ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College Athletics Department is proud to announce the 2023-24 recipients of the Outstanding Senior Athlete Award, for both male and female athletics. Matteo DiGiulio of Men's ACHA Division 1 Hockey and Karson Bagelmann of NCAA Softball were chosen as this year's winners, recognizing their overall success and achievements as Adrian College Bulldogs.

The Outstanding Senior Athlete Award goes to a student-athlete that is graduating and has had a successful career in athletics at Adrian College. Coaches or Athletic Department staff members nominate athletes based on their success in athletics during their entire career based on awards, statistics, records, and leadership. At the end of each academic year, the nominees are voted on by the entire Athletic Department to determine the Outstanding Senior Athlete Award. Most of these student-athletes move on to be inducted into the Adrian College Athletic Hall of Fame in the future. The Male Outstanding Senior Athlete Award began in 1951, while the Female Outstanding Senior Athlete Award began in 1979.

Matteo DiGiulio, who was also named this year's male Frank and Shirley Dick Award recipient, hails from Maple, Ontario, Canada and first came to Adrian College in 2020. The Canadian spent four seasons as a forward with the Men's ACHA Division 1 Hockey program under Head Coach, Gary Astalos, most notably helping the program clinch two national championships in 2021 and 2024. Over his Bulldog tenure, DiGiulio earned numerous conference and national awards. As a Freshman in the 2020-21 season, DiGiulio landed on the GLCHL conference and ACHA national All-Rookie Teams, as well as being named the GLCHL Rookie of the Year. As a Sophomore, he earned a conference All-Defensive recognition, and as a Junior he earned spots on the ACHA All-Tournament Team and the conference All-Academic Team. In his final season of athletics, DiGiulio landed an All-Conference Second Team accolade and another ACHA All-Tournament Team nod, while captaining his squad to the third national title in program history. Additionally, in 2023, DiGiulio's dominance on the ice was hard to ignore, as he was selected to play for Team Canada at the World Cup of University Hockey in Romania. The heavily-relied on leader mustered 171 points in 134 total games played over four seasons with the Bulldogs, largely contributing to the consistent and notable MD1 Hockey success, which included an overall record of 121-15-2, four conference regular season titles, two conference playoff crowns, and two national championships over his tenure. After the conclusion of the 2023-24 athletic campaign, DiGiulio has since graduated from Adrian College with his undergraduate degree in Finance (3.7 GPA) and his graduate degree in General Business (3.6 GPA) and has gone on to play professionally in North America for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the Southern Professional Hockey League. DiGiulio's recognition as the Outstanding Senior Athlete is the first time a non-varsity male athlete has won the award. In addition, DiGiulio's selection of both the Outstanding Senior Athlete and Frank and Shirley Dick Awards marks the first time a male athlete has won both titles since Baseball's Tommy Parsons in 2018.

Karson Bagelmann is from Antelope, California and transferred to Adrian College in 2022. In two seasons with the Bulldogs under Head Coach, Kaylee Fox, Bagelmann has been regarded as the team's most valuable player all over the field, leading her squad to back-to-back MIAA Conference Playoff Tournament appearances and a 56-27 overall record. After coming over from Saginaw Valley's NCAA Division II program, Bagelmann has garnered heavy attention in the awards and recognitions column. After her first season with the Bulldogs, the California native earned MIAA All-Conference First Team and NFCA Division III Region VII First Team nods, CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-American Second Team recognitions, and was recognized by her Adrian College peers as the ACEE's Female Rookie of the Year, awarded to the most successful first-year Bulldog in athletics. In her Senior season, Bagelmann only increased her value as she earned the MIAA Batting title and the MIAA Most Valuable Position Player Award. She also earned her second straight MIAA All-Conference First Team, NFCA Division III Region VII First Team, and CSC Academic All-District honors, as well as her first NFCA All-American recognition; only the fifth player in program history to receive All-American honors. Over two seasons with Adrian in which she started 77 of her 80 games played, Bagelmann posted a .459 batting average, .544 on-base percentage, .618 slugging percentage, 67 stolen bases, 97 runs scored, as well as 40 runs-batted-in and 160 total bases on 119 hits. The shortstop also holds Adrian NCAA Softball program records for stolen bases (39) and runs scored (51) in a single season, in which she set this past year. Bagelmann graduated from Adrian College this past spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a 4.0 GPA.

The Outstanding Senior Athlete Award winners will be honored during Adrian College's 2024 Homecoming Weekend at the Hall of Fame dinner and the Homecoming football game. This year's Homecoming Weekend will take place from September 27-29.