Best Male Athlete

Mike Brannon

Mike Brannon had a breakout season after switching positions from defensive end to outside linebacker. Brannon was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection as outside linebacker and was third on the Hornets in tackles and 10th in the conference with 81. Last year, Brannon was chosen as second team defensive end, and the year before that he was chosen as honorable mention. Brannon led the Hornets in sacks with 9.5, and was third in the Big Sky. Brannon also led the team in tackles for a loss with 18, and was second in the conference. Brannon is a 2003 graduate of Cordova High School and is a junior majoring in kinesiology.

Best Male Team Leader

Dallas Mauga

Dallas Mauga was an inspiration to teammates this season with his hard work ethic and positive attitude. Mauga is a two-year starter who led all defensive lineman at Sacramento State with 43 total tackles, eight of those for a loss.

Mauga also recorded a sack this season and was chosen as a first team All-Big Sky Conference nose tackle. Mauga was a second team selection last year in his first season playing at Sac State. Originally from San Diego, Mauga went to Helix High School where he was an all-league, all-county and all-San Diego section selection his senior year in 2001.

He then went on to Grossmont JC, where he was the Foothill Conference Defensive Player of the Year his sophomore year. Mauga is a graduating senior and is majoring in Communications.

Best Recruited Male Athlete

Ernesto Carranza

Ernesto Carranza came to Sacramento State as a freshman from Oakdale High in Oakdale, Calif. with numerous awards and praise from his previous school. This year, he played in all 19 games for the men’s soccer team, finishing first on the team in total points and second on the team in goals and assists.

The team finished with a 4-13-2 and Carranza was one of five Hornet players to receive all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors for the 2007 season. Carranza said his most memorable game as a Hornet came early in the season against Oregon State University. He was chosen by the older players on the team to kick a penalty shot in the 74th minute of the game, which he then converted on for his first career collegian goal.

As a senior in high school, Carranza excelled, earning MVP honors on his team, as well as the Valley Oak Conference and district MVP awards. His high school achievements led to schools such as UC Riverside and Cal Poly offering scholarships, but he chose Sac State because it was closer to home and he liked what he saw from the program.

Best Female Athlete

Lindsay Haupt

Senior middle hitter Lindsay Haupt finished the 2007 volleyball season with three Big Sky Player of the Week awards and was honored with the Big Sky MVP award at the conclusion of the Big Sky Tournament.

Haupt was also given all-tournament honors at all five tournaments in which the Hornets completed this year.

Haupt was the first player since 1998 to earn Big Sky MVP honors twice. Haupt also earned the Big Sky Freshman of the Year award in the 2004 season.

This season, Haupt averaged 3.67 kills and 1.36 blocks per game to go along with her .354 hitting percentage. In the Big Sky Conference, Haupt was first in hitting percentage and she had the 45th rank in the nation.

In the Big Sky, she was also ranked third in blocks and fourth in both points and kills.

In 19 matches, Haupt hit better than .400. She has 1,359 career kills which is the most by any Sacramento State middle hitter in Division I history.

Throughout her career, Haupt has earned two Big Sky MVP awards (2005 and 2007), two Big Sky Tournament MVP awards (2005-06), three Big Sky all-academic awards (2004-06), and seven conference player of the week awards.

Best Female Team Leader

Katie McCoy

Senior forward Katie McCoy epitomized the role of leader this season for the women’s soccer team. The co-captain led the team in several statistical categories and won nearly every offensive award she was eligible for in the Big Sky Conference.

Among her achievements were the 2007 Golden Boot Award, awarded for leading the conference in points during conference play; four Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week awards (including a record three consecutive); a first-team all-conference selection; an all-conference tournament team selection; the Big Sky Conference tournament MVP; and the Big Sky Offensive MVP award (won unanimously).

McCoy also came up big when it mattered most. She scored the go-ahead goal for the Hornets in six different matches and twice scored the team’s only goal in 1-0 victories. McCoy also scored multiple goals in four different matches, including the final two scores in the Big Sky Conference Championship that put the game away for Sac State. Overall this season, McCoy had a conference-leading 14 goals along with 7 assists and 35 points – all single-season school records.

Best Recruited Female Athlete

Leah Larot

Freshman Leah Larot made an impact on the women’s soccer team in her first season as a collegiate soccer player, tying for third on the team with four goals. Larot was also tied for eighth in the conference in goals scored, even though she did not start any of the 21 games she appeared in. She scored her first career goal in the Hornets’ season opener, a 4-0 victory against Mount St. Mary’s. In Sac State’s first-round Big Sky Conference Tournament game, Larot scored an insurance goal in the 81st minute that proved to be crucial after Portland State added a goal in the 89th minute to cut the lead to 2-1. The San Jose native finished her freshman season with four goals, one assist and nine points.

The State Hornet staff can be reached at [email protected]