Football

UCF’s 2024-25 Big 12 Athlete of the Year Nominees

The 2024-25 Big 12 Athlete of the Year nominees will be featured in alphabetical order by school starting Monday, July 14, through Wednesday, July 23, at 11 a.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT.

Each institution nominated one male and one female athlete of any classification who competed for their institution during the 2024-25 school year. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and must have participated in a league-sponsored sport.

The 16 full-membership schools that competed during the 2024-25 academic year are eligible.

The winners will be announced Thursday, July 24. Stay tuned to Big12Sports.com and the league’s social media platforms to see the rest of the candidates.

This morning’s featured candidates are UCF’s RJ Harvey and Hannah Lovejoy.   

UCF Male Athlete of the Year Candidate
RJ Harvey, Football
Sr., Orlando, Fla.  
Accomplishments
  • Selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Named a Third Team All-American by both The Associated Press and Phil Steele after starting every game in his final season with the Knights.
  • Earned First Team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s head coaches and was a national semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.
  • Set the UCF program record for career touchdowns scored (48), while his 43 rushing touchdowns ranked second all-time in program history. Finished the 2024 season with 1,577 rushing yards- more than 30 FBS programs, including 20 Power 4 teams.
  • Team co-captain in 2024 who surpassed 100 rushing yards in nine of the Knights’ 12 games and scored a touchdown in all but one contest.  
UCF Female Athlete of the Year Candidate
Hannah Lovejoy, Rowing
Jr., Marietta, Ohio
  • Named Big 12 Rower of the Year after leading UCF to its first Big 12 rowing title. 
  • Earned All-Big 12 honors and was recognized as a CRCA All-America Honorable Mention.
  • Helped UCF achieve its best team finish at the NCAA Championships, placing 15th overall.
  • Honored as a CRCA Scholar-Athlete while collecting two Big 12 Boat of the Week titles with the First Varsity 8+ during the season.
2024-25 Big 12 Athletes of the Year Nominees
Arizona - Colton Smith and Devyn Netz
Arizona State - Cam Skattebo and Kenzie Brown
Baylor - Nathaniel Ezekiel and Alexis Brown
BYU - James Corrigan and Lexy Halladay-Lowry
UCF - RJ Harvey and Hannah Lovejoy