Editor’s note: Vanderbilt Athletics sponsored a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, for Staff Writer Jayce Pollard, granting him on-site access to the team’s day-to-day activities for journalistic purposes.
Vanderbilt Bowling cleaned up the NCAA Championship Banquet awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the National Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and four All-American Team selections.
After winning Southland Bowling Player of the Year, Mabel Cummins became the first Commodore to win National Player of the Year since Maria Bulanova in 2019. The senior was also selected to the All-American First Team for the first time in her career.
Head coach John Williamson became the repeat National Coach of the Year after winning the award for the fourth time in his 19-year career. This comes after Vanderbilt finished no lower than third in any regular season tournament and clinched a trip to the NCAA Final Four for the 10th time in his tenure. The Commodores entered the NCAA Regionals as the No. 2 national seed despite falling short in the Southland Bowling League Tournament.
Junior Caroline Thesier took home All-American Second Team honors for the first time in her career. Alyssa Ballard — a freshman — was named to the All-American Third Team, as was sophomore Paige Peters. This marks Peters’ second Third Team selection in as many years. Freshman Victoria Varano was also named to an All-American Honorable Mention.
Vanderbilt Bowling now pivots to the Final Four with a match against No. 3 Arkansas State set to begin at 11:00 a.m. CST. The Commodores are guaranteed at least two matches in the double-elimination tournament which also includes No. 1 McKendree and No. 4 Nebraska.
