chomini of women's soccer, while the Male Leadership & Community Development Award went to Cieran O'Hara of men's basketball for their extensive volunteer work with the University of Manitoba Athletes' Council (UMAC).

Chomini was the volunteer coordinator for UMAC this past year, passionately helping organize 15 events ranging from a stem cell drive, to Agape Table and Siloam Mission shifts, as well as a Down Syndrome Walk and many other ventures. This year, UMAC was nominated for a St. Amant Volunteer of the Year award, with Chomini playing a huge role, helping organize two days of outreach with the organization along with countless card making days.
 

Meanwhile, O'Hara was the Bisons Against Bullying rep for UMAC last year and is the current Vice President of Corporate Relations for Asper's Commerce Socials this year. He is a volunteer basketball coach and is also a frequent face at UMAC volunteer events such as St. Amant and Ronald McDonald House. On the court he is a captain and two-time Academic All-Canadian, as well as a member of UM Herd, which helps promote school spirit on campus.
 

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Assistant Coach of the Year was given to Jeff Ready, offensive line coach for Bisons football.

Under Ready's leadership, the Herd set a new school record, with 2,016 rushing yards. Offensive linemen Sean Rowe and Giordano Vaccaro earned Canada West All-Star and First Team Canadian status, while Vaccaro was also named the JP Metras Award winner as national Lineman of the Year.
 

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Dave Mahussier received the Pat Gill Legacy Award for his dedication to Bison Sports as staff photographer over the last six years. This season marked the last for Mahussier, who has captured some of the most iconic moments in Bison Sports history.
 

 

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Along with the major awards, Bison Sports recognized an MVP from each team for the season:

Men's Golf -- Trent Robertson
Men's Cross-Country -- Justin Kroeker
Women's Cross-Country -- Lena Klassen 
Men's Track and Field -- Dawson Mann
Women's Track and Field -- Madisson Lawrence
Men's Swimming -- Andriy Usan 
Women's Swimming -- Ella Howe
Football -- Jackson Tachinski 
Women's Soccer -- Jessica Tsai
Men's Hockey -- Jonny Hooker
Women's Hockey -- Kylie Lesuk
Men's Basketball -- Mason Kraus
Women's Basketball -- Anna Miko
Men's Volleyball -- Jordon Heppner
Women's Volleyball -- Eve Catojo