Over the past four years, Eric Colaco ’25 consistently delivered for Denison sports fans. An appreciative and highly engaged Big Red community paid him back at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards on Feb. 5 inside Rocket Arena.
The former Denison baseball star was voted the 2025 Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Colaco, who led the Big Red to their first College World Series appearance last year, accepted the prestigious award in front of family, friends, and Denison baseball coach Mike Deegan.
All nominees had Northeast Ohio roots and were selected by regional media outlets. However, winners were chosen by online voting over a five-week period spanning December and January. Colaco beat out fellow finalists Arvell Reese, a football player from Ohio State University, and Giovanni Kennedy, a football player from the University of Mount Union.
Reese, a linebacker, is a potential top-5 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Colaco’s victory is a tribute to his amazing career, his on-campus popularity, and the power of a loyal network of Big Red students, alumni, and friends of the university.
“It says everything about the Denison community,” Colaco said. “They simply show up for their people, and the countless times I heard people from the community tell me they voted hundreds of times just warmed my heart. Denison is a place where individual achievements are celebrated as collective wins, and their endless support is what makes it so special.”
The awards show is one of the highlights on the Cleveland sports calendar, and it recognizes athletic achievement at the high school, college, and professional level. Past winners include: Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown (lifetime achievement award), NBA legend LeBron James (high school and pro awards), and gold-medal winning Olympians Diana Munz and Tim Mack (amateur athlete award).
Translation: It’s a big deal.
“It was an absolute honor to be able to receive that award in front of my entire support system,” Colaco said. “It is difficult to put into words. Hearing my name (called) was surprising with my competition, but after it was announced all I could do was smile.”
When Colaco was named a finalist in early December, Matt Tanney, Denison’s associate vice president and director of athletics, made sure word of Colaco’s candidacy was well publicized. Links to vote for him were put into stories and social media posts.
The outfielder’s credentials were sterling. Colaco finished his Denison career as a three-time North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was named to the 2025 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-America third team. He set an NCAA Division III record for career runs scored and broke 11 Denison baseball records. As a senior, he starred on a Big Red team that finished the season 41-7, winning the school’s first NCAA Super Regionals title, which earned them the World Series berth.
“Eric was so well respected when he was a student here, and I think everybody on campus recognized that,” Tanney said. “So when we got the word out, it’s refreshing to know that other people, such as our alumni, from coast to coast, feel the same way. We just needed to let them know about the vote.”
Other Division III college athletes have been honored at Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, but Colaco becomes the first male or female winner to represent a university outside of Northeast Ohio.
“There’s not a more deserving person, and that’s probably what I’m most proud of,” Deegan said. “It also illustrates President Adam Weinberg’s ‘power of and’ belief about Denison: You can get a great degree here, and do some really special things like being honored on stage at Rocket Arena.”
