Graduate student and baseball player Caleb Stubbings has been chosen for the 2024-25 Thomas F. McLaughlin Award for leadership and sports excellence.
The McLaughlin Award is given to student-athletes at UCCS who excel academically, in their sport and are leaders on their team and in their communities.
“I wasn’t aware that I was even nominated for this award, so that was pretty cool to wake up to an email saying that I received it. My friend Audrey Bloomquist won a couple of years ago, so it’s awesome to be put in the same category as her,” Stubbings said.
This season, Stubbings started in 32 of the team’s 39 games, scored 11 runs, slashed six doubles and hit three homeruns. Stubbings holds UCCS’ records for homeruns, RBIs and putouts.
“When I broke the homerun record last year, [we were] in New Mexico, and we were beating them bad in a blowout game, so it felt like a meaningless in. It was a weird feeling at first, but all of my teammates knew I broke it and that was super cool.”
Stubbings has played on the UCCS team for six seasons and said he will never forget the opportunity he was given when the university offered him a baseball scholarship. Throughout his time on the team, he has made lifelong friendships.
“Before I was on this team, I never had a good team, as far as the guys go. Being able to build some friendships and great relationships throughout the years has been amazing,” he said. “As far as my current teammates go, just about every one of them has been wonderful. They are family.”
After graduation, Stubbings said he wants to find a job coaching high school baseball teams so he can stay involved in the sport. “My advice to future and up and coming players is to be resilient. Be resilient in your work and your work ethic; it’s going to get better if you continue to work.”
Stubbings graduated with a bachelor’s in business management from UCCS in Spring 2024. He plans to graduate with a master’s degree in business administration in Fall 2025.
Women’s basketball’s Maison White, a senior majoring in criminal justice, also won the 2024-2025 Thomas F. McLaughlin Award for leadership and sports excellence.
Caleb Stubbings. Photo courtesy of GoMountainLions.