Duke’s Flagg, Virginia’s Walsh Named 2024-25 ACC Athletes of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh, named the Honda Cup winner as the 2025 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, and Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the consensus Men’s Basketball National Player of the Year, have been chosen as the top female and male ACC athletes for the 2024-25 academic year by a select media panel (55 voters).
Walsh earned the 36th Mary Garber Award as the ACC’s most outstanding female athlete, winning the distinction for the second straight year. She is the seventh ACC female student-athlete to win the honor in consecutive years, joining NC State’s Julie Shea (cross country/track, 1980-81), Virginia’s Dawn Staley (basketball, 1991-92), North Carolina’s Mia Hamm (soccer, 1993-94), Maryland’s Jen Adams (lacrosse, 2000-01), Duke’s Alana Beard (basketball, 2003-04) and Boston College’s Charlotte North (lacrosse, 2021-22). This marks the fifth time a UVA student-athlete has claimed the award (Staley, 1991-92; Morgan Brian, soccer, 2015; Walsh, 2024-25). She remains the only swimmer to earn ACC Athlete of the Year honors (women’s or men’s).
Flagg was awarded the 72nd Anthony J. McKevlin Award as the premier male athlete in the conference. He is the 17th Duke student-athlete to receive this honor and the first freshman honoree since Duke basketball’s Zion Williamson in 2019.
“Gretchen and Cooper each had incredible seasons in their respective sports and represented the ACC at the highest level,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “They have succeeded and dominated not just within our conference, but at the national and international levels as well. We are extremely proud of them and know they will continue to thrive in their future endeavors.”
The ACC Athlete of the Year Awards are given in memory of two distinguished journalists. McKevlin was a sports editor of the Raleigh (North Carolina) News and Observer, while Garber, of the Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal, was a pioneer as one of the first female sports journalists in the nation.
Walsh helped lead Virginia to its fifth straight national title at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships. She was named the 2025 CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year for the second straight year after winning three individual titles at the NCAA Championships (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly) and setting three NCAA and American records. She was also a part of all four of the Cavaliers’ first-place relay teams, including the 200 medley relay team that set the meet, NCAA, American and US Open records.
Walsh also garnered ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year laurels for the second straight year after earning three individual and four relay titles at the 2025 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships, where she also claimed the ACC Women’s Swimming Most Valuable Swimmer Award.
The Nashville, Tennessee, native closed out her collegiate career as a 25-time NCAA Champion, 23-time ACC Champion, 28-time All-ACC honoree and 27-time All-American. She was just the fourth ACC athlete to win the Honda Cup, joining Julie Shea (1980), Dawn Staley (1991) and Mia Hamm (1994). Her impact on the sport reaches beyond the NCAA. Walsh has set 17 world records and 38 American records. She won four medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics (two gold, two silver), helping set two relay world records and one individual Olympic record at the Games.
Flagg was named National Player of the Year by five of the six organizations recognized by the NCAA, taking home the honor from the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Associated Press (AP), Wooden and Naismith. Flagg also swept the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards and was Duke’s first consensus First Team All-American since Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019.
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg led the ACC champion Blue Devils in points (709), rebounds (278), assists (155), steals (52) and blocks per game (1.4), and ranked among the ACC’s top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories – scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and blocked shots (6th). He helped guide Duke to its first NCAA Final Four since 2022.
Flagg was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, going to the Dallas Mavericks. At 18 years, 186 days old, he was the second-youngest No. 1 pick in draft history behind LeBron James (18 years, 178 days old) in 2003 and was the ACC’s 13th No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick and first since Duke’s Paolo Banchero in 2022.
Mary Garber Award Voting Leaders
Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, Swimming, 24
Chloe Humphrey, North Carolina, Lacrosse, 13
Olivia Babcock, Pitt, Volleyball, 5
Mirabel Ting, Florida State, Golf, 5
Anthony J. McKevlin Award Voting Leaders
Cooper Flagg, Duke, Basketball, 41
Cam Ward, Miami, Football, 4
Vincent Robinson, NC State, Wrestling, 3
All-Time McKevlin & Garber Award Honorees:
1954 • Joel Shankle • Duke • M Track and Field
1955 • Dickie Hemric • Wake Forest • M Basketball
1956 • Dave Sime • Duke • M Track and Field/Basketball
1957 • Lennie Rosenbluth • North Carolina • M Basketball
1958 • Dick Christy • NC State • Football
1959 • Lou Pucillo • NC State • M Basketball
1960 • Mike McGee • Duke • Football
1961 • Roman Gabriel • NC State • Football
1962 • Lenn Chappell • Wake Forest • M Basketball
1963 • Art Heyman • Duke • M Basketball
1964 • Jeff Mullins • Duke • M Basketball
1965 • Brian Piccolo • Wake Forest • Football
1966 • Danny Talbott • North Carolina • Football/M Basketball
1967 • Bobby Bryant • South Carolina • Football/M Basketball
1968 • Larry Miller • North Carolina • M Basketball
1969 • Frank Quayle • Virginia • Football
1970 • Charlie Scott • North Carolina • M Basketball
1971 • Don McCauley • North Carolina • Football
1972 • Barry Parkhill • Virginia • M Basketball
1973 • David Thompson • NC State • M Basketball
1974 • Tony Waldrop • North Carolina • M Track and Field
1975 • David Thompson • NC State • M Basketball
1976 • John Lucas • Maryland • M Basketball/M Tennis
1977 • Phil Ford • North Carolina • M Basketball
1978 • Phil Ford • North Carolina • M Basketball
1979 • Renaldo Nehemiah • Maryland • M Track and Field
1980 • Julie Shea • NC State • W Track and Field
1981 • Julie Shea • NC State • W Track and Field
1982 • James Worthy • North Carolina • M Basketball
1983 • Ralph Sampson • Virginia • M Basketball
1984 • Michael Jordan • North Carolina • M Basketball
1985 • B.J. Surhoff • North Carolina • Baseball
1986 • Len Bias • Maryland • M Basketball
1987 • Riccardo Ingram • Georgia Tech • Football/Baseball
1988 • Danny Ferry • Duke • M Basketball
1989 • Danny Ferry • Duke • M Basketball
1990 • Shannon Higgins • North Carolina • W Soccer
1990 • Clarkston Hines • Duke • Football
1991 • Dawn Staley • Virginia • W Basketball
1991 • Christian Laettner • Duke • M Basketball
1992 • Dawn Staley • Virginia • W Basketball
1992 • Christian Laettner • Duke • M Basketball
1993 • Mia Hamm • North Carolina • W Soccer
1993 • Charlie Ward • Florida State • Football/M Basketball
1994 • Mia Hamm • North Carolina • W Soccer
1994 • Charlie Ward • Florida State • Football/M Basketball
1995 • Tisha Venturini • North Carolina • W Soccer
1995 • Randolph Childress • Wake Forest • M Basketball
1996 • Kelly Amonte • Maryland • W Soccer/W Lacrosse
1996 • Kris Benson • Clemson • Baseball
1997 • Sarah Forbes • Maryland • W Lacrosse
1997 • Tim Duncan • Wake Forest • M Basketball
1998 • Vanessa Webb • Duke • W Tennis
1998 • Antawn Jamison • North Carolina • M Basketball
1999 • Cindy Parlow • North Carolina • W Soccer
1999 • Elton Brand • Duke • M Basketball
2000 • Jen Adams • Maryland • W Lacrosse
2000 • Joe Hamilton • Georgia Tech • Football
2001 • Jen Adams • Maryland • W Lacrosse
2001 • Shane Battier • Duke • M Basketball
2002 • Bea Bielik • Wake Forest • W Tennis
2002 • Juan Dixon • Maryland • M Basketball
2003 • Alana Beard • Duke • W Basketball
2003 • Chris Rotelli • Virginia • M Lacrosse
2004 • Alana Beard • Duke • W Basketball
2004 • Phillip Rivers • NC State • Football
2005 • Kelly Dostal • Wake Forest • Field Hockey
2005 • Sean May • North Carolina • M Basketball
2006 • Paula Infante • Maryland • Field Hockey
2006 • J.J. Redick • Duke • M Basketball
2007 • Lindsey Harding • Duke • W Basketball
2007 • Walter Dix • Florida State • M Track and Field
2008 • Angela Tincher • Virginia Tech • Softball
2008 • Tyler Hansbrough • North Carolina • M Basketball
2009 • Casey Nogueira • North Carolina • W Soccer
2009 • Matt Hill • NC State • M Golf
2010 • Whitney Engen • North Carolina • W Soccer
2010 • Ned Crotty • Duke • M Lacrosse
2011 • Katie O’Donnell • Maryland • Field Hockey
2011 • Ngoni Makusha • Florida State • M Track and Field
2012 • Becca Ward • Duke • W Fencing
2012 • Luke Kuechly • Boston College • Football
2013 • Crystal Dunn • North Carolina • W Soccer
2013 • Jarmere Jenkins • Virginia • M Tennis
2014 • Alyssa Thomas • Maryland • W Basketball
2014 • Jameis Winston • Florida State • Football
2015 • Morgan Brian • Virginia • W Soccer
2015 • Laken Tomlinson • Duke • Football
2016 • Molly Seidel • Notre Dame • W Cross Country/Track and Field
2016 • Deshaun Watson • Clemson • Football
2017 • Kenzie Kent • Boston College • W Lacrosse/ W Ice Hockey
2017 • Deshaun Watson • Clemson • Football
2018 • Arike Ogunbowale • Notre Dame • W Basketball
2018 • Lamar Jackson • Louisville • Football
2019 • Ashley Hoffman • North Carolina • Field Hockey
2019 • Zion Williamson • Duke • M Basketball
2020 • Erin Matson • North Carolina • Field Hockey
2020 • Robbie Robinson • Clemson • M Soccer
2021 • Charlotte North • Boston College • W Lacrosse
2021 • Trevor Lawrence • Clemson • Football
2022 • Charlotte North • Boston College • W Lacrosse
2022 • Kenny Pickett • Pitt • Football
2023 • Katelyn Tuohy • NC State • W Cross Country/Track & Field
2023 • Rhett Lowder • Wake Forest • Baseball
2024 • Pat Kavanagh • Notre Dame • M Lacrosse
2024 • Gretchen Walsh • Virginia • W Swimming
2025 • Cooper Flagg • Duke • M Basketball
2025 • Gretchen Walsh • Virginia • W Swimming