ST. PAUL, Minn. - During the final Athletics Chapel of the 2025-26 academic year, the University of Northwestern Athletic Department announced the recipients of the 2026 Eagle Award. The Eagle Award is an annual honor given to a standout male and female student-athlete, voted on by the athletic department's coaching and administrative staff. This year's winners were Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) (Baseball) and Marley Aune (New Brighton, Minn./Avail Academy) (Volleyball). Since the award's inception in 1995, there have now been four baseball winners and 10 volleyball winners. This also marks the second-consecutive year the male recipient has come from the baseball program (Nick Drinken (Randolph, Minn./Randolph)).

The award is based upon criteria that includes: academic honors, athletic accomplishments, and ministry involvement. The Eagle Award is the highest honor bestowed by the UNW Athletic Department.

Homan's collegiate baseball career wrapped up over the weekend in the UMAC Tournament after a phenomenal senior campaign, both on the mound and as a team captain. A Biology Pre-Med major with aspirations of becoming a doctor, the senior racked up three NCCAA Pitcher of the Week honors this season alone and two UMAC Pitcher of the Week awards, in addition to an appearance on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week and an honorable mention nod for NCBWA Pitcher of the Week. He finished the season with a 4.21 ERA and a 2.66 ERA in conference games, with 83 and 53 strikeouts, respectively, which both led the conference. The Clara City native also went 1-2 at the plate as a hitter, including launching a memorable, two-run home run over the left field wall in his final home game. But Homan has not only excelled on the field in his time at Northwestern, he also is a terrific student and servant of the Lord. A three-time Academic All-Conference honoree, two-time NCCAA Scholar-Athlete and 2025 CSC Academic All-District selection, he holds a 3.94 cumulative GPA and has received numerous academic scholarships. The UNW ace has also spent numerous hours volunteering his time for Christian organizations, medical fields and youth baseball efforts.

Aune adds yet another honor to her already packed-full mantle, as she concluded her career in the fall as a two-time AVCA All-American, two-time AVCA All-Region first teamer, three-time NCCAA All-Region selection, four-time All-Conference recipient, UMAC Player of the Year and CSC Academic All-American, among many more. On the court, the New Brighton native finished the season fourth in Division III in blocks (148) and seventh in blocks per set (1.33), both leading the conference by wide margins. The senior also led the team in points per set (426.0), and finished third in both kills (293) and kills per set (2.64). Her 542 career blocks rank second in program history and were the most of any active player in Division III in 2025. Off the court, Aune graduated with a Kinesiology Pre-Therapy degree in December with a 3.82 GPA and has been a tremendous leader in both the UNW Volleyball locker room, as well as her church and community at-large. In addition to serving as a youth volleyball coach, she has also volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, North Star Elementary School, and as a kids ministry leader at her church. She also traveled to the Dominican Republic with her team for a mission trip.