Boise State Garners Four Mountain West Yearly Accolades

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Boise State earned four Mountain West yearly awards, the conference announced Friday. Head coach Tina Bird was named coach of the year, Kristina Shchennikova was crowned co-freshman of the year, while Emily Lopez and Alyssa Vulaj earned specialist of the year on bars and vault, respectively.

Coach and Freshman of the Year are voted on by each head coach in the MW, while Specialist of the Year is determined by the highest NQS in the conference.

Bird has been named the MW Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season. Boise State boasts a current national ranking of 29 with a NQS of 196.105, the highest of any MW program. The Broncos also hold the highest event national rankings on bars (19th), beam (27th) and floor (42nd) in the MW. Bird led the team to a regular season championship and the first undefeated home season since 2021. This marks her eighth conference coach of the year accolade.

Shchennikova picked up MW Co-Freshman of the Year. She earned five freshman and three beam weekly honors, both being the highest in the MW. The freshman holds a career-high 9.900s on both bars and beam, along with three beam event titles. She most notably scored a 9.900 on beam in her event debut, notching the highest freshman debut score on beam at Boise State since at least 1987. Shchennikova is the first Bronco to receive conference freshman of the year since Shani Remme did so in 2016.

Fifth year Lopez garnered her second MW Bars Specialist of the Year award as she is tied 18th nationally on bars with an NQS of 9.910, the highest in the MW. The nine-time MW Specialist of the Week recipient has also earned 10 event titles, including six on bars, during her final season with the Broncos.

Senior Vulaj earned MW Vault Specialist of the Year with a conference-high NQS of 9.850. She has earned three MW weekly honors and five vault titles to secure the accolade. Vulaj is a consistent contributor to Boise State's vault lineup, being the highest scorer on the team for six meets over the season.

2025 MOUNTAIN WEST AWARDS
Coach of the Year
Tina Bird

Co-Freshman of the Year
Kristina Shchennikova

Vault Specialist of the Year
Alyssa Vulaj

Bars Specialist of the Year
Emily Lopez

Boise State Garners Four Mountain West Yearly Accolades

Players Mentioned

Emily Lopez

Kristina Shchennikova

Alyssa Vulaj

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