Lucas Byrd and Tacoria Humphrey Named Illinois' Top Athletes for 2024-2025

Wrestling national champion Lucas Byrd and track and field star Tacoria Humphrey received the Dike Eddleman Award after superlative seasons

Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Lucas Byrd of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates win against Drake Ayala of the Iowa Hawkeyes (not pictured) during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Illinois football won 10 games for the first time in 25 years last season, and on Wednesday the Illini basketball squad sent not one but two players to the NBA as first-round picks. But the Illinois athletes who have been recognized as the most accomplished performers over the past year come from programs that don't receive quite the same level of attention.

The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics on Wednesday named wrestling national champion Lucas Byrd and track and field All-American Tacoria Humphrey as the 2024-25 recipients of the Dike Eddleman Award The award honors the top male and female Illini athletes each year.

Byrd delivered a historic season on the mat, capturing the NCAA title at 133 pounds and becoming the first Illini wrestler to win a national championship since 2016. He also claimed the Big Ten title in the same weight class, finishing the year with a 23-1 record. Byrd is now one of just 12 Illinois wrestlers to win both NCAA and Big Ten titles in the same season and owns the seventh-highest win percentage in school history (.857). His award marks the 11th time a wrestler has won the Eddleman honor and the first since Isaiah Martinez in 2017.

On the women’s side, Humphrey continued Illinois track and field’s dominant run by earning her second-straight Big Ten outdoor long jump title and finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships with a leap of 6.62m (21-8¾). During the indoor season, Humphrey won the Big Ten title with a 6.94m (22-9¼) jump – the third-longest leap in NCAA indoor history – and finished as the national runner-up. Her achievements earned her All-American honors in both seasons and a spot on The Bowerman Watch List, which recognizes the top athletes in collegiate track and field.

As Eddleman Award winners, Byrd and Humphrey join a prestigious list of Illini greats and will serve as Illinois' nominees for Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

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