Stucky Tabbed as SEC Freshman of the Year; Three Gators Earn SEC Honors

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida won one major award and placed three student-athletes on this year’s Southeastern Conference Teams, as the league announced Sunday.

Alexis Stucky earned the title of SEC Freshman of the Year, becoming the sixth Gator overall and first since Rhamat Alhassan in the 2014 season. The Laramie, Wyo. native also found a spot on both the All-SEC Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Merritt Beason and Marina Markova each joined Stucky on the All-SEC Team.

This is the second honor for Beason, as she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team a season ago.

In her first season in the league, Markova earned her first SEC honor – she was named to both the All-ACC and All-ECAC Teams during her junior campaign at Syracuse.

Stucky also grabbed her first conference honor for her performance in the Orange and Blue this season.

A breakdown of each honoree’s accolades are below:

Merritt Beason

• Second SEC Honor (SEC All-Freshman Team in 2021)
• Has recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches this season  
• Tallied four double-doubles in the 2022 season
• Posted a career-high 21 kills in the win over then-No. 4 Wisconsin

  • Tied that mark against LSU on Oct. 9

• Registered a career-high 8.0 blocks in the win over LSU on Oct. 9
• Sits first on the team in points (396.5) and service aces (34), second on the team in kills (317) and third on the team in digs (176) and blocks (85.0)
• Has led the Gators in kills 12 times this season
• Has led the Gators in aces 9 times this season
• Has led the Gators in points 13 times this season
• Sits fourth in the conference in aces per set (0.36) and eighth in points per set (4.22)
• Two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week in 2022 (Aug. 29, Nov. 14)

Marina Markova

• First SEC Honor (honored by the ACC in 2021)
• Has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches this season  
• Posted a Florida career-high 18 kills in the final regular season match
• Eclipsed the 1,000-kill milestone in the final regular season match of the year
• Sits first on the team in kills (320), second in points (364.0) and fourth in blocks (68.0)
• Has led the Gators in kills 10 times this season
• Has led the Gators in points 11 times this season

Alexis Stucky

• First SEC Honor
• First Gator since Rhamat Alhassan in Oct. 14 to receive SEC Freshman of the Year honors
• Posted five double-doubles in the 2022 campaign
• Has recorded at least 40 assists in 13 matches this season
• Has led the team to at…