Field Hockey

Brown, Esposito, O'Neil & Fellman Earn CC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honors

LANCASTER, Pa. -- A quartet of senior student-athletes have been honored as the 2025 Centennial Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Gettysburg men's tennis senior Mikey Fellman, Dickinson women's track & field senior Maddie Brown, Johns Hopkins women's basketball senior Michaela O'Neil and Washington College field hockey senior Kat Esposito each received one of the top distinctions bestowed annually by the conference. 

The Centennial recognizes a Scholar-Athlete of the Year in each of its 24 championship sports to a junior or senior member of the All-Conference team with the highest cumulative grade point average. The overall Scholar-Athletes of the Year are presented to the students with the highest GPA among the 12 men and 12 women's winners. This marks the first-ever three-way tie for the honor on the women's side. With all three women's award recipients being seniors and first team All-Centennial honorees in addition to having matching GPAs, the tie could not be broken based on the CC tiebreaking criteria. 

Fellman, a member of the Bullet men's tennis team, is the second Gettysburg student-athlete to receive the overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year since the award was established in the 2015-16 academic year. A double major in psychology and mathematics from Rockville, Md., Fellman graduated from Gettysburg last weekend. He earned All-Centennial honors all four years of his career, collecting singles honors each year and doubles accolades this spring. A three-year team captain, Fellman was named to the All-CC first team in singles and second team in doubles this year to close out his career in impressive fashion. This spring he tallied a 12-6 mark at No. 1 singles and an 11-10 doubles record, mostly at the No. 1 spot. For his career Fellman compiled a 34-25 (.576) singles mark, playing at the No. 1 position as a sophomore, junior and senior after competing at No. 2 singles as a freshman. In doubles, Fellman posted a 29-27 career mark, mostly from the No. 1 position. Off the court, Fellman worked as a mathematics tutor to both high school and college students, worked as a research assistant for the Gettysburg Psychology Department and served as the recruitment chair and treasurer for the Sigma Chi Fraternity. 

Brown, a senior sprinter for the Red Devil women's track & field team, is the second Dickinson student-athlete to take home Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades. A biology major from Emmaus, Pa., Brown graduated from Dickinson last weekend. This spring she became just the fifth student-athlete in Centennial history to claim Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades at least three times, having now earned the accolade twice in indoor track & field (2024, 2025) and once for the outdoor track & field (2025) campaign. Brown secured six All-Centennial awards throughout her career, including four this year when combining both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Off the track, Brown has served as a student research assistant in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a teaching assistant in ecology and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. 

O'Neil, a senior forward for the Blue Jay women's basketball team, is the first Johns Hopkins student-athlete to the win overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. A molecular and cellular biology major from Auburndale, Mass., O'Neil finished her career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in JHU women's basketball history. A College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Second Team selection this winter, O'Neil is one of just four players in program history to receive that distinction. A three-time All-Centennial performer, she earned first team All-Centennial honors this season after claiming second team laurels in both 2023 and 2024. She was also a D3hoops.com All-Region pick following the 2024-25 season and is a three-time CSC Academic All-District award winner. O'Neil led JHU in scoring (12.8 ppg, 8th CC) and blocks (1.8 bpg, 4th CC) and ranked third on the Blue Jays in rebounding (5.3 rpg) this past season. She concluded her career with 1,100 points, 534 rebounds and 119 blocks in 111 career games played, ranking among the top-17 in Hopkins history in each of those categories. During her tenure on the court, Hopkins compiled a four-year record of 93-21 with four trips to the CC championship game, four NCAA appearances and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2024 and 2025. Off the court, O'Neil served as a lead tutor at the Henderson-Hopkins School, a study consultant at the JHU Office of Academic Support, an undergraduate research assistant for the JHU School of Medicine, and volunteered at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. 

Esposito, a senior forward for the Shorewomen field hockey team, is the third Washington College student-athlete to secure overall Scholar-Athlete of the Year laurels. An anthropology and art major from Severna Park, Md., Esposito graduated from Washington College last Sunday. She concluded her career as a three-time All-Centennial selection, earning first team honors in 2024 and 2022 along with second team and Rookie of the Year accolades following the 2021 season. Esposito was also a three-time All-Region pick by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), collecting second team honors in 2024 and 2021 and landing on the first team in 2022. She is one of just three players in Shorewomen field hockey history to notch 100 career points, totaling 46 goals and eight assists in just three seasons due to an injury that wiped out her junior campaign. She holds the record at Washington for most goals (13) and points (27) in a season by a freshman and tied for most goals in a single season (18), which she did in 2022. She is a four-time NFHCA Scholar of Distinction and member of the NFHCA National Academic Squad. The senior was also a 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selection and was chosen to compete on the 2024 NFHCA Division III Senior Team. Earlier this spring Esposito was one of just 42 fall sport student-athletes across all three NCAA divisions to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Off the field, Esposito has worked as a Washington College Archaeology Lab Manager, an Archaeology Field School teaching assistant and was a member of the Lambda Alpha, Gamma Chapter of the National Anthropology Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. 

Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award Recipients

  • 2016: Brad Brooks, swimming, McDaniel; Anna Inserra, lacrosse, Washington College 
  • 2017: James Stadler, cross country/track, Haverford; Elizabeth Garrison, volleyball, Muhlenberg 
  • 2018: Nick Zambelli, football, Moravian; Taylor Bauman, volleyball, McDaniel; Julia Portmann, swimming, Washington College
  • 2019: Ben Frost, lacrosse, Haverford; Taylor Bauman, volleyball, McDaniel
  • 2020: Adam Gamber, track & field, Dickinson; Sadie Camilliere, lacrosse, Swarthmore
  • 2022: Oliver Pickering, swimming, Gettysburg; Jamie Belfer, softball, Franklin & Marshall
  • 2023: Rushil Patel, tennis, Swarthmore; Rachel Chatfield, soccer, Washington College 
  • 2024: Rushil Patel, tennis, Swarthmore; Meredith Mangum, volleyball, Franklin & Marshall 
  • 2025: Mikey Fellman, tennis, Gettysburg; Maddie Brown, track & field, Dickinson; Michaela O'Neil, basketball, Johns Hopkins; Kat Esposito, field hockey, Washington College.