Bielic and Hammill earn Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship recognition

MADISON, Wis. – Tim Bielic from the Wisconsin men’s soccer team and MJ Hammill from the Badger volleyball team have been named UW’s Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners for the 2023-24 season, announced by the conference on Tuesday.

These standouts were chosen from a group of 48 student-athletes at Wisconsin, one member of each varsity sports team on campus, who were chosen as a Sportsmanship Award honoree. Two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners are selected from each Big Ten institution. The Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and demonstrate good citizenship outside the sports-competition setting.

Bielic, a team captain, earned Second Team All-Big Ten in 2024 for the second time in his career. In addition to his accomplishments on the field, Bielic is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. He graduated in the spring of 2024 from the Business School.

“When I think of Tim Bielic, it immediately brings a smile to my face because he is a ruthless competitor, an incredible student-athlete, and ultimately an amazing human being, said head coach Neil Jones. “It was an honor to be able to coach Tim. I’m so proud of the way he came back for his fifth year to lead our team. When people ask you about what blood type you are, Tim Bielic’s blood type is Badger.”

Hammill recently graduated with a degree in Bio-Engineering. She finished her career as a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and was named team captain her senior season. The former setter added nine double-doubles in 2023 for a career total of 15. As part of a 6-2 offense, Hammill helped lead the Badgers to the second-highest hitting percentage (.310) in the NCAA.

“MJ is a team-first leader,” volleyball associate head coach Brittany Dildine said. “Her strength is winning through other people and finding ways to get the best out of everyone else. She was never the quickest or tallest, but she is a flat-out winner. She has an infectious personality that raises the level of everyone around her.”