MEC announces athletes of the year
BRIDGEPORT — A pair of Mountain East Conference student-athletes will share the 2024-25 Male Athlete of the Year honors, the league announced Wednesday afternoon.
West Liberty wrestler Ty McGeary and Charleston football player Chavon Wright have been named the MEC Co-Male Athletes of the Year, as determined via vote of institutional administrators and the conference office. McGeary is a repeat winner of the award, which consists of candidates who won his respective sport’s MEC Player of the Year during the 2024-25 competition season.
McGeary, who capped his decorated career with a third consecutive national championship, finished his final collegiate season 33-1, going undefeated against Division II competition. The native of McDonald, Pennsylvania, was 33-1 with 29 bonus-point victories this season, and concluded his four-year career with a 132-7 record. He is a four-time All-American and in April was named the NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year by The Open Mat.
McGeary was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championships and the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler of the 2025 season. He is the first wrestler in MEC history to win four consecutive conference titles in his weight class, and won the MEC Wrestler of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Wright also made history in 2024-25. The native of Opa Locka, Florida, became the first Mountain East Conference student-athlete to win the Hardman Award, which is presented to the top amateur athlete in West Virginia, as voted by members of the West Virginia Sportswriters Association. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound running back finished second in the Harlon Hill Trophy balloting, an award given to the Division II National Player of the Year.
An All-American, Wright led the nation in total rushing yards (2.235) and rushing touchdowns (38) in 2024. His 38 rushing touchdowns set the new all-time NCAA Division II single season record. He was the statistical champion in three categories — points per game (20.0), rushing yards per game (186.1) and all-purpose yards per game (193.3).
The MEC Offensive Player of the Year was also named the D2CCA All-Super Region 1 Offensive Player of the Year, and earned All-American honors from the AFCA and D2CCA.
Fairmont State women’s basketball player Leslie Huffman is the Mountain East Conference Female Athlete of the Year.
Huffman, the 2024-25 MEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, racked up the accolades during her junior season with the Falcons. In addition to her league honors, she was named the D2CCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year, and earned All-American recognition from D2CCA and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Fairmont State finished the regular season atop the MEC standings and entered the MEC Basketball Championship as the top seed. The Falcons delivered, tearing through the tournament field with three wins in as many days by an average of 19.3 points per game to win the MEC title. At the culmination of the tournament, Huffman was voted the MEC Tournament MVP and was recognized for having the top scoring average during the event (16.6 points per game).
Huffman finished the season averaging 17.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She was in the top 40 nationally in free throws, points, and steals.
Huffman is the eighth player in Fairmont State women’s basketball history to earn All-American status, and the first since Kaitlyn Snyder in 2012.
The MEC Female Athlete of the Year is selected by a vote of institutional administrators and the conference office.



