DALLAS - Conference USA announced its Winter Spirit of Service Award winners Friday. The award honors student-athletes with significant community service endeavors, good academic standing and participation in their sport.
 
The Spirit of Service Award is presented three times throughout the season, with Friday’s honorees representing track and field and basketball. Recipients are nominated by their institutions.

2024-25 Winter Spirit of Service Award Recipients
FIU – Gabrielle Bryan, Indoor Track and Field
Jacksonville State - Samiya Steele, Women’s Basketball
Kennesaw State - Braden Garrison, Indoor Track and Field
Liberty – Beau Backes, Indoor Track and Field
Louisiana Tech – Isla Airey, Women’s Basketball
Middle Tennessee - Jacob Johnson, Men’s Basketball
New Mexico State – Molly Kaiser, Women’s Basketball
UTEP – Noah Jirgens, Indoor Track and Field
WKU – Tyler Olden, Men’s Basketball
 
FIU senior Gabrielle Bryan serves on the Executive Board of the Student-Athlete Leadership Council, where she has spearheaded the Foster the Future initiative through adoption of a local elementary school. She has established a deep bond between FIU student-athletes and the community through weekly service visits, assisting during lunch time and PE. Bryan has also engaged in various Relay for Life activities, nature preserve cleanups and donated her time to writing letters of support for nearby pediatric hospitals. The Jacksonville, Fla., native graduated cum laude with a bachelor's in biological sciences. She is completing a second degree in natural & applied sciences at the end of the spring semester.
 
Jax State junior Samiya Steele is an active SAAC member and serves as the Fundraising Chair. She ensures that her and her teammates on the women’s basketball team participate in various community service events such as High Five Friday’s, Softball Fan Day, reading to the on-campus children at the child development center and Trunk-a-Treat at the local elementary school. Steele has been on the President’s and Dean’s List and is also a 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar recipient. A double major in psychology and criminal justice, she owns a 3.59 GPA. Steele tied for the team lead with 2.5 assists per game, while averaging 5.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in 28 games for the Gamecocks.
 
Kennesaw State freshman Braden Garrison has logged community service hours at Throw1Deep, teaching young kids how to throw shotput and hammer field activities. The Bartlesville, Oklahoma, native boasts a 3.43 cumulative GPA while majoring in computer science, earning him a spot on the Dean’s List. Garrison recorded five top-10 finishes in the shot put this past indoor season and scored points at the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships, where he had a personal record throw.
 
Liberty graduate student Beau Backes is very active within the Lynchburg community, volunteering regularly at the Runk and Pratt Assisted Living Home to play bingo with the residents. He also participates in a Pen Pal Program, writing letters back and forth with a resident. Backes reads in elementary schools weekly at the Learn Like Liberty Program and is a group leader for hosting the Aspire Class for Sports Clinics, which is a class of adults with special needs and disabilities. He also attended the Hop on Pop reading event and the North Pole Disability Outreach Day. A two-time member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, Backes boasts a 3.56 GPA in Biology Education. He recorded his top individual event finish with a fourth-place finish in the shot put at the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
LA Tech freshman Isla Airey has taken part in a wealth of community service events, serving at the Alpine Nursing Home, helping renovate the local Boys and Girls Club and serving Thanksgiving meals at First Baptist Ruston and The Bridge Community Church. She also volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis, Tennessee, where she met a local Ruston child who is currently going through treatments for leukemia and a huge Lady Techster fan. A two-time Dean’s List member, Airey owns a 3.89 GPA in kinesiology and health sciences. She has started 27 games for the Lady Techsters and has averaged 5.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
 
Middle Tennessee redshirt senior Jacob Johnson dedicated time to his community with Special Olympics Tennessee, where he volunteered during a local bowling event for the program, as well as a basketball clinic at a local elementary school, where he taught students the skills and techniques of basketball and assisted with Literacy Week reading to young children at elementary schools. The Minneapolis, Minn., native is pursuing a degree in organizational leadership and currently has a 3.83 cumulative GPA. Johnson appeared in 20 contests for the Blue Raiders this season, averaging 9.7 minutes per contest.
 
New Mexico State graduate student Molly Kaiser, the CUSA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, earned her second consecutive Winter Spirit Award. She has been incredibly active within her community across many different avenues, including TOTS Early Intervention and Day One home visiting programs, TOTS 45th Anniversary Celebration, Dona Ana Elementary International Walk to School Day, Southwest Organ Mountain Open - Pickleball Setup and reads to third graders at Dona Ana Elementary. Kaiser, who led the league in scoring (21.6) in conference play, boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA in her pursuit of an MBA.  
 
UTEP senior Noah Jirgens contributed volunteer hours serving the El Paso community at the Mesita Elementary School Fall Festival, El Paso Children’s Hospital, worked with children at North Star Elementary and was the Master of Ceremonies at Minerpalooza. The Lehigh, Kan., native boasts a 3.60 cumulative GPA while majoring in kinesiology and earned a spot on the CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll and CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medal lists. Jirgens placed fourth in the men’s weight throw at the 2025 CUSA Indoor Track & Field Championships with a personal-best of 18.14m (59-6.25).
 
WKU senior Tyler Olden is an active member of SAAC and has served as the President for two of his three years with the committee. During his senior year, he has been an active volunteer at Curbside Ministries, while also assisting men's basketball camps, teaching PE classes, and contributing to the "Pass It On" program. Through "Pass It On," Olden has helped middle school students develop leadership skills through basketball. The native of Scottsdale, Ariz., has been honored on the Dean’s List and the CUSA Commissioner Honor Roll and is on track to graduate in May with a degree in sport management. He has a 3.36 GPA in sport management. Olden appeared in nine games for the Hilltoppers this season.