PEMBROKE – NCAA National Qualifier, Benedetta Pepe Pugliese was decorated with Female Student-Athlete of the Year accolades, while first team all-conference and all-region selection Bradlee Haskell raked in Male Student-Athlete of the Year laurels, as the UNC Pembroke athletics department welcomed back its nearly 400 student-athletes on Monday evening inside the Givens Performing Arts Cents (GPAC).
 
Baseball's Seth Willis and women's basketball's Stella Mollica took home the Male and Female Newcomer recognitions, while men's basketball's head coach Drew Richards picked up the Dan Kenney Coach of the Year Crown. The awards put a wrap on the 2024-25 Golden Braves program which was held in April. 
 
Pepe Pugliese took home the Conference Carolinas Championship title in the 200-yard Breakstroke and earned 2^nd team all-conference honors in the 400-yard individual medley. A native of Avellino, Italy, Pepe Pugliese broke the school record in the 200-yard Breaststroke and punched her ticket to the NCAA National Championship for the second consecutive year. During the season, Pepe Pugliese was named the Conference Carolinas Swimmer of the Week, and also earned third team all-conference honors in the 200-yard Individual Medley.
 
A native of Southern Pines, Haskell played in all 32 games for the Braves and averaged 30.1 minutes per game. A key cog to the program's success last season, Haskell finished the season averaging a team-best 18.0 points per game and shot 46.4 percent from the field. A first team all-conference honoree, Haskell finished the season ranked 10^th nationally in 3-point percentage shooting 45.1 percent from the perimeter. He earned NABC All-District, NCAA Southeast Region All-Tournament Team and D2CCA All-District honors as well as being selected for the NABC All-Star game. He exits Pembroke as the program's 14^th all-time scorer.
 
Richards skippered the Braves to a historic season where the Black & Gold finished the year with a 25-7 overall record. The Braves won their second straight Conference Carolinas Regular Season and Tournament titles and boasted a 12-1 record when playing at home. Richards earned his 100^th victory at UNCP with a 106-70 win against Mount Olive to end the regular season. UNCP's success continued in the postseason where the Braves advanced to the NCAA Regional Final game for the first time in the history of the program.
 
A first-year player for the Braves after transferring from Tusculum, Willis finished the season with a 5-2 record and a Conference Carolinas-leading ten saves. The Vale native made a team-high 22 appearances and posted a 4.05 ERA across 46 2/3 innings, while recording 61 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .209 batting average. Willis was named both the Conference Carolinas and NCBWA Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week in April after recording saves in both ends of a doubleheader sweep of regular-season champion Francis Marion, combining to throw four innings and striking out 10 batters. 
 
An everyday starter for the Black & Gold, Mollica averaged 35.5 minutes per game and scored in 30 games this season. A native of Mohnton, Pennsylvania, Mollica finished the season ranked second on the team with 45 steals. A third team all-conference selection, Mollica set the single game record for most assists in a game with 13 against Fayetteville State and became the program's all-time single season assists leader with 173. She finished the season ranked first in Conference Carolinas for total number of assists and assists per game. Mollica also ranked seventh nationally in total assists and ninth nationally in assists per game.