The 10 honorees are the most for a single season in program history, surpassing the previous high of six, set by the 2016 WAC Championship team.

Joining Chesler and Watts among the award winners are Toke Amtrup and Jose Luis Martin Montealegre, who were named to the All-Big West first team. Utah Valley placed five on the All-Big West second team in Brayden Tester, Dan McKay, Nil Grau, Trevor Walk, and Jackson Medina. Luca Wingaa Laursen was named an All-Big West Honorable Mention and to the Big West All-Freshman team along with Watts.

“We’re grateful to the Big West and to the coaches who voted. This is a league full of quality teams and outstanding coaches, and competing against them every week made us better,” said Chesler. “These awards belong to our entire team. Individual honors come from collective work: the players who pushed each other every day in training, the guys whose roles never show up in a box score, and a staff and support group that put in the hours behind the scenes. Coach of the Year reflects all of those people. I’m proud of our group for the standard they’ve set and the way they’ve played for each other.”

Chesler’s Coach of the Year honor is just the team’s second, joining Greg Maas who earned the award in 2016. Under Chesler, the team has reached double-digit wins for just the fourth time in program history, and achieved the most wins under a first-year head coach with 10 to this point.

Watts is the program’s third Rookie/Freshman of the Year award winner, joining Diego Castillo in 2021 and Owen Knecht in 2022. Entering postseason play, Watts is tied for second on the team with three goals this season, all of which came in league play. Watts led all Big West freshmen in goals, and ranked fifth overall in total goals in conference games.

Utah Valley begins postseason play on Saturday, hosting the No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT, and tickets can be purchased at GoUVU.com/GetTix. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Big West International.

UC San Diego sweeps UVU women’s volleyball

Utah Valley women’s volleyball lost to UC San Diego, 3-0 (28-30, 23-25, 21-25), on Thursday night inside Lockhart Arena.

UC San Diego (11-13, 7-6) was led by Molly McClusky, who had a match-high 18 kills, as three Tritons reached double figures.

Evalyn Medaris was just three blocks and two digs shy of a triple-double after tallying 34 assists for UVU (8-17, 6-7). Miley Thunstrom finished with a team-high 12 kills while adding eight digs for the Wolverines. The UVU middle blockers had a strong offensive night as Brielle Rueckert and Alyvia Watkins each had eight kills. Freshman Bree Carson added seven kills for Utah Valley, her most since recording 13 in the Big West opener against UC Riverside.

The Wolverines fought back in the first set from an early 6-1 deficit after Sam Atoa used his first timeout. Utah Valley started chipping away with Watkins finishing the set with five kills and four total blocks to help spark the comeback. The Wolverines used a 4-0 run, highlighted by a kill and block assist from Chloe Hansen, to cut the UC San Diego lead to 12-8. UVU kept the pressure on and eventually used a 4-0 spurt to take a 22-21 lead after back-to-back kills from Rueckert. She later extended the set with another kill and finished with five in the opening frame. The set went to extra points, with each team fighting off multiple set points before UC San Diego closed it out.

The Wolverines got out to an 8-4 lead in the second set as Carson entered the match and quickly recorded three kills while Hansen added two. UC San Diego rallied and tied the set at 8-8 after a 4-0 run. The set remained tight before Utah Valley broke a 12-12 tie with a Carson kill and a block assist from Watkins and Medaris to take a 14-12 lead. A 3-0 run that included Hansen’s third service ace of the set gave UVU a 17-13 advantage. The Tritons answered with a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 19-17 and were able to hold off a late Utah Valley rally to take a 2-0 match lead.

Watkins and Carson both recorded kills early in the third set as the Wolverines built a 7-4 advantage before the Tritons scored the next 12 points to take a 16-7 lead. UVU attempted to climb back into the set with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 16-12, with two kills from Thunstrom and points from Medaris and Hansen. UC San Diego kept the pressure on late and secured the match with a 25-21 set victory. UP

Utah Valley will close out its 2026 home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 7, against UC Irvine. First serve is scheduled for noon MT. The Wolverines will honor five seniors after the match before playing their final four regular season matches on the road starting with Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara next weekend.