Clemson’s athletic department handed out three of its major honors for the 2025-26 academic year, with Clark, Sammy Brown and Abby Dunning each taking home an award that matched the kind of season they put together.
Clark earned the Frank Howard Award, given for bringing honor to Tiger athletics, after a breakthrough year in gymnastics. The native of Daphne, Ala. became Clemson’s first All-American in the sport, landing first-team WCGA regular-season All-American and NCAA All-American honors on floor exercise at the NCAA Championships. She was also named to the All-ACC team for the third time, and her 9.945 NQS led every ACC gymnast in any event in 2026.
Her impact helped push Clemson to an ACC championship and into the NCAA regional finals in just the program’s third year. Clark also became the first Clemson competitor to reach the national meet, earning her spot out of the Baton Rouge Regional on floor exercise.
Across the season, she collected nine floor titles and two on beam, added 21 podium finishes, and stood alone nationally as the only gymnast with a 9.900 score on floor in all 15 meets in 2026.
Brown was named Clemson’s IPTAY Athlete-of-the-Year, the award recognizing excellence on the field and in the classroom. On the field, he was a third-team All-American and first-team All-ACC linebacker by Phil Steele, and he also picked up second-team Academic All-America honors from CSC.
That made him the first Clemson defensive player to earn Academic All-America recognition since Chad Carson in 2001. Brown, who wants to become a pediatrician, carries more than a 3.8 GPA in biological sciences.
He piled up 107 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in 2025, while logging a team-high 734 defensive snaps across 13 games as a starting linebacker. His biggest outings included 11 tackles and two tackles for loss in Clemson’s win at No. 19 Louisville, and he closed the season with a career-best 15 tackles against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Dunning received the Brandon Streeter Award, which goes to the student-athlete who overcomes injury or illness to produce an outstanding season on the field. After missing the 2025 season at Boston College because of injury, she transferred to Clemson in the fall of 2025 and bounced back with a strong year in the circle.
The award honors former Tiger quarterback Brandon Streeter, who played from 1996-99 and repeatedly fought through injuries to guide the Clemson offense.
Dunning appeared in 31 games for Clemson’s NCAA Tournament team and threw 106.0 innings. She finished with nine wins and 94 strikeouts, and her season featured a no-hitter against Georgia Tech, the eighth no-hitter in program history. She also posted three shutouts, including six-strikeout performances against Louisville and Coastal Carolina.
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