Ryan Whiting, thrower, men’s track and field
Ryan Whiting isn’t just the best thrower on the Sun Devil squad or in the Pac-10.
The ASU senior is one of the most talented throwers in the world and is a heavy favorite to represent the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. One of the most distinguished athletes in ASU track and field lore, Whiting currently has four individual national championships in the shot put, as well as a team title from 2008.
Additionally, the odds are good that Whiting will take home title number five next month at the outdoor national championships.
— Eric Smith
Zack MacPhee, second baseman, baseball
Listed generously at 5-foot-10, sophomore second baseman Zack MacPhee is one of the smaller players on the ASU baseball team, but his bat this season has been anything but.
Leading the charge for a team that is in good shape to wrap up its fourth straight Pac-10 Championship, MacPhee is tied for the team lead with eight home runs while leading the team in RBI (51), batting average (.432), slugging percentage (.795) and on-base percentage (.533).
The Phoenix native has been aided this season by his ability to switch hit, which he did not do as a freshman last year.
MacPhee has been named Pac-10 Player of the Week twice this season and is on several watch lists as a National Player of the Year candidate.
— Nick Kosmider
Riley McCormick, men's diver
Freshman Riley McCormick was a strong presence on ASU’s diving team in his first year. He experienced tremendous success throughout the season, and set the bar high for seasons to come. For his efforts, McCormick was named Pac-10 Men’s Diver of the Year and Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
He won the 10-meter platform at the Pac-10 Championships, and dominated at the Zone E Championships, where he again placed first on the tower. Additionally, he took home the silver medal at the NCAA Championships for his second place finish on the 10-meter platform.
— Nicole Klauss
Katelyn Boyd, shortstop, softball
Sophomore shortstop Katelyn Boyd couldn’t have contributed much more to the ASU softball team this season.
Statistically speaking, Boyd played a major role in the Sun Devils current 39-11 record. Currently batting .443 with 47 RBI, 15 home runs and 26 stolen bases, Boyd ranks highly in a number of categories in the Pac-10 and the nation.
What made Boyd stand out from a handful of impressive statistical leaders was her dedication beyond the numbers. Boyd broke two fingers in early April, but hasn’t missed an inning since.
Enduring personal pain for the greater cause, as ASU coach Clint Myers put it, is the sign of a true champion.
— Tyler Lockman
Anthony Robles, 125 pounds, wrestling
It’s hard to find a more accomplished wrestler in the Pac-10 than Anthony Robles.
The junior finished the season with 32 wins and earned his second straight Pac-10 championship at 125 pounds.
He also earned his second straight All-American honors by placing seventh at the NCAA Championships.
Robles will enter his senior season with 86 career ASU victories.
Climbing the record books was also a big part of his season. He moved into first place in school history with 23 total wins by technical fall and also is third in bonus point victories.
— Nathan Meacham
Carlota Ciganda, women’s golfer
On a team that has been dominating for the past two seasons, it is difficult to pick a most valuable player.
But after becoming the first women’s Pac-10 golfer to win back-to-back conference championships a couple of weeks ago, the honor belongs to sophomore Carlota Ciganda.
With two golfers struck down by illness during the Pac-10 Championships, the No. 1 ASU women's golf team was unable to compete for a title, but that didn't stop Ciganda from playing her best golf of the year, notching a birdie in a playoff over senior teammate Juliana Murcia to win the championship.
— Nick Kosmider
Mary Atkinson, gymnastics
Mary Atkinson carried a young, oft-injured team throughout the 2010 season, and became the first Sun Devil to be named First-Team All-American since 2006.
The junior competed in the all-around in every meet, tallying career-highs on each event.
Her best performance came against Stanford, when she put up three scores of 9.900 and a career-best 9.800 on the balance beam.
During the season, the Sun Devil won four all-around titles, including one over then-No. 4 Oregon State senior Mandi Rodriguez.
Atkinson ended her campaign with a ninth place finish on vault at the NCAA Championships, earning her All-American honor.
— Tyler Emerick
Ty Abbott, guard, men’s basketball
No player had a bigger breakout season in 2009-10 than junior guard Ty Abbott.
He recovered from a rough sophomore season to increase his points per game by nearly five points and finished as ASU’s second leading scorer at 12 points per game.
Abbott thrived in Pac-10 play, earning First-Team All-Pac-10 honors. He averaged 14.7 points per game in conference play, which was ninth in the conference.
His all-around game improved greatly, as well, finishing 11th in the Pac-10 in rebounding, ninth in free-throw percentage and fourth in three-point percentage.
— Andrew Gruman
Brandon Bethke, men’s cross country
In his first year running cross country since 2007, the senior Bethke placed himself atop the ASU record books and became arguably the greatest male cross country runner in ASU’s rich history.
Bethke finished in the top 7 in all five races he ran, including a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish ever for a Sun Devil. He also finished second at the Pac-10 meet, only one second behind the first-place finisher.
Bethke racked up a considerable amount of hardware, being named First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Pac-10, and First-Team All-Region in the west.
For good measure, he was also named the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s cross country
— Kyle Glaser
Sarah Reaves, outside hitter, volleyball
While the ASU volleyball team had its share of ups (sweep of then-No.14 UCLA) and downs (first home loss to UA since 2005), junior outside hitter Sarah Reaves was consistently the top player for the Sun Devils, and was often times the best player on the court, period.
Reaves shouldered the offense for ASU all season, recording 4.95 points per set (15th in the nation) and 4.33 kills per set (22nd in the nation). With a vertical that would make Torii Hunter blush, the Glendale product became not just the best volleyball player on at ASU this past year, but one of the top twenty players in the country.
— Kyle Glaser
Kyle Williams, wide receiver, football
While some may choose to focus on the infamous dropped punt against UA, the Sun Devils would not have been in that game without Williams anyway.
Despite having three different starting quarterbacks, Williams was stellar, recording 57 catches for 815 yards and eight touchdowns.
The senior was at his best as the season wore on, recording six of his eight touchdowns in Pac-10 play. He recorded four 100-yard receiving games and had a game for the ages against UA, recording 130 yards on nine catches with two touchdowns, including a miraculous grab on fourth down to tie the game.
He also averaged 10 yards per punt return, and was named Second-Team All-Pac-10 as a punt returner.
— Kyle Glaser
Jasmine Chaney, sprinter, women’s track and field
The truth be told, it’s been a down year for the ASU women’s track team, one that’s accustomed to being in the upper echelon of the sport in the past few years.
But ASU junior sprinter Jasmine Chaney has stepped up her performances of late and is peaking at the right time.
Chaney has been a steady presence for the Sun Devil women’s relay teams this season and has been unbeatable in the 100-meter dash recently.
But it’s her all-around athletic ability that makes her so valuable, as she also competes in both the long and short hurdles.
— Eric Smith
Shannon Haas, center, water polo
Freshman center Shannon Haas burst onto the scene in 2010 for the ASU water polo team, finishing her first season in the Valley as a key contributor for the Sun Devils.
Heading into the MPSF Championships last weekend, Haas had netted 45 goals in the season, the second-most goals scored by a freshman in school history. Her 45 goals also put her second among all MPSF freshmen in 2010. She netted multiple goals in 12 games this season, and she also ranks tenth all-time for ASU freshman with 47 points.
She was named MPSF Mikasa Newcomer of the Week award following her performance at the ASU Invitational.
— Greg Dillard
Micaela Hein, tennis
Junior Micaela Hein started the season ranked No. 68 and heads into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 52, but moving ahead 16 spots was a long process.
Hein dealt with an injury in the middle of the season but rebounded by playing well in the No. 1 spot.
She earned her first Pac-10 Player of the Week honor after sweeping the Washington schools and was named Second-Team All-Pac-10.
Her record is currently 21-14, including an upset victory over Pac-10 Player of the Year and No. 6-ranked UCLA senior Yasmin Schnack on April 10.
— Nathan Meacham
Elina Eggers, women's diver
Sophomore Elina Eggers, a 2008 Olympian, shined in her first season as a Sun Devil diver, eventually being named the Pac-10 Women’s Diving Newcomer of the Year
Eggers had a successful season that led up to several exciting wins. Eggers won the Pac-10 title on the 10-meter platform. She also earned a bronze medal on the 1-meter and a silver medal on the 3-meter at the Pac-10 Diving Championships.
Eggers came in fourth on the 10-meter at the NCAA Championships, earning herself an All-American honors.
— Nicole Klauss
Jesper Kennegard, men’s golf
Jesper Kennegard is finding his game at the right time.
The junior golfer has been one of the top golfers in the nation this year, evidenced by four top-10 finishes, including a win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters and a heartbreaking runner-up finish at the Pac-10 Championships last week.
Kennegard led for much of the way during the 72-hole tournament, but a double bogey on the treacherous Par-4 18th cost him his chance at a conference title.
With NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championships on the horizon for the Sun Devils, the First-Team All-Pac-10 honoree is playing his best golf of the season, and he should have a great opportunity to add some hardware to his trophy case.
— Nick Kosmider
Danielle Orsillo, guard, women’s basketball
As the only true veteran in the ASU backcourt, Orsillo grew into the Sun Devils’ biggest offensive threat in 2009-10 and cemented her place in the ASU record books.
She averaged 14.1 points per game, which ranked 10th in the Pac-10, and also led the team in steals (1.69 per game).
She was named to the All-Pac-10 team for the first time of her career and finished third on ASU’s all-time scoring list with 1,383 career points.
--Gina Mizell
Liz Harkin, defender, women's soccer
As a defender, Liz Harkin doesn't get the attention from scoring the game-winning goal or making the big save.
But anyone who has watched the ASU women's soccer team during Harkin's career could easily see that she was often the best player on the field.
As the anchor of the Sun Devil back line, Harkin was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team for the second straight season in 2009 and helped lead ASU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.
Harkin was drafted by FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer in January, and she will go down as one of the greatest players to ever put on a Sun Devil uniform.
— Gina Mizell
