General | 5/21/2026 4:12:00 PM

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Naval Academy Athletic Association announced its major athletic award winners Thursday afternoon, with Blake Horvath of the football team winning the NAAA Sword for Men, Ava Toppin of the women's volleyball team winning the Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword for Women and Landon Robinson of the football team winning the Thompson Trophy Cup. Austin Taylor of the rugby team and Kelli Giuliani of the women's basketball team won the Class of 1970 Coaches' Calvert Awards.
 
The NAAA Sword for Men is presented to the male member of the graduating class considered by the Association's Athletic Council to have excelled in men's athletics during his years of varsity competition.
 
One of the most accomplished quarterbacks in program history, Horvath became the first Navy quarterback to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and the first quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision to rush and pass for 1,200 yards in consecutive seasons since Lamar Jackson accomplished the feat at Louisville in 2015-16.
 
Since 1956, Horvath is one of only five quarterbacks to rush for 1,200 yards and pass for 1,200 yards in consecutive seasons, joining Jackson, Jordan Lynch of Northern Illinois, Pat White of West Virginia and Brad Smith of Missouri.
 
Horvath finished the 2024 season with the second-most total offense in school history (2,599 yards) and tied the program record with 13 touchdown passes. He followed that performance in 2025 with 2,780 yards of total offense, including 1,580 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 1,200 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, earning first-team All-East honors.
 
He set the school record with 469 yards of total offense against Air Force and owns the longest rush in program history with a 95-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma in Navy's 21-20 victory over the Sooners in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
 
Over his career, Horvath ranked among the most efficient quarterbacks in service academy history, posting the highest career passing efficiency rating (162.5) by a service academy quarterback with at least 150 attempts, the second-best completion percentage in school history (.588) behind Roger Staubach, and top-five marks at Navy in passing touchdowns (27), total offense (5,646 yards) and points responsible for (360).
 
Horvath was named a first-team Academic All-American and the Division I Football Team Member of the Year (top scholar-athlete) by College Sports Communicators. He is the first Navy football player to be named Division I Team Member of the Year, an award first presented in 1987, and the 13th to earn first-team Academic All-America honors, which were first awarded in 1952.
 
Horvath finished his career with a 3.74 grade-point average while majoring in operations research.
 
Horvath is the first football student-athlete to win the Sword since Malcolm Perry in 2020 and the third straight quarterback to win the award, joining Perry and Keenan Reynolds (2016).
 
The Thompson Trophy Cup is presented to the midshipman, male or female, who has done the most during the year to promote athletics at the Naval Academy.
 
Robinson was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and Phil Steele. He also earned second-team All-America honors from Walter Camp, ESPN and The Sporting News.
 
He is the first Navy player to be named a first-team All-American in 40 years and the first defensive player to earn first-team All-America honors in 50 years.
 
In addition, Robinson was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches and the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Robinson recorded 64 tackles, a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss, a team-high 6.5 sacks and a team-high seven quarterback hurries for the Midshipmen in 2025.
 
Robinson and teammate Eli Heidenreich became the first Navy duo to be drafted in the same NFL draft since 1956, when George Welsh and Ronald Beagle were selected by the Chicago Cardinals, and just the second duo in program history to accomplish the feat. Robinson was selected in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Bengals, while Heidenreich was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
 
Robinson is the second consecutive football player to win the award and the fourth in the last five years. Blake Horvath won the award in 2025, while John Marshall won in 2023 and Diego Fagot in 2022.
 
The 2025 Navy football team had one of the best seasons in school history, finishing 11-2 and ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls. It marked just the fourth time since 1963 that Navy ended the season ranked in the AP Top 25 and the first time since 2019.
 
The Midshipmen produced back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in school history. The 11 wins tied the school record, matching the 2015 and 2019 teams. Navy's 21 wins over the last two years are the most in school history over a two-year span, and its 21-5 record (.808) during that time ranked eighth in the FBS and best among the non-autonomy four conferences.
Navy defeated Army 17-16 to win the Commander in Chief's Trophy, presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies — Navy, Air Force and Army.
 
Navy also was awarded the Lambert Trophy, presented annually to the top team in the East. It marked the first time since 2015 and just the second time since 1963 that the Midshipmen won the award.
 
Navy closed the season with a 35-13 win over Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. It was Navy's fourth consecutive bowl victory, all against autonomy four opponents — Virginia, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Cincinnati.
 
The Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword for Women is presented to the female member of the graduating class considered by the Association's Athletic Council to have excelled in women's athletics during her years of varsity competition.
 
Toppin was named first-team All-Patriot League this fall and ranks among Navy's all-time leaders in hitting percentage and blocking average. Her hitting percentage of .356 in 2025 tied for the second-best mark in school history, while her 130 blocks ranked third all-time at Navy.

Her career hitting percentage of .326 ranks second in school history.
 
The middle blocker and team captain ranked fourth in the Patriot League and 75th in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.356), as well as third in the league and 75th nationally in blocks per set (1.19) as a senior. Her 130 total blocks ranked second in the league and 62nd nationally.
 
Toppin is the first volleyball student-athlete to win the Sword since Ashley Musser in 2006.
 
Sponsored by the Class of 1970, the Coaches' Calvert Awards is awarded to the male and female varsity letter winner selected as the most outstanding in leadership, loyalty and consistent effort in every field.
 
Taylor is a two-time All-Rugby East honoree, earning honorable mention in 2023 and first-team recognition in 2025. He was voted team captain this past season and has been a key leader in Navy's four consecutive Rugby East Conference championships.
 
Taylor also was part of three national championship game appearances (2023, 2024, 2026), including a 28-22 victory over California in Navy's inaugural varsity season in 2023. He helped the Midshipmen post a 7-0 record against Army, including playoff victories in 2023 (30-6) and 2026 (38-10).
 
Taylor scored 10 tries during his four-year career, including a career-best four this past season. The Atlanta native appeared in 51 games with 45 starts and is one of seven active Midshipmen with 40 or more appearances.
A mathematics with economics major, Taylor posted a 3.87 grade-point average.
 
Through eight semesters at the Naval Academy, he earned 14 academic honors, including two dean's list selections. He ranks 35th out of 1,088 in his class order of merit.
 
Taylor is the first men's rugby student-athlete to win the Coaches' Calvert Award.
 
Giuliani played a pivotal role in the resurgence of the Navy women's basketball program in the Patriot League. A walk-on guard from nearby Oakton, Virginia, Giuliani provided consistent leadership throughout her four years in the program. She contributed key minutes as a freshman when injuries depleted the Midshipmen roster and remained one of the team's most vocal leaders throughout her career.
 
Giuliani appeared in 83 career games and helped the program improve from a 1-29 record during her freshman season in 2022-23 to a 22-9 mark as a senior in 2025-26. After a 13-win improvement during her sophomore campaign, the Midshipmen reached the postseason in 2024-25 with a berth in the Women's National Invitation Tournament before winning the Patriot League regular-season title in 2025-26 and qualifying for the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. The regular-season championship was the program's first since 2014.
 
Giuliani is the first women's basketball player to win the award since Erin Edwards in 2012.