Seven Bellevue University athletes were highlighted and recognized for their outstanding accomplishments on the field/court and in the classroom at the 47th Annual Bellevue University Athletics Banquet held at the Beardmore Events Center Wednesday evening in Bellevue.
All-Americans Olivia Galas (Volleyball) and Elexis Martinez (Women's Basketball) were named the school's co-Female Athletes of the Year. All-American Inaki Aldao (Men's Soccer) and multiple school record holder Riley Baasch (Baseball) garnered co-Male Athlete of the Year accolades.
Shortstop Josh Vaughan (Baseball) was recognized as the Male Academic Athlete of the Year. Shortstop Ellie Bliemeister (Softball) and guard Jamie Winkler (Women's Basketball) were honored as co-Female Academic Athletes of the Year.
Olivia Galas
Despite battling through a broken nose and surgery for torn tendons in her thumb, Olivia Galas became the volleyball program's first two-time first-team NAIA All-American this season. In addition, she was also named the NAIA's National Setter of the Year. Galas earned her third-straight first-team all-NSAA honor and was also named to the first-team all-North Central Region team for the third consecutive year.
She was named the NSAA's setter of the week on four occasions and also earned National Setter of the Week honors last October. Galas was the NSAA's Setter of the Year for the third time in her career and also honored as the NSAA's co-Player of the Year.
She guided the Bruins to their 13th appearance in the NAIA National Tournament, finishing with a 17-7 overall record. She also helped BU win its first-ever NSAA regular-season title with a 12-2 conference mark.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Galas has moved up to fourth on the school's all-time charts in career assists with 3,929.
Elexis Martinez
Martinez earned honorable mention All-American honors for the second-straight season after leading the Bruins in scoring at 16.0 points per game, rebounding at 6.3 per game, a 47.7 field goal percentage, and 16 blocked shots.
She earned first-team all-NSAA honors after guiding Bellevue to a 17-7 overall record and the program's second appearance in the NSAA Tournament Championship game.
Martinez currently rates atop the BU career records' list in scoring (1,674), scoring average (13.5 PPG), rebounds (760), blocked shots (116), field goal percentage (46.2%), and games played (124). In addition to holding career marks in several categories, she also ranks second in rebounding average (6.1 RPG) and third in steals (116).
Inaki Aldao
Aldao earned second-team All-American honors, becoming the first soccer player to do so at Bellevue. He spent the 2020-21 season rewriting a number of BU records as he notched a program single-season best 24 goals and scored a single-game record five goals against Tabor. Four times this season, Aldao earned recognition as the A.I.I. Player of the Week. He scored seven game-winning goals and scored at least two goals in a game five times, including a trio of hat tricks.
Aldao is a three-time first-team all-A.I.I. selection, a two-time All-American, and the 2018 A.I.I. Player of the Year. He leaves the Bruin soccer program as the all-time leader in both goals scored (49) and points (111).
Aldao guided the Bruins to their best finish ever, reaching the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament and a 16-5-2 overall record. He also helped the team to its first A.I.I. Tournament Championship, scoring the game-winning goal in each of Bellevue's games in Georgia.
Riley Baasch
Riley Baasch is a three-time all-conference selection and three-time Gold Glove winner for the baseball program. Perhaps, better known as "Mr. Bellevue", Baasch has been an exemplary role model and representative of BU throughout his time as a student-athlete. He saved his best for last as he hit .465 with a 1.242 OPS in post-season play, both good for tops on the team. He recorded seven extra-base hits, 14 RBIs, and scored 11 runs across 11 games of post-season competition.
Baasch guided Bellevue to yet another 40-win season - its eighth in the last 10 seasons - a North Star regular-season championship, and to the championship round of the NAIA Opening Round Tournament.
Baasch departs BU as the all-time leader in numerous offensive categories, including; hits (279), doubles (64), home runs (44), runs scored (199), RBIs (210), total bases (483), extra-base hits (112), and walks (91).
Ellie Bliemeister
A three-year starter at shortstop and as the team's lead-off batter, Ellie Bliemeister was honored with first-team all-NSAA honors for the second time in her career in 2021.
She was fourth on the team with a .342 batting average and nine home runs. She collected 11 doubles and drove in 37 runs while scoring a team second-best 40 runs.
An Accounting major, Bliemeister is a three-time NSAA Scholar-Athlete. She also earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors twice and was an Easton/NFCA Scholar-Athlete.
Jamie Winkler
Jamie Winkler wrapped up her highly successful basketball career this past season by earning honorable mention all-NSAA honors.
In her time at BU, Winkler played in 118 games, starting 71, and averaged 8.3 points per game. She drained 158 three-pointers and finished with nearly 1,000 career points scored (984). She graduates as the program's all-time leader in both assists (309) and steals (163)
A Business major with a 4.0 GPA, Winkler is a four-time NSAA Scholar-Athlete and a two-time selection as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Josh Vaughan
The 2021 NSAA co-Player of the Year, Josh Vaughan, saw his on field success match his production in the classroom as he earned distinction as the BU Male Academic Athlete of the Year.
Vaughan hit .351 with a .986 OPS this season while leading the team in extra-base hits (27), doubles (18), and RBI (42). His 44 runs scored and seven home runs were each good for second on the team, as was his batting average.
A Business Adminstration major with a 3.77 GPA, Vaughan will earn both NSAA and Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition this year.
