The Linfield University athletic department announced the annual Athlete of the Year award winners, softball's senior catcher Ashlyn Aven and men's golf junior Douglas Bailey were voted upon by department administration and head coaches as the 2026 award winners.
 
Yelm, Washington, native Ashlyn Aven led the nation in home runs all-season long, entering the NCAA Division III National Championship Finals with 23 on the season. She was named First Team All-Northwest Conference, NFCA First Team All-Region, NFCA First Team All-American, and the NFCA Division III Catcher of the Year. 
 
The daughter of Christine and Jason Aven, the senior catcher led the Wildcats to a fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship Finals. In her career, she's tallied three All-Northwest Conference honors, two NFCA All-American honors, and a pair of Academic All-District recognitions from College Sports Communicators. Her stellar career comes to a close, hitting over .360 with over 180 hits, 44 home runs, and 170 runs batted in.
 
Junior Douglas Bailey was named the department's Men's Athlete of the Year honoree after his Spring season run that saw him finish tied for 27^th-place in the NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championship in Florida. The Tigard, Oregon, native made the Wildcats first appearance in the national championship since the 2012 season. 
 
The son of Krista and Stuart Bailey, the junior Wildcat improved his individual ranking on Clippd's Scoreboard from No. 325 entering the Spring to No. 34 in Division III. In the Spring portion of the regular season, Bailey never finished worse than sixth in six events. He carded medalist honors at the Laughlin Ranch Invite, NWC Spring Classic, and closed it out with his second-straight playoff victory at the NWC Championship. At the national championship, he finished his strong season with rounds of 73, 73, 72, 71 (+2), making the cut into the final two rounds via an individual playoff. 
 
For both Wildcats, it is each of their first time winning the department Athlete of the Year honors, representing the best men's and women's student-athletes for the 2025-26 academic year. 
 
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