PEMBROKE — A first team All-Conference and All-Region selection, Kalaya Hall was decorated with Female Student-Athlete of the Year accolades, while All-American Scott Joll raked in Male Student-Athlete of the Year laurels, as the UNC Pembroke athletics department welcomed back its nearly 400 student-athletes on Monday evening inside the Givens Performing Arts Center (GPAC).
Baseball’s Michael Dolberry II and swimming’s Benedetta Pepe Pugliese took home Male and Female Newcomer of the Year recognition, while baseball’s head coach Paul O’Neil picked up the Dan Kenney Coach of the Year crown. The awards put a wrap on the 2023-24 Golden Braves program which was held in April.
An everyday starter for the Black & Gold, Hall averaged 33.4 minutes per game and 16.8 points per game. The Beulaville native shot 40 percent from the field and finished with a team-best 56 steals. Hall helped the program to its second consecutive conference title in March where she was named as the Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP for the second-straight year. It is the first time since 2005-06 that the league has had back-to-back MVPs. Hall scored a Conference Carolinas single game high for the season with 39 points against Chowan in early January. The senior finished the season ranked fifth in the league for points per game and second in free throw percentage. She also became the first player in the history of the program to earn recognition from the D2 CCA on the All-Region squad.
Winning nearly every award possible, Joll closed out his collegiate career in grand fashion finishing third in the NCAA Championships and earning All-America status. A native of Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, Joll picked up first team All-Conference honors, as well as the Conference Carolinas Wrestler of the Year and upper weight Conference Carolinas Most Outstanding wrestler following the conference tournament. The graduate student was named the DII Most Dominant Wrestler, earned the Most Falls Award and the Gregorian Award at the NCAA Championship. He became the first non-Division-I wrestler since 2005 to be named the recipient of the Schalles Award following a 35-1 record.
O’Neil skippered the Braves to their first Conference Carolinas Tournament title when the Braves knocked off Belmont Abbey 10-0 in seven innings of work on May 6 in the championship to pick up the automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament. O’Neil notched his 750th victory with the Black & Gold on March 2 with a 13-7 victory at home against Chowan. The Braves finished the season with a 43-14 record, good for the second most wins in program history, and were 24-4 when playing in Pembroke.
Dolberry saw action in 48 games, logging 44 starts and posting a .382 batting average. A native of Prince George, Virginia, Dolberry finished the season with 65 hits, 15 doubles, 14 home runs and drove in 44 runs. The senior was picked as a first team All-Conference selection, as well as a second team All-Region honoree from a trio of organizations.
A product of Avellino, Italy, Pepe Pugliese became the first swimmer in program history to be named an All-American after logging a 14th place finish at the NCAA Championship in the 400-yard Individual Medley. The freshman was named the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year after winning a pair of events and set Conference Carolinas meet record in the 200-yard Breaststroke and the 400-yard Breaststroke.