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Current and incoming Bruins earn national player of the year awards

Rising senior Garrett Danner is one of the six incoming or current UCLA athletes to win a player of the year honor. The goalkeeper led the men’s water polo team to a 30-0 record and a second national championship. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By TuAnh Dam

June 20, 2016 12:16 a.m.

Six national player of the year awards belong to the Bruins.

Three incoming freshmen and three current athletes secured player of the year honors in basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, water polo and golf.

Lonzo Ball, men’s basketball

Heralded five-star men’s basketball recruit Lonzo Ball ran away with multiple national awards. Ball won the Naismith, MaxPreps, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Morgan Wootten and National player of the year awards as well as the Gatorade California State Player of the Year award en route to a 35-0 senior season.

The McDonald’s All-American averaged a triple-double with 23.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game and led Chino Hills to section, state and national titles. Behind Ball and his brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo – both UCLA commits – the Huskies finished the year as the consensus No. 1 high school basketball team in the country.

Madilyn Nickles, softball

The Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year Madilyn Nickles led her softball team to a 20-5 record and 0.63 ERA in her senior year. The incoming freshman pitcher and shortstop is the sixth Bruin in program history to have earned Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, joining rising redshirt senior Paige McDuffee and rising sophomore Rachel Garcia as past award winners.

Nickles recorded three no-hitters and nine shutouts while hitting .552 with eight home runs, 27 runs batted in and 20 doubles. The Merced, California native played 14 games at the World Cup of Softball and World Championships with Team USA posting a homer, 14 RBI and six walks.

Mallory Pugh, women’s soccer

UCLA’s other Gatorade Player of the Year is forward Mallory Pugh. As a 17-year-old, Pugh earned her first cap with the Women’s national team. The former No. 1 soccer recruit became the youngest player in national team history to play in an Olympic qualifying game. She contributed to a 5-0 win against Costa Rica in The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football 2016 Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship.

The Colorado native is competing for a roster spot for the 2016 Olympics before joining the Bruins in the fall.

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Mackie McDonald capped off his last season at UCLA with two national championships and Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men's College Player of the Year honors. The junior ended the year ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles. (Hannah Ye/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Mackie McDonald, men’s tennis

In his final season at UCLA, Mackie McDonald was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s College Player of the Year to go along with NCAA titles in singles and doubles. The junior is the fourth Bruin player to win the award after Marcos Giron, Benjamin Kohlloeffel and Marcel Freeman.

The Piedmont, California native turned professional at the end of the season, finishing the year as the No. 1 player in the country in singles and doubles.

Garrett Danner, men’s water polo

Rising senior Garrett Danner secured the top water polo honor in the country for the national champion men’s water polo team. The goalkeeper won the Peter J. Cutino Award after anchoring the defense in a 30-0 season. UCLA won its second national championship 10-7 over USC. In his junior season, Danner held opponents to 163 goals over 30 games, setting the program’s single-season saves record with 278 saves.

Bronte Law, women’s golf

Golfer Bronte Law, who guided her team to the NCAA semifinals, finished the season as the No. 1 golfer in the country. Law was named the 2016 ANNIKA Award winner, given to the nation’s top female collegiate golfer.

The rising senior was All-Pac-12 First Team and WGCA First Team All-American as well as the PING Player of the Year. Law won three events this season – the Bryan Regional, the Stanford Intercollegiate and the PING/ASU Invitational – tying UCLA alumna Kay Cockerill for most event wins in career history.

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TuAnh Dam | Alumna
Dam joined the Bruin as a sophomore in 2014 and contributed until after she graduated in 2017. She was the Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, gymnastics, women's water polo, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's golf beats.
Dam joined the Bruin as a sophomore in 2014 and contributed until after she graduated in 2017. She was the Sports editor for the 2016-2017 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, gymnastics, women's water polo, men's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and women's golf beats.
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