Two players who contributed to an historic year for the Arkansas Tech University golf programs were named the most outstanding athletes at ATU for the 2025-26 academic year.
Jacob Peetoom of Rogers earned the 2026 John Tucker Award as the most outstanding male athlete at ATU, while Ellen Spigner of Nashville earned the 2026 Jeanice Falls Award as the most outstanding female athlete at ATU.
Their performance helped Arkansas Tech sweep the 2026 Great American Conference men’s and women’s golf championships. The Golden Suns went on to reach the NCAA Division II Championships, while the Wonder Boys advanced to the NCAA Division II Central/Midwest Super Regional.
Peetoom was a junior on the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys golf team in 2025-26 and has earned three letters at ATU. He was voted a unanimous All-GAC first team selection and was selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. His scoring average during the 2025-26 season was 72.3.
A top-2 finish at a tournament hosted by the University of Central Missouri in September and a fourth-place finish at the GAC Championships highlighted Peetoom’s junior season. He accumulated eight top-20 finishes among the 12 tournaments in which he competed.
Spigner was a senior on the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns golf team in 2025-26. She earned four letters at ATU. Spigner became the third ATU women’s golf team member to earn Women’s Golf Coaches Association first team All-America honors at the conclusion of her senior year. She was named 2026 GAC women’s golf player of the year and earned her fourth consecutive All-GAC award. She was also selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
The 2026 GAC Championships medalist, Spigner also won individual titles at the Hardscrabble Invitational, Tulsa Cup and Midwest Classic during her senior year. She finished fourth at the NCAA Division II Central Regional and 10th at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Spigner’s four individual titles in a single season matched the ATU women’s golf record, and her five career individual championships are tied for second-most in Golden Suns history.
She completed the 2025-26 golf season with a 73.4 scoring average, which ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division II Central Region and No. 16 in all of NCAA Division II.
Spigner, who also won the Jeanice Falls Award in 2025, completed her ATU career No. 1 in Golden Suns history in rounds under par for a season (11 in 2025-26) and a career (25).
The Jeanice Falls Award and the John Tucker Award are voted on by the ATU Faculty Athletic Committee, which is chaired by Dr. Shellie Hanna. Nominations are made by ATU head coaches.
Additional top student-athlete awards presented by the ATU Department of Athletics at the close of the 2025-26 academic year included:
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Avery Stanley of Yukon, Okla., cross country and track and field
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
De’Rion Crooms of Baytown, Texas, football
Female Breakout Athlete of the Year
Jaylee Castro of Kansas City, Mo., golf
Male Breakout Athlete of the Year
Derek Rockett of Higbee, Mo., baseball
Female Newcomer of the Year
Erika Hernandez of Wylie, Texas, volleyball
Male Newcomer of the Year
Eric Woodley of Buffalo, N.Y., baseball
Visit https://arkansastechsports.com to learn more about Arkansas Tech athletics.
