Ereño, Reale Earn Big Ten Medal of Honor
June 26, 2025 | Men's Golf, Women's Soccer, Bruin Athletics
Pablo Ereño (men's golf) and Lilly Reale (women's soccer) have been named UCLA's first-ever Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients. The Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member institution who has demonstrated excellence on and off the field throughout their collegiate career. This year's class is comprised of student-athletes from 15 sports.
Ereño placed sixth at the 2025 NCAA Championships and helped lead the Bruins to their first conference title since 2006. He was named the Big Ten Men's Golfer of the Year, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, and won the Big Ten's Les Bolstad Award, given to the conference player with the lowest stroke average (69.78) during the season. The Madrid native was named a third-team All-America selection by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and by Golfweek at the conclusion of the spring season. Ereño became the first Bruin to finish in the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships in 11 years, and he closed his senior season with a team-leading 70.23 scoring average, the second-best season mark in program history.
Through his career, Ereño was a two-time GCAA West All-Region honoree, a three-time CSC Academic All-District honoree and a two-time GCAA All-America Scholar.
Reale concluded her four-year career as a three-time All-American, three-time conference Defensive Player of the Year and the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner. She helped the Bruins capture the 2022 NCAA title, earning College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors, as well as the 2024 Big Ten Tournament title and two Pac-12 Championships. Reale also earned first-team all-conference and all-region honors all four years. In 2024, she led UCLA's defense to a nation-leading 16 shutouts and 0.41 goals against average while providing one goal and two assists from the center back position.
Academically, Reale was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, a three-time academic all-conference selection and a 2024 United Soccer Coaches first-team Scholar-All-American. A Fall 2024 graduate in Sociology, Reale is now starting with NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL and was called up to the U.S. Women's National Team for its most recent training camp.
Established in 1915, the Big Ten Medal of Honor is the conference's most prestigious award. It was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics. Big Ten schools currently feature more than 11,000 student-athletes, but only 36 earn the award on an annual basis. Since the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first presented more than a century ago, just over 1,680 student-athletes have earned this unique distinction. Those names are on permanent display at the Big Ten Office in Rosemont.
2025 Big Ten Medal of Honor Class
Illinois - Jackson Buchanan, Men's Golf; Raina Terry, Women's Volleyball
Indiana - Jassen Yep, Men's Swimming; Brianna Copeland, Softball
Iowa - Payton Sandfort, Men's Basketball; Maggie Johnston, Women's Soccer
Maryland - Jaxon Smith, Wrestling; Emma DeBerdine, Women's Field Hockey
Michigan - Paul Juda, Men's Gymnastics; Julia Fliegner, Women's Tennis
Michigan State - Jaden Akins, Men's Basketball; Gabrielle Stephen, Women's Gymnastics
Minnesota - Dawson Garcia, Men's Basketball; Mya Hooten, Women's Gymnastics
Nebraska - Micaylon Moore, Men's Track & Field; Lexi Rodriguez, Women's Volleyball
Northwestern - Brooks Barnhizer, Men's Basketball; Maddie Zimmer, Women's Field Hockey
Ohio State - Cody Simon, Football; Makenna Webster, Women's Field Hockey/Ice Hockey
Oregon - Bryce Boettcher, Football; Paige Sinicki, Softball
Penn State - Tyler Warren, Football; Maddie Gordon, Softball
Purdue - Cameron Miller, Men's Track & Field; Sophie McAfee, Women's Diving
Rutgers - Kyle Monangai, Football; Chloe Timberg, Women's Track & Field
UCLA - Pablo Ereño, Men's Golf; Lilly Reale, Women's Soccer
USC - Caden Aoki, Baseball; Gala Trubint, Women's Volleyball
Washington - Carson Bruener, Football; Dalayah Daniels, Women's Basketball
Wisconsin - Bob Liking, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field; Phoebe Bacon, Women's Swimming
Ereño placed sixth at the 2025 NCAA Championships and helped lead the Bruins to their first conference title since 2006. He was named the Big Ten Men's Golfer of the Year, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, and won the Big Ten's Les Bolstad Award, given to the conference player with the lowest stroke average (69.78) during the season. The Madrid native was named a third-team All-America selection by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and by Golfweek at the conclusion of the spring season. Ereño became the first Bruin to finish in the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships in 11 years, and he closed his senior season with a team-leading 70.23 scoring average, the second-best season mark in program history.
Through his career, Ereño was a two-time GCAA West All-Region honoree, a three-time CSC Academic All-District honoree and a two-time GCAA All-America Scholar.
Reale concluded her four-year career as a three-time All-American, three-time conference Defensive Player of the Year and the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner. She helped the Bruins capture the 2022 NCAA title, earning College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors, as well as the 2024 Big Ten Tournament title and two Pac-12 Championships. Reale also earned first-team all-conference and all-region honors all four years. In 2024, she led UCLA's defense to a nation-leading 16 shutouts and 0.41 goals against average while providing one goal and two assists from the center back position.
Academically, Reale was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, a three-time academic all-conference selection and a 2024 United Soccer Coaches first-team Scholar-All-American. A Fall 2024 graduate in Sociology, Reale is now starting with NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL and was called up to the U.S. Women's National Team for its most recent training camp.
Established in 1915, the Big Ten Medal of Honor is the conference's most prestigious award. It was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics. Big Ten schools currently feature more than 11,000 student-athletes, but only 36 earn the award on an annual basis. Since the Big Ten Medal of Honor was first presented more than a century ago, just over 1,680 student-athletes have earned this unique distinction. Those names are on permanent display at the Big Ten Office in Rosemont.
2025 Big Ten Medal of Honor Class
Illinois - Jackson Buchanan, Men's Golf; Raina Terry, Women's Volleyball
Indiana - Jassen Yep, Men's Swimming; Brianna Copeland, Softball
Iowa - Payton Sandfort, Men's Basketball; Maggie Johnston, Women's Soccer
Maryland - Jaxon Smith, Wrestling; Emma DeBerdine, Women's Field Hockey
Michigan - Paul Juda, Men's Gymnastics; Julia Fliegner, Women's Tennis
Michigan State - Jaden Akins, Men's Basketball; Gabrielle Stephen, Women's Gymnastics
Minnesota - Dawson Garcia, Men's Basketball; Mya Hooten, Women's Gymnastics
Nebraska - Micaylon Moore, Men's Track & Field; Lexi Rodriguez, Women's Volleyball
Northwestern - Brooks Barnhizer, Men's Basketball; Maddie Zimmer, Women's Field Hockey
Ohio State - Cody Simon, Football; Makenna Webster, Women's Field Hockey/Ice Hockey
Oregon - Bryce Boettcher, Football; Paige Sinicki, Softball
Penn State - Tyler Warren, Football; Maddie Gordon, Softball
Purdue - Cameron Miller, Men's Track & Field; Sophie McAfee, Women's Diving
Rutgers - Kyle Monangai, Football; Chloe Timberg, Women's Track & Field
UCLA - Pablo Ereño, Men's Golf; Lilly Reale, Women's Soccer
USC - Caden Aoki, Baseball; Gala Trubint, Women's Volleyball
Washington - Carson Bruener, Football; Dalayah Daniels, Women's Basketball
Wisconsin - Bob Liking, Men's Cross Country/Track & Field; Phoebe Bacon, Women's Swimming
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's SoccerBruin Insider Show - DeShaun Foster (Sept. 10, 2025)
Wednesday, September 10
Cinematic Recap - UCLA W. Soccer vs. Stanford (Sept. 7, 2025)
Wednesday, September 10
UCLA Football Media Availability - Ikaika Malloe (Sept. 9, 2025)
Tuesday, September 09
UCLA Football Media Availability - Anthony Jones (Sept. 9, 2025)
Tuesday, September 09