27 UTEP student-athletes set to graduate
EL PASO, Texas – Twenty-seven UTEP student-athletes’ academic journey will reach an apex this week, as they will complete their coursework and earn their degrees.
Scheduled to graduate this spring are 15 representatives from the football program, three from women’s basketball, two each from men’s basketball, men’s golf, soccer and softball, and one from tennis.
The spring 2020 graduating student-athletes have excelled academically as well as athletically, as 17 have earned appointments to the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Roll (minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average), and five have received C-USA Academic Medals (minimum 3.75 cumulative GPA) during their time in the Sun City.
Here's a closer look at UTEP’s May 2020 graduating student-athletes.
Pamala Baber (Softball)
2020 Strength & Conditioning MVP at the Golden Pick Awards … played four seasons for the Miners, while appearing in 144 games and making 110 starts over that span … posted a .253 career batting average with 72 hits, 15 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBI … compiled a .407 slugging percentage over the course of her career … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) … C-USA Academic Medal recipient (2017, 2019, 2020) … C-USA Spirit of Service Award (2019 Spring) … Health Promotion major.
Maria Medina Blanco (Tennis)
Three-year letter winner who racked up a combined 24 wins during her career, including 17 in singles action … Finance major.
Ountae Campbell (Men’s Basketball)
Recipient of the 2020 Dr. Louis Robbins Award for Academic Excellence (top senior grade point average) at the Golden Pick Awards … played two seasons for the Miners … started in 10 games during junior season that included a career-high seven boards against Old Dominion … made a start on Senior Day, draining a three-point bucket to cap his career … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2019, 2020) … C-USA Academic Medal recipient (2019, 2020) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Danielle Carreon (Soccer)
Four-year letterwinner who played in 66 games, including starting 24 contests … had her best season as a senior with three goals and one assist for seven points to help UTEP qualify for its first C-USA tournament in three years … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2018, 2019, 2020) … Criminal Justice major.
Denzel Chukwukelu (Football)
Appeared in 42 games over four seasons … totaled 93 tackles, including 43 solo stops, with 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery … earned second team All-Conference USA honors as a senior in 2019 … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Mitchell Crawford (Football)
Spent two seasons with the Miners, while seeing action in every game over that span as a punter … had 134 punts for 5,324 yards and an average of 39.7 yards per punt … booted a career-long 66-yard punt in his first season as a Miner in 2018 … earned All-Conference USA honorable mention accolades in 2018 … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2019, 2020) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Lauren Crenshaw (Soccer)
2020 Soccer MVP at the Golden Pick Awards … four-year starter who compiled 16 goals and 10 assists for 42 points during her career … standout defender also helped UTEP tie for the sixth-most shutouts (seven) in a season in 2019 … efforts aided in the Miners qualifying for the C-USA tournament for the first time in three years … All C-USA Team (2017 & 2019) … made the Central-Region Team (2016) … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) … C-USA Academic Medal recipient (2017) … Kinesiology major.
Mallorie Cross (Softball)
Played in 94 games while making 65 starts in four years as a Miner … posted 39 hits, including six doubles and 21 RBI in 180 at-bats in her career … posted a .292 on base percentage over four years … posted a .257 average in 41 starts as a true freshman … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Benjamin Getman (Men’s Golf)
Saw action in 26 tournaments over the course of his four-year career with the Miners … posted a 75.8 scoring average in 72 rounds of golf in his career … shot a low-round of 69 and a career-low three-round total of 214 as a senior …
was UTEP’s top finisher as a freshman at the Arizona Intercollegiate with a nine-over par 222 … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2016) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Eduardo Gonzalez (Men’s Golf)
Played in 20 tournaments over four years with the Miners … posted a 74.4 career scoring average in 59 rounds of golf … drained a hole-in-one at the John Burns Intercollegiate as a junior … finished tied for 20th at the 2019 Gene Miranda Invitational after shooting even par with a career-low score of 216 … was UTEP's top finisher at the Maridoe Intercollegiate after finishing tied for 10th at eight-over par with a three-round total of 224 as a senior … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) … C-USA Academic Medal recipient (2018, 2019) … Finance major.
Kalaii Griffin (Football)
Spent three seasons with the Miners, seeing action in 25 games over that span … registered 43 total tackles in his career, including 18 solo stops … recorded five tackles for losses, two QB hurries and a sack, while also forcing a fumble as a junior for the Miners … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2018, 2019, 2020) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Jordan Jenkins (Women’s Basketball)
Played two seasons with the Miners before sustaining a serious knee injury … appeared in 47 contests, including 22 starts … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2018, 2019, 2020) … Kinesiology major.
Christian Johnson (Football)
Saw action in 12 games over the past three seasons for the Miners … totaled eight tackles, including six solo stops and two assists … registered 2.5 tackles for losses, while also recording a QB hurry in 2019 … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Kavika Johnson (Football)
Played for the Miners from 2015-19, while appearing in 47 games in a variety of roles over that span … had 115 rushing attempts for 286 yards and a touchdown over his career … also made 38 receptions for 342 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches … saw limited action as a passer for the Miners with a career stat line of 40-for-75 for 387 yards and four touchdown tosses … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2016) … Communication Studies major.
Michael Lewis (Football)
Saw action in 46 games over the course of his four-year career with the Miners … registered 230 career tackles, including a career-best 96 tackles as a senior … had 129 solo stops and 101 assists as a Miner … recorded 4.5 career tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery … earned his first career interception as a senior for the Miners … garnered All-Conference USA honorable mention accolades as a senior in 2019 … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Jaime Perales (Football)
Played in 11 games over the last two years as an offensive lineman for the Miners … made his first career appearance on the offensive line against UAB in 2018 … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2020) … Kinesiology major.
Chris Richardson (Football)
Played in 35 games for the Miners over the course of three seasons … registered 80 career tackles, including 22 solo stops and 58 assists … recorded 2.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and three QB hurries in his career … named to the 2016 Conference USA All-Freshman Team … earned All-Conference USA honorable mention accolades as a junior in 2018 … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Jade Rochelle (Women’s Basketball)
Two-year letter winner after arriving as a JUCO transfer … high-energy player who competed in 59 total contests … chipped in 3.5 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game in 14.4 minutes per contest … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2019, 2020) … General Business major.
Justin Rogers (Football)
Saw action in 47 games over the course of his four-year career with the Miners … made 182 career tackles, including 120 solo stops, with four tackles for loss and 23 pass breakups … recorded six interceptions in his career, becoming the first Miner to post an interception in four separate seasons since Quintin Demps (2004-07) … also forced three fumbles and had four fumble recoveries in his Miner career … named to the 2016 Conference USA All-Freshman Team … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Anthony Tarke (Men’s Basketball)
Played in 14 games, making two starts for the Miners during the 2019-20 campaign … averaged 2.6 points and four rebounds … scored his season-best nine points with eight rebounds and two blocks versus East Central … also secured eight boards against Boise State and FIU … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2020) … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Tiano Tialavea (Football)
Saw action in 18 games over the last two seasons for the Miners … earned playing time both as a defensive tackle and on special teams … recorded his first career tackle in UTEP’s road contest at North Texas in 2019 … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Mark Torrez (Football)
Saw action in eight games for the Miners, including seven games under center in 2017 … had 17 rushing attempts for 38 yards and a touchdown, while also going 14-for-48 passing for 126 yards through the air … scored first collegiate touchdown on a six-yard rush and added season highs in completions (six) and passing yards (59) against Arizona … completed first collegiate pass on a seven-yard toss at No. 7 Oklahoma … rushed for a season-high 31 yards on seven attempts and threw for 38 yards (four completions) at rival NM State … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Sione Tupou (Football)
Played in 22 games, including making 17 starts for the Miners over the last two seasons … registered 113 career tackles, including 46 solo stops and 67 assists … posted 4.5 tackles for a loss of 22 yards and two QB hurries … ranked fifth on the team in tackles in 2018 and fourth in tackles in 2019 … recorded his first career fumble recovery in 2018 … registered two solo sacks for 16 yards … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2020) … Kinesiology major.
Jayson Van Hook (Football)
Played in 25 games as a linebacker for the Miners over the last three seasons, including making 21 starts over that period … registered 89 career tackles, including 50 solo stops and 39 assists … made 9.5 career tackles for loss for a total of 31 yards … recorded two QB hurries in 2019 … ranked fifth on the team in tackles in 2019 … named to the 2016 Conference USA All-Freshman Team … Multidisciplinary Studies major.
Brady Viles (Football)
Saw action in 15 games for the Miners over his career, including 12 games in his first season in the Orange & Blue in 2017 … made a 53-yard field goal, the first of his Miner career, against Arizona in 2017 … served as a kickoff specialist for UTEP with 40 career kickoffs for 2,385 yards and an average of 59.6 yards per kickoff … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2018, 2019, 2020) … Kinesiology major.
Quardraiz Wadley (Football)
Has played in 26 games over the last four seasons despite battling through a pair of season-ending injuries … made 13 career starts at running back for the Miners … has 228 rushing attempts for 1,072 yards and eight touchdowns … also has seven receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown catch … led UTEP in 2018 in rushing (627 yards), rushing touchdowns (seven), total touchdowns (eight), rushing attempts (123) and yards per attempt (5.1) … produced breakout game at Army as a sophomore, making first collegiate start, after he rushed for a career-high 156 yards on career-most 28 carries (5.6 avg.), while scoring his first career touchdown and registering his first career reception (15 yards) … Criminal Justice major.
Katarina Zec (Women’s Basketball)
2020 Women’s Basketball MVP at the Golden Pick Awards … four-year letter winner who finished her career as a 1,000-point scorer (eighth in school history) and also ranking among the top-10 players in school history for games started (third), minutes played (fifth), three-pointers made (sixth), field goals made (eighth) and games played (ninth) … All C-USA team (2020) and C-USA All-Academic team (2020) … C-USA Academic Honor Roll (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) … C-USA Academic Medal recipient (2017, 2018, 2019) … Biochemistry major.
