On the Road to Glory: Oregon Sports Awards Honors The State’s Best Prep, College, and Pro Athletes Ahead of Night of Champions Celebration
Read all about the athletes who earned their place amongst Oregon legends
The Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year award has been given to outstanding Oregon athletes since 1966. As an Oregonian, Carpenter did legendary things for sports including his sports broadcasting career at KOIN from 1937 to 1969 and the founding of the Oregon Sports Writers and Sportscasters Association. This award, given in his name, recognizes the most outstanding male and female high school athletes in Oregon and features four winners.
The Oregon Sports Awards recognize athletes, coaches, and teams from across the spectrum of Oregon sports, including those in the college and professional ranks. They’ve made us proud and put our state on the map this year with their awe-inspiring achievements.
This year's Night of Champions ceremony will take place on October 29 at the Patricia Reser Center for the Performing Arts in Beaverton. An evening to celebrate past accomplishments, the Night of Champions is also an opportunity to inspire and encourage the next generation of athletes and sports enthusiasts. This special event reflects the state's passion for sports and honors those who have made significant contributions to Oregon’s sports legacy during an evening of inspiration, celebration and unity. Learn more about the Night of Champions.
Courtesy: Naji Saker, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
6A/5A BOYS JOHNNY CARPENTER PREP ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Lincoln High School’s Will Semler takes home the Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year award for his achievement in 6A boys’ tennis. With a two-set win over Southridge’s Vitomir Petcov 7-6(5), 7-6(9) in the finals, Semler became just the 13th Oregon high schooler to win three boys singles state championships and he may have even won as a freshman had there been a culminating event in 2021 for Class 6A during the COVID-19-affected year.
Semler, who is committed to the University of San Diego, may be one of the state’s best tennis players ever, but he’s also proven to be one of the state’s best competitors due to his training regimen and mindset. After his most recent state championship win, he noted that he puts himself into high intensity situations to learn to thrive under pressure.
Courtesy: Kevin Henneman, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
6A/5A GIRLS JOHNNY CARPENTER PREP ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
For her dominance at Bend High School in 6A softball, Addison Fisher receives her Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year award. Fisher wasn’t just the best softball player in Oregon this year, she may be the best softball player to ever come from the Beaver State. She was also the number one softball player in the nation this spring.
Fisher batted .667, hit 14 home runs and struck out 218 batters this season, all numbers ranking her among the state’s best. She was the leader of the 2024 Lava Bears that ended the season with a 24-6 record and beat Lebanon 2-1 for the state championship. The future UCLA Bruin was named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.
Courtesy: Howard Lao, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
4A/3A/2A/1A BOYS JOHNNY CARPENTER PREP ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Baker High School’s Rasean Jones has earned his Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year award for his accomplishments in 4A track and field. As a three-sport athlete, Jones has made his impact known on the football field and the basketball court, but the spring was where he really shined. Jones won the state title in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. His times in the 110 (13.96 seconds) and the 300 (37.38) are close to the state records in both events. The 110-meter hurdle record is 13.73, set by Bob Gray of David Douglas in 1988 and the record in the 300 is 36.10 set by Aloha’s Ken Scott in 1979. In the fall, Jones was a first team all-state selection as a wide receiver for the Bulldogs (who finished the year with a 5-5 record) and in the winter, Jones is a major player for the Bulldogs’ Class 4A state championship basketball team. Jones scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in Baker’s 75-58 win over Junction City for the team’s first state title since 2007.
Courtesy: Aaron Brewer, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
4A/3A/2A/1A GIRLS JOHNNY CARPENTER PREP ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Rounding out this list of these Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year award winners is Henley High School’s Annie Campos, who made her name known as a 4A girls’ basketball and softball player in 2024. It was a huge year for Henley, and Annie Campos was a big reason why. The Hornets won the Class 4A state championship in girls' basketball, their first since 2012. Campos was a force in the state title game, with a team-leading 14 points and five assists in the 41-38 win against Astoria. She was also named all-state player of the year for Class 4A.
In the spring, Campos was the starting pitcher for the Hornets as the team ended the season with a 29-3 record and was the number one seed in the state tournament. While Henley fell 4-0 to Pendleton in the finals, Campos still pitched the whole game, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, walked three and struck out 11.
Courtesy: Eastern Oregon Athletics
AD RUTSCHMAN MEN’S SMALL COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
A Roseburg, Ore., native, Hunter Sparks won a national title in the 125-pound weight division during the 2024 NAIA National Championships while wrestling for Eastern Oregon University.
Finishing the year with a 20-1 record, Sparks earned All-America honors for a second straight season and was named the 2024 NAIA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year, with his only loss coming to an NCAA Division I opponent.
Additionally, he was named the 2023-24 Cascade Collegiate Conference Athlete of the Year and CCC Wrestler of the Year.
Courtesy: Southern Oregon Athletics
AD RUTSCHMAN WOMEN’S SMALL COLLEGE CO-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Carolina Moreno had another outstanding season on the mat at Southern Oregon University, ending the season with an undefeated 28-0 overall record and ranking at the top of her weight class all season on her way to a third consecutive NAIA national title in the 130-pound class. Moreno, who has not lost a match since 2022, did not surrender a point in eight postseason matches, recording two falls and a tech at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships and two falls and three techs at the NAIA Championships. Following the season, she was voted the CCC Women’s Wrestler of the Year after winning four tournaments during the 2023-24 season. In addition to her national title and conference championship, Moreno added first-place finishes at the Missouri Valley Open and the Menlo Open.
Courtesy: Caleb Yaegel, George Fox Athletics
AD RUTSCHMAN WOMEN’S SMALL COLLEGE CO-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Alison Takamiya added to an award-winning collegiate golf career at George Fox University by winning the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Individual Championship after helping George Fox win the team championship the year prior. She earned her third Northwest Conference Player of the Year honor following the 2024 season, adding to an impressive resume that also included the 2024 Division III PING WGCA Player of the Year and the 2024 Division III Inkster Award.
Earlier this summer, Takamiya received a sponsor exemption to play in the LPGA Portland Classic, where she competed against some of the best golfers in the world.
Courtesy: Oregon State Athletics
BILL HAYWARD MEN’S AMATEUR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
It was a dream junior season for Oregon State University baseball player Travis Bazzana. The left-handed hitting second baseman was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year after batting .407 with 28 home runs, 66 RBI, 16 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 60 games with the Beavers. He became just the sixth unanimous first-team All-America selection in program history and later became just the second player in program history to be the top pick in the Major League Baseball Draft, when he went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. He set single-season school records in home runs, runs (84) and slugging percentage (.911), while tying the Oregon State record with 74 walks during the season.
Courtesy: Oregon State Athletics
BILL HAYWARD WOMEN’S AMATEUR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
A standout gymnast at Oregon State University, Jade Carey helped the U.S. National Gymnastic Team take all-around Olympic gold during the Paris 2024 games.
Individually in Paris, the two-time Olympian won a bronze medal in vault with a 14.466. At the collegiate level this year, Carey was an NCAA all-around and floor exercise silver medalist while earning a bronze medal in balance beam for the Beavers.
Courtesy: Howard Lao
HARRY GLICKMAN MEN’S PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
A native of Boring, Ore., Ryan Crouser continued his Olympic track and field dominance by winning gold in the shot put for the third straight games this past month.
Prior to winning the event in Paris, Crouser did the same in the Tokyo 2020 games and Rio de Janeiro games in 2016. In doing so, he became the first shot putter in Olympic history to take home three straight gold medals in the event.
As a lead-up to the games, Crouser won gold in the shot put at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August.
Courtesy: Eric Evans, GoDucks.com
HARRY GLICKMAN WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Now in her fourth professional season, Sabrina Ionescu continues to make her mark as one of the top players in the WNBA and at the international level. Recently, Ionescu helped the U.S. Women’s National Team win a record eighth straight Olympic gold medal in basketball while averaging 5.5 points per game, 3.3 assists per game and 1.8 rebounds per game in Paris. It’s been a busy year for Ionescu, who ranked among the top 10 vote-getters for this year’s WNBA All-Star Game. Earlier in the year, she participated in the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge as part of the NBA All-Star Festivities in Indianapolis, narrowly finishing second to the top three-point shooter in NBA history, Stephen Curry. The top pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft after a standout collegiate career at the University of Oregon, Ionescu has helped the New York Liberty to their best start in franchise history while averaging 19.9 points, 6.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game through 27 contests (as of Aug. 20).
Courtesy: Portland Winterhawks
SLATS GILL SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR
In his 13th season as the head coach of the Portland Winterhawks, Mike Johnston led his team to its fifth Western Hockey League Finals appearance in 2023-24, coming just short of his second and the team’s third WHL championship. During the season, Johnston, who will now focus on the development aspects of the team as its president and general manager, became just the 11th coach in the WHL to surpass 500 career wins while amassing one of the highest winning percentages with an overall record of 544-249-33-31 in the league. Under Johnston’s guidance, Portland was one of just three teams to finish last season with more than 100 regular-season points, compiling a record of 48-15-4-1 (101 points) over the course of the campaign. The Winterhawks led all WHL teams in goals scored in 2023-24 with 330 and finished third in fewest goals allowed (204).
Sport Oregon and the Oregonian Media Group are proud to celebrate the state’s top athletes for the 2023-24 Oregon Sports Awards, presented by Pacific Seafood and Pacific Office Automation.
ABOUT THE OREGON SPORTS AWARDS
In 1948, the Oregon Sports Writers and Sportscasters’ Association hosted the first-ever Bill Hayward Banquet of Champions. The event began as a sit-down affair, honoring past and present Oregon sports greats.
Later, in 1986, the event was rebranded and renamed the Oregonian Banquet of Champions. In 2001, the event became the Oregon Sports Awards, presented by Nike.
In 2021-22, the Oregon Sports Awards began following a seasonal schedule with fall, winter, and spring awards given after each season, finishing in an end-of-year Celebration of Champions, recognizing every winner in every sport and overall Athlete of the Year Awards. This shift allowed the Oregon Sports Awards to shine the spotlight on the student-athletes when their season has recently completed while celebrating all winners equally including collegiate, professional and team awards.
Past award winners have included the likes of Terry Baker, Dick Fosbury, Steve Prefontaine, Joni Huntley, Neil Lomax, Danny Ainge, Dan O’Brien, Gary Payton, Tiffeny Milbrett, Joey Harrington, Nick Symmonds, Jordan Kent, Kevin Love, Liz Brenner, Megan Rapinoe, Ashton Eaton and Marcus Mariota.
ABOUT PACIFIC SEAFOOD
Founded in 1941, Pacific Seafood remains a family-owned and operated company dedicated to providing the healthiest protein on the planet. Pacific Seafood manages all parts of the supply chain from harvesting/fishing, processing, and distribution to provide customers with freshest, highest-quality, sustainable products. Pacific Seafood is headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. Find products at your local grocery retailer or order direct from our dock to your doorstep at PacificSeafood.com/Shop.
ABOUT PACIFIC OFFICE AUTOMATION
Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Pacific Office Automation is the largest independent office technology provider in the nation. Since 1976, We’ve built our business on lasting strategic partnerships. We team up with our clients to review, evaluate and make recommendations to their unique situation. POA boasts a 47-year growth streak in the face of financial recession and global pandemic, which we credit primarily to the hard work and dedication of our talented team, the reinvestment of our growth into the development of new personnel, and the continued support we receive from our manufacturer partners and the state-of-the-art technology they provide. Our motto is Problem Solved. we believe the best solution to a problem is a proactive approach to preventing them.
ABOUT SPORT OREGON
Sport Oregon understands that the impact of sports is undeniable. It's economic. It's social. It's emotional. A dedicated, thriving sports tourism environment is crucial to the wellbeing of our state. Sport Oregon has an unapologetic love for Oregon, and wants to share it with the world. The natural scenery is our playground, and the vibrant hospitality community is eager and ready to host you, your events, your teams, your fans and your families.