The accolades continue to pour in for New Mexico Athletics following another historic year, with baseball standout Akili Carris earning the Mountain West’s highest academic honor, Habtom Samuel adding another prestigious national recognition to his remarkable season, and the Lobos once again establishing themselves as one of the conference’s premier athletic and academic departments.
Carris Named Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Akili Carris has added one of the most prestigious honors in Mountain West athletics to an already decorated career.
The New Mexico third baseman was named the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming just the second baseball player in conference history to receive the league’s highest academic award. Carris joins former Lobo Sean Murray as the only baseball players to earn the distinction and becomes the ninth New Mexico student-athlete to receive the honor.
His selection also gives UNM five male Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipients, the most by any school in conference history.
Carris leaves Albuquerque as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history. He completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration in only three years while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA and has continued that academic excellence while pursuing his master’s degree in business administration.
On the field, Carris developed into one of the Mountain West’s top infielders. After injuries forced him into the lineup during what was expected to be a redshirt season, he became a fixture at third base, starting 120 games over the last three years while batting above .300 in each of his final three seasons. In 2026, he earned All-Mountain West honors after hitting .323 with three home runs and 42 RBIs as the Lobos reached the Mountain West Tournament and captured their first postseason victory since 2017.
His impact extended well beyond baseball.
Carris founded the UNM Child Life Volunteering Program, coordinating visits by student-athletes from multiple sports to UNM Children’s Hospital. He also organized community service projects ranging from toy drives to elementary school events while serving as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, representing student-athletes on the Faculty Athletic Council and the Stadium and South Campus Development Committee, and participating as a student-athlete representative during sessions of the New Mexico Legislature.
Internationally, Carris also competes for both the Greek National Baseball Team and the nation’s Under-23 squad.
Lobos Lead Mountain West in Academic Honors Once Again
New Mexico’s commitment to academic excellence continued to set the standard across the Mountain West.
For the second consecutive year and the 10th time in the last 14 seasons, the Lobos led the conference in All-Academic selections with 245 honorees. UNM also paced the league with 149 winter and spring student-athletes recognized.
Several programs led their respective sports, including baseball with 25 selections, men’s golf with six and women’s tennis with nine. Softball also finished second among conference schools with 17 honorees.
To qualify for Mountain West All-Academic honors, student-athletes must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA, complete one academic term at their institution and compete in at least half of their team’s contests.
The 245 selections represent the third-highest total in school history, trailing only the previous two record-setting academic years.
Samuel Named Bowerman Finalist
Habtom Samuel’s unforgettable season has earned him one more opportunity to make history.
The New Mexico distance star was named one of three finalists for The Bowerman, collegiate track and field’s highest individual honor, becoming the first male athlete in program history to reach the final three.
Samuel joins a select group after a season unlike any in Lobo history.
The Eritrean standout went undefeated against collegiate competition, winning all 13 of his races while capturing NCAA championships in cross country, the indoor 5,000 meters, and both the outdoor 5,000- and 10,000-meter races. His outdoor sweep made him just the 15th man in collegiate history to complete the 5K-10K double at the NCAA Championships.
Along the way, Samuel lowered his own collegiate record in the 5,000 meters to 12:57.22, posted the fastest 5,000-meter time in the world this year and ran the 12th-fastest collegiate 10,000 meters in history.
Fan voting for The Bowerman opened June 30 before the winner is announced during the USTFCCCA Convention in December.
Samuel, Kosgei Sweep Mountain West Athlete of the Year Honors
The Mountain West’s top individual honors also belong to New Mexico.
Samuel and Pamela Kosgei were named the conference’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year, marking the first time in league history that both awards were claimed by athletes from the same institution.
For Samuel, the honor capped arguably the greatest individual season ever produced by a Lobo athlete. His four NCAA championships during the 2025-26 academic year gave him five career national titles, tying former gymnast Chad Fox for the most in school history. He also earned USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year and National Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
Kosgei repeated as Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, becoming just the third student-athlete in conference history to win the award in consecutive seasons.
The distance standout earned five First Team All-America honors during the year, highlighted by runner-up finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000 meters and another outstanding postseason campaign. She also claimed Mountain West Athlete of the Year honors in cross country and indoor track while helping lead New Mexico to conference championships in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
The sweep gives New Mexico nine Mountain West Athlete of the Year awards, tying for the most by any school in conference history.
Lobos Again Finish as Top Group of Six Athletic Department
New Mexico once again proved it is one of the nation’s premier athletic departments.
The Lobos finished 58th in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, making UNM the highest-ranked program among all Group of Six conferences for the second consecutive year while leading the Mountain West for the seventh time in the past 14 seasons.
Only schools from the Power Four conferences, three Ivy League institutions and one Big East program finished ahead of New Mexico.
The Lobos’ 449.5 Directors’ Cup points were the second-highest total since the university adopted its current 18-sport structure in 2019, trailing only last year’s record-setting campaign.
New Mexico claimed four conference championships during the 2025-26 athletic year, winning men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field and women’s outdoor track and field.
The Lobos also finished ahead of 15 Power Four institutions, including programs from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, while easily outdistancing the rest of the Group of Six. Washington State finished second among non-Power Four programs in 74th place, while Air Force was the next-highest Mountain West member at No. 77.
The latest Directors’ Cup finish further underscores what has become one of the most successful stretches in department history, as New Mexico continues to combine national athletic success with record-setting achievement in the classroom.
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