ORLANDO, Fla. (March 13, 2025) – Six of the nation’s best collegiate and Olympic athletes are vying for the 95^th AAU Sullivan Award.
 
The athletes (listed alphabetically by last name) announced as finalists are:

• Trey Augustine, Ice Hockey, Michigan State / USA Hockey
• Cooper Flagg, Basketball, Duke
• Ashton Jeanty, Football, Boise State
• Lee Kiefer, Fencing, USA Fencing
• Ilia Malinin, Figure Skating, US Figure Skating
• Lexi Rodriguez, Volleyball, Nebraska

Since 1930, the AAU Sullivan Award has been annually presented to highlight the most outstanding athlete at the collegiate, Olympic, or other similar elite level in the United States. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes the strong qualities of leadership, citizenship, character, and sportsmanship the chosen athlete holds on and off the playing field.

The one-week voting period to determine the winner opens to the public March 13 and closes on Wednesday, March 20, 2025.

The public voting period is open: VOTE HERE

The winner of the 95^th AAU Sullivan Award will be announced at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at the New York Athletic Club.

“We are excited to celebrate this year’s finalist class,” Jo Mirza, said AAU President. “They are standouts in their respective sports, strong in character, and truly embody the legacy of the AAU Sullivan Award.”

Trey Augustine has backstopped Team USA to consecutive IIHF World Junior Championship Gold Medals for the first time ever, and became the winningest goaltender in Team USA history at the World Juniors. Collegiately, he’s helped Michigan State to a #2 national ranking this season and is a semi-finalist for the Mike Richter Award as Top Men’s Collegiate Goaltender for the 2^nd year in a row. He becomes the fourth hockey player to ever be named a finalist for the award and looks to become the first ever to win.

Cooper Flagg was named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year. The Duke guard is the only player in ACC history to sweep the weekly awards five times in one season. He was named 2024 Gatorade National Player of the Year award and was a member of 2024 USA Select Team who trained in Las Vegas alongside the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2024 Olympics. Flagg looks to become the first male basketball player to win the award since J.J. Redick in 2005.

Ashton Jeanty had one of the best collegiate seasons a running back has ever put together, recording the 2^nd most rushing yards in a single FBS DI season with 2,601. The 2024 Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award winner led Boise State to back-to-back conference championships and their first ever College Football Playoff appearance. The 2024 Heisman runner-up and unanimous All-American selection looks to become the 10^th football player to win the award and first since 2016.

Lee Kiefer is a three-time Olympic champion in women's foil. The 2024 Individual and Team Women’s Foil Olympic gold medalist is also an NCAA team champion, four-time NCAA individual champion, and a 22-time Pan American Champion. Kiefer is the most decorated fencer in American history and is the first American woman to hold the title of #1 in FIE world rankings. She is the first fencer to be a finalist since 1932 and could be the first fencer to win in AAU Sullivan Award history.

Ilia Malinin is the reigning World Figure Skating champion in Men’s Individual Champion. The three-time U.S champion is famed for being the first and currently only skater to ever land a fully rotated Quadruple Axel in international competition. After sweeping the World Championship, U.S National Championship, and ISU Grand Prix gold in 2024, he looks to become just the 5^th figure skater to win the award and first since 2010.

Lexi Rodriguez finished her time with Nebraska Volleyball as one of the all-time program greats. The program record holder in career digs (1,897) was named a finalist for the 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year Award and the Honda Sport Award for Volleyball. Should she win, the four-time AVCA All-American will become just the 3^rd volleyball player ever to win the award, and first since 2018.

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ABOUT THE AAU:
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer sports event organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 800,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts. For more information, visit www.aausports.org.