BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings men's and women's basketball teams took home the top hardware on Tuesday night at Petro Theater, during the 10th Annual Buzzies award program highlighting the accomplishments of Yellowjacket athletes during the 2021-22 academic year.
 
Taryn Shelley was named the MSUB Female Athlete of the Year, and Carrington Wiggins was selected as the MSUB Male Athlete of the Year. Kevin Woodin was named the MSUB Coach of the Year for the fourth time, and his women's basketball team was picked as the MSUB Team of the Year for the fourth time in the 10-year history of the award ceremony.
 
Shelley, who earned honorable mention All-America honors after a stellar senior season with the 'Jackets, was the fourth women's basketball player to earn the department's top individual honor, joining associate head coach Alisha Breen (2016, 18), Kayleen Goggins (2015), and Bobbi Knudsen (2013, 14). Shelley also earned MSUB Women's Basketball Player of the Year recognition.
 
Wiggins, who was a first-team all-GNAC selection this year after averaging a team-high 17.2 points per game, was the first men's basketball player to claim the top award for a male athlete since the inception of the Buzzies in the spring of 2013. The junior was also named the MSUB Men's Basketball Player of the Year.
 
A late, season-ending injury didn't stop Liberty Palmer from a landmark campaign with the Yellowjacket women's soccer team, and she was named the MSUB Freshman of the Year and MSUB Women's Soccer Player of the Year on Tuesday night. Palmer scored five goals in her debut collegiate season, which was good enough to earn co-GNAC Freshman of the Year honors and second-team all-conference recognition. Palmer is the first women's soccer player to earn the MSUB Freshman of the Year Buzzie.
 
Halil Yilmaz led the men's soccer team with 11 goals in the fall of 2021, and was selected as the MSUB Newcomer of the Year and the MSUB Men's Soccer Player of the Year. Yilmaz earned all-region recognition from both the United Soccer Coaches and the D2CCA last fall, and was the third men's soccer player to earn the Buzzie for newcomer as he joined Ricardo Palomino (2015), and Julien Dragomir (2016).
 
Overcoming multiple injuries that required surgery throughout his career, men's track and field senior Forrest Cross was named the Comeback Player of the Year and the Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The standout thrower made it two straight from the track team to garner the honor, after Beau Ackerman was the 2021 winner for Comeback Player of the year.
 
Brittanee Fisher broke the MSUB career home run record on the final day of the Yellowjackets' 2022 season last Sunday, and received the Buzzie Career Achievement Award. Fisher's 41st long ball broke Cameron Cassinelli's career record, and moved her to third in GNAC history at the end of her stellar career. Fisher joined Bella Rovens, who won the inaugural Career Achievement in 2017, as the second softball player to claim the honor.
 
After getting just five at-bats in his first two years in an MSUB uniform, senior Dominick Buso was named the MSUB Breakout Player of the Year. The leftfielder is hitting .283 with 16 RBIs, and has started 33 games for the Yellowjackets in his final collegiate season. Buso is the second baseball player to earn the breakout award, joining Landon Peterson who claimed the honor during the 2019 season.
 
Being recognized as the graduating senior with the top grade point average, Tierney Messmer of the women's golf team earned the Buzzie for Scholar Athlete of the Year after completing her studies with a perfect 4.0 GPA while studying health administration.
 
Recognizing her 20 years of commitment to the Yellowjacket Athletic department, administrative assistant Denis Wynia was presented with the Yellowjacket Award for Service on Tuesday. Wynia has remained loyal to her alma mater since completing her business administration degree in 1986, and remains as a valuable and crucial contributor to the administrative team in the Yellowjacket athletic department. Previous winners of the award, which is reserved for outstanding dedication or service to the department, include longtime athletic director Krista Montague, former faculty athletic representative Dr. Scott Harris, and 28-year cross-country and track and field head coach Dave Coppock.
 
The Buzzies were founded during the 2012-13 academic year, and are presented annually to honor the top individual and team achievements within the MSUB department of athletics. The 2022 ceremony was the first in-person ceremony in three years dating back to 2019, with the past two ceremonies held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 
The complete listing of 2022 Buzzie award winners follows. A complete listing of all-time Buzzie award winners can be found online here.
 
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Taryn Shelley, Women's Basketball
 
Male Athlete of the Year
Carrington Wiggins, Men's Basketball
 
Coach of the Year
Kevin Woodin, Women's Basketball
 
Team of the Year
Women's Basketball
 
Yellowjacket Award for Service
Denise Wynia, Athletics Administrative Assistant
 
Male Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Award
Hayden Foltz, Baseball
 
Female Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Award
Aspen Tolman, Women's Track & Field
 
Scholar Athlete of the Year
Tierney Messmer, Women's Golf
 
Fan of the Year
Blake Finn, Kevin Kolb, Brady Cady, Men's Golf Team
 
Career Achievement Award
Brittanee Fisher, Softball
 
Freshman of the Year
Liberty Palmer, Women's Soccer
 
Newcomer of the Year
Halil Yilmaz, Men's Soccer
 
Breakout Player of the Year
Dominick Buso, Baseball
 
Comeback Player of the Year
Forrest Cross, Men's Track & Field
 
Student Support Staff Worker of the Year
Ashley MacLeod
 
Game/Event of the Year
Women's Basketball - Defeated No. 9 University of Alaska Anchorage on the road 72-48
 
Moment/Play of the Year
Baseball – Tyler Godfrey had two walk-off hits on same day vs. Western Oregon
 
Baseball Player of the Year
Cooper Dulich
 
Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Carrington Wiggins
 
Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Ase Ackerman
 
Men's Golf Player of the Year
Riley Kaercher
 
Men's Soccer Player of the Year
Halil Yilmaz
 
Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year
Forrest Cross
 
Softball Player of the Year
Brittanee Fisher
 
Volleyball Player of the Year
Bayli Monck
 
Women's Basketball Player of the Year
Taryn Shelley
 
Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Kailee Stoppel
 
Women's Golf Player of the Year
Kinsey Irvin
 
Women's Soccer Player of the Year
Liberty Palmer
 
Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year
Kendall Lynn
 
Women's Triathlon Athlete of the Year
Madisan Chavez