The Courage Award is given to a Husky who exemplifies courage in their own handling of personal challenge or adversity, or demonstrates courageous citizenship through support of their peers or community in a formidable situation.  

With an incredibly talented group of student-athletes, we are honored to recognize six student-athletes for these highly prestigious awards. Please join us in celebrating Kinsman winners: Ainsley Svetek, Garrett Coe, Paige Bueckers, and Chase Lundt, and Courage winners: Jessica Mazo, and Rayonte Brown, all of  whom  encapsulate the true spirit of UConn Athletics. 

Ainsley Svetek - Kinsman Award
Ainsley Svetek joined the Huskies from Burlington, Ontario and had an immediate impact. Growing across her five-year career, Ainsley embraced leadership roles in multiple venues including on the ice, in the classroom, and through community engagement opportunities. 

Amassing 144 career games played, Ainsley led the team in blocked shots in both her fourth and fifth seasons where she reached 113 in her efforts across those two seasons alone. A team captain, Ainsley led her 23-24 team to unprecedented success including their first Hockey East regular season championship, first Hockey East Tournament Championship, and first NCAA tournament appearance in program history while maintaining a top 20 national ranking finishing number 9 in the country at the end of the season.

Academically, Ainsley has been nothing short of impressive. Graduating with a BS degree in Biomedical Engineering with a focus in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Ainsley continued her education to complete a MS degree in Biomedical Engineering in her final season. Her graduate work culminated in successful defense of her research in Motion Capture and Biomechanical Analysis of Lower Extremities in Hockey Players with Markerless and Marker Based Systems and, while her UConn playing career has come to a close, Ainsley is expanding her academic work, remaining at UConn as a doctoral student in Kinesiology.

Beyond Ainsey's academic and athletic accomplishments, she served in leadership roles within the Division of Athletics as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee executive board member and president, and the Big East Conference SAAC President where she represented student-athletes across all Big East Conference schools at the national level. Ainsley was heavily involved in a number of community outreach initiatives locally and nationally and led a multi-team leadership group in countless events throughout the years. Her service initiatives included clothing drives, food drives, outreach with local elementary and middle-school youth, fundraisers for the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, leadership in facilitating various awareness games, SAAC-O-Lantern, connections with Team IMPACT, and many many more. 

Ainsley's leadership will be missed immensely and we are lucky to call her a Husky Forever.

Paige Bueckers - Kinsman Award
A native of Hopkins, Minnesota, Paige Bueckers quickly put herself on the map with the Huskies tying legendary alumna, Maya Moore, as the fastest Husky to reach 1,000 points in just 55 games. Over the last four years, Paige has continued to amass tremendous accolades including multiple Big East Conference championships, Final Four appearances, and numerous individual awards granted by the Big East Conference, the NCAA, USBWA, WBCA, espnW, and has been recognized as the AP Player of the Year, Naismith Trophy winner, and Wooden Award winner. 

While basketball has always been a large part of her life, Paige has used her time in Connecticut generously, continuously volunteering time with Geno's for the Kids Charity Dinner and Golf Tournament, Connecticut Children's Medical Center and HuskyTHON, the Mamba and Mambacita Foudation, Classroom readings in local elementary schools, a Thanksgiving turkey drive volunteer, the Special Olympics, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Team IMPACT, and many more.

Academically, Paige has been an exceptional student throughout her career, garnering numerous conference, regional, and national academic awards, and Director of Athletics Honor Roll recognition. Paige graduated in May '24 with a degree in Human Development and Family Sciences and will continue her education this Fall semester. 

She has a steadfast commitment to using her platform to create  opportunities for others, lifting up those within the UConn community as well as around the country and around the world. She is a Husky of exceptional character and epitomizes the spirit of the Donald Kinsman award.

Garrett Coe - Kinsman Award
With very much the heart of a Husky, Garrett Coe has maintained a constant presence on the UConn Baseball team. A left-handed pitcher, Garrett battled through his first few years, initially not earning a roster spot in the 2020 season, seeing time in just eight contests in 2021, and struggled to find his path academically.

Despite the start, Garrett continued to face challenges head-on and developed semester-by-semester. In the 2022 season, Garrett was finding his groove, making 23 appearances for the Huskies, including several dominating strikeouts and preserving key wins along the way. 

From 2022 forward, Garrett continued to ensure he was a force to be reckoned with. Athletically, Garrett completed his final seasons with 20+ appearances including working his way into a weekend starting role, helping his team secure Big East Conference Championships and a 2024 NCAA Super Regional appearance. 

Academically, Garrett also very much found his path, garnering Big East All Academic Team honors, Director of Athletics Academic Honor Roll recognitions, and graduating from the University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, minor in Communication, and Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Public Management. 

More importantly than his athletic prowess and scholarly achievement, Garrett is a man with tremendous character, recognized by his peers in naming him one of their 2024 team captains. Garrett's leadership extended beyond the field as he embraced mentorship opportunities with Team IMPACT, an organization designed to partner "children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved." While a captain should not necessarily have favorites, since the arrival of Team IMPACT athlete, AJ Salisbury, it was clear he solidly held that spot. Garrett remained involved with AJ throughout their time as teammates, attending various events, checking in regularly, and sharing plenty of clubhouse banter along the way. AJ will forever be a part of the UConn Baseball family.

Garrett's leadership undoubtedly fueled the Huskies through the enormity of their season. He held his team through grief, through adversity, through victory, through championship. He has created lifelong impactful relationships. The path of Garrett's career and his ability and commitment to endlessly grow fully embodies the spirit of the Donald Kinsman award. 

Chase Lundt - Kinsman Award
Chase Lundt has grown into one of the most committed, focused, and reliable student-athletes on campus. Beginning his career with a redshirt season and then the season-ending Covid epidemic, Chase continued to work through various challenges, ultimately earning a starting position at right-tackle which he has held since 2021. 

In 2021, Chase sustained an ACL tear which threatened his 2022 season. Instead, Chase worked tirelessly to return to play, ultimately not only getting back on the field, but helping his team reach their first bowl game since 2015. He has been highly respected for his work ethic and leadership, earning recognition as a team captain for the 2024 season. 

Academically, Chase has earned Director of Athletics Honor Roll recognition on multiple occasions as well as Dean's List Honors. Graduating in 2023 with a degree in Communication, Chase is continuing his academic growth, working toward a second undergraduate degree in General Studies with a minor in Urban and Community Studies. 

Chase has remained active in numerous organizations throughout his time at UConn including Athletes in Action, Team IMPACT (a national organization matching "children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved"), and Bleeding Blue for Good. 

Late in the '21 season, Rayonte began incurring difficult medical challenges which ultimately required two emergency  surgeries and hospitalization. Throughout this time, and facing obstacle after obstacle, Rayonte's mental fortitude and will to return to football was exceptional. Recovery was incredibly challenging. While his physical presence may have weakened substantially throughout his ordeal, his resilience certainly did not. In the Spring '22 term, Rayonte enrolled in online coursework in an effort to recover at home while maintaining his academic progress. While staying current with the requirements of the term, Rayonte was concurrently completing final exams from the previous terms missed while hospitalized. While he could have easily stepped away from both football and school, Rayonte remained committed to returning to both as initially intended. Following  months of arduous recovery, Rayonte was able to see the field again - this time at the tight end position.

Rayonte continued to battle academically and proudly graduated in December of 2023 with his undergraduate degree in Communication which he hopes to propel into a future career in Human Resources. 

In addition to Rayonte's athletic and academic fortitude, he remained committed to various outreach initiatives through Husky Advantage including Husky Reads events and a meet and greet elementary school academic pep-rally in the local community. 

Raytone certainly exemplified courage in his handling of personal challenge or adversity. We are proud to call him a UConn graduate and a Husky forever.