CalHOPE Courage Award February 2025
IRVINE, Calif. --- The CalHOPE Courage Award named their honoree for February 2025 as UC Irvine baseball redshirt senior
Will Bermudez.
Will Bermudez's story is one of resilience, perseverance, and unyielding determination. A first-generation college student, now a senior at UC Irvine and a standout on the baseball team, Will's journey has been anything but conventional.
In May 2019, during a travel baseball game, the 17-year-old collided with a teammate while chasing a pop fly, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Although Will quickly regained mobility, the collision also resulted in a traumatic brain injury that caused him to lose five years of memory. For more than two weeks, Will thought he was a 12-year-old. A few months after his injury, he suffered his first epileptic seizure. Will was diagnosed with Myoclonic Juvenile Epilepsy, leading the Air Force Academy to rescind his scholarship.
The injury took a toll on Will's physical and mental health. In addition to extensive rehabilitation, Will leaned on his faith and the coping skills he developed in mental health counseling.
Determined to forge a path forward, he enrolled at UC Davis. Since baseball was not a good fit at the time, he focused on his academics and getting healthy. Wanting to play baseball again, in 2022, he transferred to Mt. San Antonio College, where he excelled, batting .343. His play caught the attention of the coaches at UC Irvine, where he transferred in 2023 and quickly earned the starting position at second base. He batted .250 and was named a finalist for the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Last year, he improved at the plate, batting .301 and earning All-Big-West Second Team honors.
Will's experiences inspired his academic pursuits. Majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology, he aspires to become a psychiatrist, dedicated to helping people struggling with mental health challenges—just as he learned to manage his own.
"Everyone has different battles. Mine was epilepsy," said Will. "I want everyone to know that whatever they are going through will get better if they take it one day at a time and don't let anything stop them from achieving their dreams."
"Congratulations and very well deserved for Will. He is an inspiring person with so much drive and determination. He makes all of us better and has been a great member of our program that will leave a lasting impact here," praised head coach
Ben Orloff.
Presented since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award, recognizes two student-athletes at California colleges and universities monthly for overcoming the stress, anxiety, and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. At the end of the school year, two of the student-athletes recognized during the year will be selected as annual CalHOPE Courage Award winners and a donation will be made in each of their names toward mental health services. It is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP); CalHOPE, DHCS' crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Wellbeing.
Thanks to the support of many California professional sports teams including the LA Kings, San Francisco Giants, LA Kings, Sacramento Kings, San Jose Earthquake and LA Galaxy, honorees have had the memorable experience of receiving their trophy during an in-game presentation. Others have been recognized by program ambassadors Ronnie Lott and Kristi Yamaguchi as well as the First Partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom. Additionally, the program has donated $15,000 to support mental health service on campus in the names of our winners. This year each of the 14 monthly awards will be accompanied by a $1,000 donation to support mental health service on your campus.
About the CalHOPE Courage Award
The monthly CalHOPE Courage Award is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press; CalHOPE, a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor's Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being.
"CalHOPE is honored to continue recognizing student-athletes statewide who have overcome challenges to perform their best as both scholars and athletes," said Autumn Boylan, Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at DHCS, which oversees CalHOPE. "CalHOPE's purpose is to build community resilience and help people recover from disasters and public health emergencies through free outreach, crisis counseling, and support services. We hope that by sharing these stories of courage, all will be inspired."
Previous honorees this year have included: Ally Ratto (water polo, Delta College); Dublin Synnott (soccer, Saddleback College), Aaliyah Gayles (basketball, USC); Jailen Daniel-Dalton (basketball, San Francisco State; Mya Wang (lacrosse, University of California, Berkeley); and Justin Watterson, (track, Long Beach State).
At the end of the school year, two of the student-athletes will be selected as the CalHOPE Courage Award winners. The previous winners were: 2024 – Cameron Nelsen (volleyball, Antelope Valley College) and Myron "MJ" Amey (basketball, San Jose State); 2023 - Anysa and Amaya Gray (soccer, University of California, Berkeley) and Nigel Wilson (basketball, Pasadena City College); and 2022 - Julia Schwayder (lacrosse, Occidental College) and Breyon Jackson (basketball, San Francisco State).
Stories about all CalHOPE Courage Award honorees since 2022 are available at CalHOPECourageAward.org and via social media (X & Instagram) at @CalHOPE_Courage.
Sports information directors at all colleges and universities in California are encouraged to nominate deserving intercollegiate student-athletes at CalHOPECourageAward.org. The honorees are selected by a panel of writers, editors, The Associated Press, and the College Sports Communicators.
ABOUT CalHOPE
CalHOPE is a multi-level campaign run by DHCS to connect people with vital mental health and wellness resources and information to help them navigate during times of crisis. CalHOPE offers critical behavioral health crisis counseling programs and uses a public health approach that is focused on strength-based strategies for building resiliency and connecting people to the support they need. CalHOPE partners with the California Governor's Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being to promote the CalHOPE Courage Award. CalHOPE resources may be accessed by calling the program's warm line at (833) 317-HOPE (4673), accessing the live chat feature, or visiting www.calhope.org.
