Year Of The Anteater: Top Individuals

By Stacey Shackleford

July 12, 2024

To wrap up the 2023-24 highlights, let’s look back at the most impressive individual performances of the year.

For only the sixth time in department history, UCI touted a National Player of the Year, men’s volleyball player Hilir Henno. Henno was also one of three Big West Players of the Year and 12 All-Americans for UCI. 72 Anteaters were honored on All-Big West teams, while 39 earned conference Player of the Week honors.

While everyone will tell you it was a team effort, these following individuals deserve to be recognized for their incredible achievements.

AVCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
HILIR HENNO - MEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Junior Hilir Henno has etched his name as one of the most decorated Anteaters of all-time. Recognized as the most dynamic offensive player he was awarded both American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year as well as Big West Player of the Year.

He earned AVCA first team All-America for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth UC Irvine player to be named to the first team more than once.

The lefty led the country in points (5.52) and is second in kills (4.76) and attacks (9.61) nationally leading the Anteaters to their eighth NCAA appearance and a semifinal berth.

He owned a .373 hitting percentage which was eighth overall and the best by a pin hitter. In the conference sweep over then-No. 4 Hawaii, Henno hit .679 with 20 kills in 28 swings and just one error. The junior recorded double figure kills in every match this season, including 20 or more on 10 occasions. He put away a career-high 36 kills in a non-conference meeting with Hawaii, the second most kills in the country in 2024.

Henno had nine aces against Princeton the most by a UCI and Big West player and third most in the country in 2024. He became the Big West career leader in aces with 181 and is two shy of the UCI career record.

He was also tabbed Off The Block's Karch Kiraly and Nicolas Szerszen award winner.

BIG WEST PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Déja LEE – WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Junior Déja Lee made history as UC Irvine women’s basketball’s first Big West Player of the Year. Lee was recognized after finishing the Big West regular season ranked second in the conference in scoring (14.8 ppg), second in steals (3.1 spg), fourth in field goal percentage (46.1%), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (37.4%) and fifth in threes made (2.0/gm).

Lee went on to lead the Anteaters to their second Big West Championship, and first since 1995. She had 12 points and three steals in the semifinal against Long Beach State before netting a game-high 21 points against UC Davis in the final. She was named the MVP of the Big West Championship.

On the year, Lee reached double figures in scoring 22 times with seven 20+ point performances. She drained a career-high 29 points on a 9-of-14 shooting performance (5-6 3FG) in an overtime win at Long Beach State on March 2. Lee also broke the single-season school record with 82 steals.

BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MYLES SMITH - BASEBALL
Junior Myles Smith became the program's sixth Big West Field Player of the Year. He garnered ABCA/Rawlings All-American Second Team honors as well as ABCA/Rawlings All-Region. The Corvallis All-Regional Team member brought home three Big West Field Player of the Week honors in the season's final five weeks.

Smith came on strong in the second half of the season to hit .401 and become just the fourth Anteater to hit over .400. The outfielder finished with 10 HR to tie of the team best, team-highs with a .637 slugging and .533 on-base, and 73 hits, 56 runs, 49 RBIs, and 50 walks. He posted conference highs in slugging and a .533 on-base percentage that ranked sixth in the nation.

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ALL-AMERICANS

LIBBY ALEXANDER - WOMEN'S WATER POLO
Alexander earned ACWPC All-American third team and All-Big West first team honors.

She led the Anteaters in goals (43) and points (59) and shot at an impressive 0.538 clip.

CONNOR CAMPBELL – MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Campbell ended his Anteater career being named AVCA honorable mention All-America.

The middle blocker ranked 15th in the country in blocks at 0.97 per set and was second in the Big West in hitting percentage with a .386 mark. He hit over .500 10 times, including over .800 twice this season. Campell had a career-best .846 (11-0-13) performance against Concordia. He totaled five or more blocks nine times, including a season-best eight total blocks (1 solo) at BYU.

JOSH FARMER - TRACK & FIELD
Farmer was named a second-team All-American by way of his 12th-place finish in the decathlon at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. It was his third career All-America award as he also received second-team distinction in 2021 (16th) and 2022 (14th). Over the two days at Hayward Field, the senior compiled 7,647 points, which was his highest score in his three NCAA appearances. He had a strong finish to the grueling 10-event competition, setting personal records in two of the final three events. In the pole vault, Farmer did not miss at his first five heights, ultimately clearing a lifetime-best 4.71m (15-5.5). He kept the momentum in the javelin where he hit a personal-best 56.78m (186-3).

Farmer is the Anteaters’ first decathlete to earn NCAA Division I All-America honors three times in his career. He was also the program’s first Big West decathlon champion since 1993. Earlier in the season, Farmer compiled a personal-record 7,703 points at the Bryan Clay Invitational. That mark ranks second on UCI’s all-time charts, and is first in school history since the scoring table changed in 1986.

MAXIM GRIGORIEV – MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Grigoriev was a first team All-Big West honoree and was named honorable mention All-American.

The sophomore was sixth in the Big West in hitting percentage (.335), eighth in blocks (0.89), 12th in points (2.98) and 16th in kills (2.17). Against Big West opponents, the sophomore led the league in hitting percentage with a .500 mark (59-10-98). He was second on the team in aces with 36. He recorded double-digit kills 10 times, including a career-best 17 in a win over USC. Grigoriev hit over .500 eight times, including an .818 performance versus UC Santa Barbara (9-0-11).

LUKA KRSTIC – MEN'S WATER POLO
Krstic was named to the ACWPC All-American third team as well as an All-Big West first team choice.

He led the team with 68 total points on 43 goals and 25 assists. The sophomore was selected as Big West Player of the Week on October 25.

RICKY OJEDA - BASEBALL
Ojeda was tabbed a freshman All-American by the NCBWA and D1Baseball as one of the top relief pitchers in the nation in addition to All-Big West first team status.

He made 25 appearances as a freshman for 52 innings finishing with 6 wins to 1 loss and collecting a save. Ojeda struck out 74 hitters, three to every one walk, while posting a 3.46 ERA. He saved his best work for May 7 vs. UCLA with season highs of 3.2 IP and 7 strikeouts

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TYLER PADUA - MEN'S WATER POLO
Padua earned ACWPC All-American honorable mention and All-Big West second team accolades in 2023, his third postseason honor as an Anteater.

He led the team with 50 drawn exclusions and 12 field blocks, the most blocks in the Big West. Padua notched 27 goals and three assists.

COLE POWER – MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Power was the heart of the UCI defense, earning second team All-American and first team All-Big West distinction.

The senior averaged 1.93 digs per set, which is second in the Big West. He had 10 double-digit dig performances, including a season-best 15 digs in a win over Grand Canyon.

BRETT SHEWARD – MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Sheward joined the Anteaters for his final year and earned second team All-American and first team All-Big West honors.

He ranked second in the country in set assists with a 10.50 average and posted a career-high 58 set assists versus then-No. 1 GCU and 22 digs at Hawaii, both the most by a Big West player in 2024. His 56 set assists against USC were second-most nationally in a four-set match this season.

JOHANN THRALL - MEN'S WATER POLO

Thrall was impressive in his freshman campaign picking up ACWPC All-American third team accolades as well as All-Big West second team and All-Big West Freshman team honors.

He led the team in goals with 48 and was second in points with 65.