UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A pair of student-athletes with championship resumes were announced as the 2024-25 Penn State Athletes of Year on Monday. Jess Mruzik earned the honor after leading the Penn State women’s volleyball team to its eighth national title, while Carter Starocci was selected after winning a historic fifth NCAA Division I Wrestling individual crown. Mruzik and Starocci will now move on as Penn State's nominees for Big Ten Athletes of the Year, joining honorees from the other 17 Big Ten member institutions.
Mruzik was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship after leading Penn State to its eighth national title overall and first since 2014. The graduate outside hitter turned in one of the best performances in NCAA Championship history, hitting .308 while averaging 6.11 kills, 2.89 digs, and 0.67 blocks per set in wins over No. 3 Nebraska and No. 4 Louisville. She recorded a double-double in both matches as she totaled 26 kills and 12 digs in a reverse-sweep win over the Huskers in the semifinal and 29 kills and 14 digs in a four-set win over the Cardinals in the championship match. It was the culmination of an outstanding season for Mruzik, who earned first-team All-America recognition after leading the Nittany Lions to Big Ten and Regional titles, both of which were clinched at Rec Hall. Her efforts helped the team finish the season 35-2.
Mruzik picked up All-America status in each of her two seasons at Penn State. She was a second-team All-American in 2023, earning the award despite carrying the workload of a one-year MBA program. She finished her career with more than 2,000 kills, 1,100 digs, 250 blocks, and 100 aces. She is just the third player that ever donned a Penn State jersey to eclipse 2,000 career kills. Including her three seasons at Michigan, Mruzik was a three-time All-American and a four-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree.
Starocci has been named Penn State’s Male Athlete of the Year for the second time, having also won the honor in 2023. Starocci, a member of Penn State’s 2025 NCAA Division I National Championship team and a national champion himself, is one of 11 Nittany Lion Wrestlers who have earned this honor a total of 14 times. Two of those athletes went on to win the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year award.
Starocci capped off an historic collegiate career, becoming the first and only wrestler in NCAA Division I history to become a five-time NCAA National Champion. Starocci downed Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen in the national finals in Philadelphia to claim his fifth crown in as many trips to the event. Starocci ended the year as one of ten All-Americans for Penn State as the Nittany Lions won their 12th NCAA title under head coach Cael Sanderson, 13th in school history and fourth straight for the third time since Sanderson’s arrival in Happy Valley. Starocci ended the season with a 26-0 record with six pins, 10 technical falls and five majors.
He ended his career with a 104-4 career record with 20 falls, 25 techs and 21 majors, meaning 86 of his 104 wins were for bonus. Starocci was a Hodge Trophy finalist, the 2025 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler, the 2025 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, a 2025 Big Ten Champion and first team All-Big Ten honoree. Starocci leaves Penn State as a five-time NCAA champ, five-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion, three-time first team All-Big Ten selection, and the 2021 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Penn State went 15-0 and won the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Championship, 2025 Big Ten Championship and 2025 NCAA Championship.
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