There are so many worthy nominees here for the best performance, it’s just… well.. good luck deciding.
It’s awards season at Rock M Nation, and we’ve got a lot to celebrate from the 2023-24 school year. New hires, postseason highs, incredible individual and team performances… There’s a lot of good things going on in CoMo, and we intend to talk about it.
And because we always strive to do things a bit differently around here, we created our own award, the Rock M’my, two years ago. Consider it to be part Emmy, part Espy, and all parts love of Mizzou Athletics. (pronounced Rock Emmy)
I encouraged the staff to not just consider the major sports and the top dogs, but to dig below the surface and select worthy nominees from all the teams. Luckily, Rock M Nation represents a diverse group of writers with knowledge about a variety of Mizzou sports, so this wasn’t too much of an ask. With each nomination, you’ll also find a bit of backstory, so you, the fans, can make an informed decision, because at the end of each post, you’ll vote. Forget to cast your ballot one day? No big deal. I’ll provide links to the other awards from the preceding posts.
Once all the votes for each award have been tabulated over the next few weeks, I’ll present a winners list, and that student-athlete will win our completely serious award that will undoubtedly be the greatest triumph of their lives thus far.
Voting closes Friday, July 25 at 11pm CST.
In case you missed the vote:
Let’s begin.
Sometimes we as sports fans have the pleasure of witnessing greatness. A moment that leaves you astonished, proclaiming, “HE IS HIM. SHE IS HER.” (I never say this because I find it weird, but that’s just me). There were an unreal mount of great performances this season that left fans excited and jumping up and down, screaming and wanting more. Imagine if you will a Mount Rushmore of 2024-25 Mizzou Athletes. Chances are you’d find some of them atop the mountain for what they did.
In fact, there were so many awesome performances we couldn’t write about them all. So who was included? Let’s find out. Please make sure you read all the nominations carefully before casting your online ballot. They deserve your time for all their awesomeness!
Here are the nominees for I’m Him / I’m Her (Best Performance)
Tamar Bates vs. kansas (Men’s Hoops)
In what could certainly be described as Mizzou Basketball’s first bounce back from a winless season, the Tigers and Tamar Bates shined in the renewed rivalry with the school to the west, earning their first victory since 2012 and placing Mizzou Hoops back on the map. The Kansas native notched 29 points in 34 minutes, including a perfect 9 for 9 at the free throw stripe. Bates etched his name in Tiger lore and will forever be remembered by the Black and Gold as a Border War Legend. — Matt Watkins
Helen Hu at Regional Finals (Gymnastics)
In a dead heat with Auburn with one competitor to go, Helen Hu needed not only a hit routine to counteract a rare fall in the leadoff position but also a great score to put more pressure on their floor anchor, Sophia Groth. So with a return trip to nationals on the line, Helen stepped up to the four-inch wide apparatus with ice in her f’ing veins and knocked that thing out of the park. NOT A WOBBLE IN SIGHT. She dug her heels in so hard on that landing that I bet there are still marks there on the mats. Someone should make a cement casing or something out of it, à la the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I can see it now. “Helen Hu was here. April 6, 2025”.
She earned a 9.925 (too low), which meant Groth would need a 9.95 to tie it up, something she is capable of, especially when considering the scoring gifts the judges kept giving the other Tigers on this rotation. Alas, she did not do that, scoring just a 9.85, and Missouri advanced to nationals for the second time in four years.
When asked how she felt in the moment, finding out they’d be going back to nationals, Helen said, “It’s in those extreme moments of emotion. It’s really hard to put it into words, because, you know, I’m jumping up and down and crying. There’s not really articulate thoughts happening, but I can tell you that I was really proud of everyone on our team, and I was really proud of our program, and I felt so lucky to be a part of this program again. This year has been a dream come true that I didn’t know I even had.”
—Karen Steger
Valentina Barrios, National Champion (Track & Field)
Valentina Barrios’ “I’m Her” moment marked the difference between first and fifth place at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Barrios stood two places off the podium before her final throw. But then, with Athenian-like control, she launched the javelin 62 meters, the fifth farthest throw in collegiate history. No one came close to contesting her crown. Her final throw landed 1.65m (five feet) farther than the silver medalist’s mark. Valentina Barrios earned the fourth individual outdoor national champion title in Missouri history, joining Sabrina Dornhoefer (1985) and Karissa Schweizer (2017, 2018). That makes FOUR “I’m Her” moments for the Tigers. —Abigail Klapatauskas
Brady Cook & MU Healthcare at Homecoming, Football
This past October, Homecoming was saved by a hospital patient. Cook, who went down with an ankle injury early in the first quarter, spent much of the game at University Hospital before making a triumphant return late in the third quarter. With Mizzou down 17-6, Cook helped bring the Tigers all the way back. Within a 17-play, 95-yard game-winning touchdown drive, Cook ran for 14 yards on 3rd & 7 and hit Luther Burden III with a perfect pass on 4th & 5.
Plenty of guys contributed to an epic save of Homecoming. The defense was phenomenal. Jamal Roberts punched in the game-winning touchdown from four yards out. But Cook’s return and subsequent heroics will never be forgotten — Quentin Corpuel
Marina Crownover vs. Former Team (Texas), Volleyball
Marina Crownover was the biggest surprise on this year’s Mizzou Volleyball team, transferring from Texas after two years of limited playing time and supplanting established starter Sierra Dudley on the way to All-SEC Second Team honors. She took her play up another level when the Tigers traveled to Austin, recording 51 assists and 10 digs alongside a career-high six kills on an .857 hitting percentage. In an interview I conducted a few days before the Texas match, Crownover said “It would mean everything” to beat her old team. It’s clear she meant it.
But what truly elevates this to an “I’m Her” performance was that she told her old teammates she was going to take them down before the game: “Oh, you better watch out, I’m coming,” she said when asked about her interactions with her old teammates before the match. “You’re about to lose, you’re about to take a loss!” Incredibly, she followed through on that trash talk with the best performance of her career on the way to a huge upset. —Matthew Gustafson
Cam Steed at NCAA Championships, Wrestling
Cam Steed entered the NCAA Championships with high hopes as the 9 seed at 165lbs after a breakout sophomore season. He found a way to surpass those expectations, going 5-2 with three victories by fall to finish as an All-American for the first time in his career. The performance earned him the Gorrarian Award for most pins at NCAA’s in the shortest amount of time, with those three coming in seven minutes of action.
His most impressive pin came in the seventh place match against Oklahoma State’s Cam Amine, who he’d lost to both times they faced off that season. Halfway through the opening period of the seventh place match, Steed fell to the mat after taking a hit to the head and was on the ground being looked at by trainers. He didn’t seem to take to the injury kindly, coming out with renewed aggression and hitting his signature ‘snake’ move to get the first period pin. —Matthew Gustafson
Caleb Grill in Gainesville & Starkville, Men’s Hoops
Grill was considered one of the best three-point shooters in the country this past season, and he proved it with some big-time performances on the road against Florida and Mississippi State. As Mizzou handed Florida their only loss at home all season, Grill put up 22 points going 6-10 from three-point range — which awarded him SEC Player of the Week. In Missouri’s road win at Starkville, Grill notched another 20-point performance going 6-11 from three. Those two games that resulted in two huge conference road wins was a big reason why Grill was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year. — Sammy Stava
Milena Fischer’s Hat Trick, Soccer
Fischer was the catalyst of a 5-0 win over Ole Miss with her first collegiate hat trick. The senior scored the first goal for either team in the 11th minute, what would end up being considered the game-winning goal after splitting two defenders. She scored the final two goals of the game, putting an exclamation point on the largest margin of victory of coach Golan in an SEC game.
Fischer finished her senior year with a career-high six goals. She scored those goals on 21 shot attempts, shooting an absurd 28.6% for the year. Fischer finished her final season as as the Tiger’ leading goal-scorer and tied for the lead in points with Leah Selm at 13. — Dylan Heinrich
Grace Slaughter’s 31 points vs. MS State, Women’s Hoops
Slaughter cemented herself as the face of the Mizzou women’s basketball with a standout sophomore season. But perhaps her most iconic performance came while scoring her career-high and the buzzer-beater in a home win over Mississippi State. After starting 0-6 in conference play, the Tigers were in a bad spot. Slaughter showed up when the team needed her most, scoring 31 points on 10-21 shooting with three triples and a perfect 8-8 from the FT line. The most important shot came on a turnaround jumper with time expiring, rattling home and giving Mizzou the 78-77 win.
Slaughter finished the season as the leading scorer for the Tigers, averaging 15 points on splits of 47.9/42/85.8. She did all this while still an underclassman! With a team that is finding a new identity, there’s no doubt in my mind that Kellie Harper’s new look roster is built around Slaughter as the superstar. — Dylan Heinrich
Collier Dyer at USA Diving National Championships, Swim & Dive
Sometimes forgotten in the talks of swim, dive completes this Mizzou squad. Coach Grevers referred to the bunch as the “glue” of the team, often citing how they often gave the program a push over the edge for victory. More specifically, Collier Dyer.
The All-American secured a pair of medals at the USA Diving National Championships in May. Competing in the 1-meter, Dyer posted a score of 740.70, placing third overall. In the 1-meter, Dyer’s total of 894.70 earned him the silver. Consistently finishing on the podium this season, the junior cemented himself as a Mizzou great. The record-breaking did not go unnoticed either, Dyer will continue to represent the US this summer at various events across the world. — Rory Whetstone
Madison Walker at Mizzou Invitational, Softball
Madison Walker put her name on the map during Missouri softball’s 2025 season, finishing the campaign with 18 home runs — third most in program history — while leading the team in RBI and starting all 56 games. With 9 home runs on the season, the Tigers hosted the Mizzou Invitational and the Olathe, Kansas, product did not fail to impress.
Walker finished the tournament’s four-game slate with five hits, three home runs and seven RBI. Walker entered the transfer portal following the season and found a new home with the Florida Gators, but it’s safe to say her season will be cemented in Mizzou softball history. —True Deck