Boilermakers Country

Big Ten Announces Purdue's 2020-21 Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Winners

The Big Ten honored 28 athletes from across the conference with awards for Outstanding Sportsmanship. Purdue's 2020-21 recipients were volleyball's Marissa Hornung and swimming's Trent Pellini.

D.J. Fezler

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Big Ten announced 28 student-athletes receiving recognition for the 2020-21 Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. Purdue volleyball's Marissa Hornung and swimming's Trent Pellini were selected for the Boilermakers. 

One member from each sports program in the conference was selected, and two from each school were honored with the award. 

According to a press release, all of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of their sport.

Hornung helped the Purdue volleyball program reach a top-10 ranking in the nation last season en route to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament. She recorded 236 digs while playing all 84 sets for the team and compiled a .964 serve reception percentage. 

She also had 14 aces as Purdue won 16 of its 23 matches, highlighted by a 14-2 stretch from Feb. 13 to April 18.

Pellini was an All-American in the 100 breaststroke and as part of Purdue's 400 freestyle relay team. He helped the Boilermakers score in a program-record seven events at the NCAA Championships, finishing in 17th place nationally.

At the Big Ten Championships, he was an A finalist in all three of his individual events, becoming Purdue's first swimmer to accomplish the feat since 2015. Pellini helped the Boilermakers set team records in all five relays throughout his career.

"Trent is one of the best leaders I have coached in my 40-plus years at Purdue," Purdue men's swimming and diving coach Dan Ross said. "He was a great teammate in part because he always put his teammates first."

Here's the full list of Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honorees: 

ILLINOIS

  • Trent Frazier, Men’s Basketball
  • Mallory Mizuki, Women’s Gymnastics

INDIANA

  • Logan Targgart, Men’s Track & Field
  • Gabbi Jenkins, Softball

IOWA

  • Mekhi Sargent, Football
  • Kate Martin, Women’s Basketball

MARYLAND

  • Maxwell Costes, Baseball
  • Hope Lewandoski, Women’s Soccer

MICHIGAN

  • Austin Davis, Men's Basketball
  • Abby Brenner, Women’s Gymnastics

MICHIGAN STATE

  • James Piot, Men’s Golf
  • Brooke Bogan, Women’s Track & Field

MINNESOTA

  • Casey O’Brien, Football
  • Carlie Brandt, Softball

NEBRASKA

  • Michael Hoffer, Men’s Track & Field
  • Hayley Densberger, Volleyball

NORTHWESTERN

  • Jesse Brown, Football
  • Brooke Riley, Women’s Golf

OHIO STATE

  • Kyle Seelig, Men’s Tennis
  • Katie Trace, Women’s Swimming & Diving

PENN STATE

  • John Harrar, Men’s Basketball
  • Kerry Abello, Women’s Soccer

PURDUE

  • Trent Pellini, Men’s Swimming & Diving
  • Marissa Hornung, Volleyball

RUTGERS

  • Paul Mulcahy, Men's Basketball
  • Maya Jacobs, Women's Tennis

WISCONSIN

  • Seth Hirsch, Men’s Cross Country
  • Tori Kost, Women’s Lightweight Rowing

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D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball. 

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