The 2026 Buckys 2.0

MIAMI SHORES, Fla.--The athletic department celebrated the 2026 Buckys 2.0 on Saturday, June 27, awarding the final and major awards for the 2025-26 athletic season.

The Neill L. Miller Scholar-Athletes of the Year were awarded for the 19th year, while the Athlete of the Year awards, named after long-time Barry faculty athletic representative Dr. Eileen McDonough, were named for the fourth time.

Professor Neill Miller Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Adam Lynch, a senior from Jacksonville, Fla., is the 10th winner from the men's tennis team.  He finished with a 4.0 GPA in computer science. He becomes the ninth Buccaneer to win consecutive awards and the first since Daniel Stapff won three in a row from 2010-2012. Tennis athlete Dirk Benninghaus also won three in a row from 2004-2006. Rick Fiorenzo also won three straight from 1991-1993, although he shared the award with soccer's Michael Thorpe in 1992. Six of other nine winners from men's tennis came from 2002 to 2008 as Eric Holubec (1), Benninghaus (3) and Patrick Rittenauer (2) won six of seven. Renato Lombardi (2016) and Daniel Ventura (2019) won the other two.

Professor Neill Miller Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Tereza Zavrelova, a junior from Drasov, Czech Republic, is another 4.0 student in international studies. She is the fourth winner from women's golf and the 14th repeat winner on the women's side. Meredith Kane won in 2007 and shared the award with her sister Lauren as well as Greta Trotman from women's tennis in 2005. Zavrelova, who was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year and earn WGCA All-America first-team honors, finished the season ranked eighth in NCAA Division II with a 72.2 stroke average. She led the team to a tie for third-place finish at the NCAA Regional and a berth in the NCAA National Championship for the firs time since 2023.

Dr. Eileen McDonough Male Athlete of the Year

Adam Lynch, who was just the second Buccaneer in history to win both the Athlete of the Year and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the same term last year, became the first Buccaneer to win both awards in back-to-back seasons. He is just the third Buccaneer to win the award in back-to-back seasons, joining AJ Ewart (golf, 2022 & 2023) and Yunio Barrueta (basketball, 2015 & 2016). Lynch led the team to both the regular season and tournament championships in the Sunshine State Conference for the second year in a row, earning First-Team All-SSC awards in both singles and doubles. He led the team with a 17-1 mark in singles and 17-2 in doubles. He finished the season ranked 21st by the ITA in singles.

Dr. Eileen McDonough Female Athlete of the Year

Valeriya Kozlova brought home the fourth straight award for the volleyball team, after Diana Akopova won the last three in a row. Overall, it's the 12th award for volleyball, including Mickisha Hurley (1995, 1996), Cindy Yuan (1998, 1999), Karla Bersano (2002), Fernanda Brino (2004, 2005), Camilla Pagnan (2009), Julia Teixeira (2011) as well as Akopova (2023, 2024, 2025). Kozlova won six major awards, and 18 total awards, during her rookie season. She was named the Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the Sunshine State Conference and by the AVCA in the South Region, Player of the Year in the region by D2CCA and national Freshman of the Year by the AVCA. She led the nation in points per set, ranking second in the nation. She was second in the SSC in hitting percentage and kills per set. Kozlova made SSC history becoming the first volleyball player to be named both the Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season.