The 2024-25 season was a special one for SMU athletics as the inaugural season competing in the ACC. Many of the student-athletes who were a part of the season were honored at this year's Pony Awards.

The men's tennis and the cross country teams won the Highest Team GPA from the spring and fall semesters of 2024, while the equestrian team won the Team Community award. 

Women's track and field athlete Raelyn Roberson and men's tennis player Jerry Barton were both two-time winners on the night. 

Roberson won for the Individual Community Award and then again for the Perseverance Award. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump in 2023, but had her 2024 season cut short with an injury. She returned this season and is coming off a win as part of the 400-meter relay and a second-place finish in the triple jump as SMU hosted a track and field meet for the first time in 27 years.

"I couldn't have gotten here without (my teammates)," Roberson said. "I wanted to get back for them, just to show them that you can have setbacks, but you can get back on top. Also my little sister, she looks up to me. I try to do everything the way I would want her to do it. … Progression isn't linear. I've definitely had some ups and downs and frustrating moments. But at the end of the day, I remembered that my goal is to get back."

Barton was the male winner for the Sportsmanship Award and the Student-Athlete Choice Award winner, chosen by his fellow athletes as someone they believe serves as an outstanding role model for the community.

"A big thank you to my teammates and my coaches and SMU as a whole," Barton said. "This is a great institution and I've tried my best to give back to the guys, give back to the school. I care about my team and I care about my school and I'll do anything I can do for the Mustangs." 

Volleyball player Jamison Wheeler was the female Sportsmanship Award winner. She was a four-year member of the Mustangs and a two-time captain as they hosted NCAA tournament matches for the first time in program history this past year.

"I have a little sister that looks up to me a lot, I would say that's where it stems from," Wheeler said of setting a good example. "But also my teammates and my coaches and wanting to be my best self for them."

The Freshman of the Year awards went out to a pair of athletes who made an immediate impact at SMU.

Luke Sitz was the male winner after his impressive season with the swim and dive team. He had six first-place finishes during the regular season and was in the Top 8 of every event he competed in. He took silver in the 3-meter and bronze in the 1-meter at the ACC Championships and placed seventh in the 1-meter at the NCAA Championships to be a first team All-America pick.

"I had a lot of goals set out for myself, but I think this year I just put the pedal to the medal. I was going hard and everything panned out the way I hoped it would," Sitz said. "I'm grateful to everyone who helped me along the way, my coaches and teammates pushing me, I couldn't do it without them."

The female winner was Kelis Jules who kept rewriting the track and field record book during her first year with the Mustangs. She broke the 60-meter hurdles record four times and is the fourth-fastest to run the 100-meter hurdles at SMU.

"I would have never thought I was going to come in here and do that well," Jules said. "Obviously, I had expectations for myself, but it was so special and so surreal. … Junior and senior year (of high school) I got hurt, so this was really my first year back healthy. I think I just had extra motivation pent up from the last two years."

Distance runner Emily Little was the female Newcomer of the Year Award winner. During the cross country season, Little was SMU's first-ever All-ACC honoree and also picked up All-South Central Region with a 10th place finish at the regional meet. She also runs the 10,000-meter for the track and field team.

"I really was excited to come to SMU and finish out my career strong," Little said. "The reason I chose SMU was because of coach ('A Havahla) Haynes. She really believed in me and felt like she could take me to the next level. All those achievements, they aren't just me, they're my teammates, her, my coaching staff and my family who have poured into me. I'm just so grateful that God led me to SMU. It's a lot of hours of hard work, but I wanted to pave the way; pave the way in the ACC and hopefully those who come after me will keep building SMU and put us on the map as one of the top distance running programs in the nation."

Gabriella Ayiteyfio and Kevin Jennings were the Red & Blue Award winners for their passion and spirit for SMU athletics.

Ayiteyfio is most often seen on the track where she competes in the Heptathlon for the Mustangs, but she is a regular in the stands at other sporting events at SMU.

"Ever since I've gotten here, I've had so much welcoming energy and I've been encouraged to be myself but also support a lot of the other student athletes," Ayiteyfio said. "When I have the time to do it, I feel like that's the best thing to do. At the end of the day, we all need that support system. I just do my best to show up when I can and I'm glad that people notice that. I'm really blessed and I've enjoyed every moment of it."

While Jennings is also a regular fixture at sporting events outside of football, it is also the way he represents SMU in the community that earned him the award. As a Dallas native, he knows how important it is for him to be seen and be a role model for others.

"Just growing up and being one of those kids at one point, when people would come back and give back to me, that would mean the world to me having a role model to look up to," Jennings said. "Just looking at that and being able to give back to the kids is a blessing to me."

Rower Grace Knudson was presented with her Presidential Award of Excellence at the Pony Awards because when the award was officially given out she was, fittingly, competing with the team in Austin.

The award is given to a graduating senior with at least a 3.5 GPA who has demonstrated outstanding ability in athletics and the classroom. She credited her community, which includes a lot of personalities on the team.

"There's 40 of us on the rowing team, so there are a lot of different dynamics," Knudson said, "But we all really come together and the dynamic makes it fun and I love it so much."

Nya Kearns was one of the Athletic Director's S.P.I.R.I.T. Award winners, given for representing Service, Passion, Integrity, Respect, Innovation and Teamwork in every aspect of being a student-athlete. 

She is a member of the two-time NCEA national championship equestrian program that finished runner-up this past year. Kearns was also recently named the NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year. 

Kearns went a perfect 17-0 this season and was the Most Outstanding Performer 10 times, including the NCEA final. But all of the personal success is a reflection of the team she is a part of and those who came before her and will continue after she leaves.

"I think, really, our team embodies that. We are such a reflection of the team culture," Kearns said. "I know coming in as a freshman, that was something that was very important and I learned from the older girls before me, then to be one of the older girls. It's something that's been so important to our team and we try to make sure we all reflect those values."

The other S.P.I.R.I.T. Award winner was Jonathan McGill, a two-year captain of the football team. He was one of several winners who were not at the awards in person as their professional careers are underway. 

McGill received a camp invitation from the San Francisco 49ers. 

Both Student-Athlete of the Year Award winners were unable to attend as Mackenzie Lee was with the women's golf team at the NCAA regional and Bailey Sparks is a regular in the starting lineup for Inter Miami CF II. 

Cesar Ruvalcaba was the male Perseverance Award winner after he had his season and SMU career end with an injury during the NCAA tournament. He is currently with the Columbus Crew, where he has made five appearances and two starts this MLS season.

Catalyst Award winner Kobe Wilson was signed by the Winnipeg Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Then there is the male Newcomer of the Year winner Brashard Smith. He is in camp with the Kansas City Chiefs after being selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft.