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Michigan announces Athletes of the Year as it kicks off Year in Review celebration

Keith Farner

By Keith Farner

Published:

Michigan began its celebration of the Year in Review following the 2021-22 seasons, and on Tuesday announced its Athletes of the Year.

Aidan Hutchinson, the pass rusher, won the Male honor, while women’s basketball player Naz Hillmon was honored with the Female award. Hutchinson’s highlights are well-known:

  • Helped lead Michigan to a Big Ten Championship and its first College Football Playoff appearance
  • Set a single-season program record with 14 sacks, leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally in sacks per game (1.0)
  • Led the defensive line with 62 tackles, 16.5 for loss
  • 2021 Heisman Trophy runner up; fourth defensive player to finish first or second in final voting.
  • 2021 consensus first team All-American, also won Lott IMPACT Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award, Ted Hendricks Award and was co-recipient of Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year.

Hillmon has similar accolades:

  • Averaged 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game in her senior season
  • Tallied a Big Ten Conference-high 18 double-doubles
  • Leaves Michigan as program leader in rebounds (1,063), double-doubles (52) and free throws made (487)
  • The only Michigan player to have recorded 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career
  • Second all-time in scoring with 2,183 points, playing 21 fewer games than the program’s career scoring leader Katelynn Flaherty (2,776)

Keith Farner

Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.