UConn senior women’s basketball player Breanna Stewart and Navy football standout Keenan Reynolds have been named finalists for the AAU Sullivan Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top amateur athlete.
The Sullivan Award has been given out since 1930, recognizing the outstanding amateur athlete whose athletic accomplishments are complemented by qualities of leadership, character, and sportsmanship. Stewart and Reynolds join Team USA gymnast Simone Biles, Team USA speed skater Brittany Bowe, Team USA wrestler Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska volleyball player Mikaela Foecke, and Alabama football player Derrick Henry as finalists this year.
Stewart, the three-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, is the only player in NCAA history to be honored as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player three times. She was selected as the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (Naismith Trophy) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in each of the last two seasons and earned National Player of the Year accolades from WBCA (Wade Trophy) and the L.A. Athletic Club (John R. Wooden Award) during her junior season. She ranks second (behind Maya Moore – 3,036 points) on UConn’s career scoring list with 2,593 points and fourth (behind Rebecca Lobo – 1,268) with 1,134 career rebounds.
Keenan Reynolds was the 2015 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He led Navy to a school -record 11 wins against just two losses and a national ranking of No. 18, which is Navy highest final ranking in the AP poll in more than 50 years. Reynolds finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was named a to the Associated Press All-America Third Team. He is the NCAA all-time leader in touchdowns scored (88) and rushing yards by a quarterback (4,559), and led the Navy senior class to a school-record 36 wins. Reynolds was made a unanimous captain for the 2016 East-West Shrine Game and went on to win the Pat Tillman Award, which is presented to a player who best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service.
The 86th Annual AAU Sullivan Award will be held Sunday, April 10, at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. Past winners of the award include Bobby Jones (1930), Doc Blanchard (1945), Wilma Rudolph (1961), Bill Bradley (1965), Mark Spitz (1970), Bill Walton (1973), Bruce Jenner (1976), Carl Lewis (1981), Joan Benoit (1985), Janet Evans (1989), Peyton Manning (1997), Michael Phelps (2003), Tim Tebow (2007), Shawn Johnson (2008), Missy Franklin (2012), and most recently, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott (2014).