DENVER – MSU Denver's biggest sports story of 2021 is ready for a return engagement.
 
In a year filled with outstanding success for the Roadrunners, supporters of softball star Shelby Robb turned out the online vote and made her All-America first team season as a freshman the winner in a contest for the biggest MSU Denver sports story of the year.
 
Robb and the MSU Denver softball team is less than a month away from starting the season with a Feb. 5 home doubleheader at the Assembly Athletic Complex against Fort Hays State (Kan.), with first pitch at noon.
 
The MSU Denver baseball team is also set to start its season that same day, with an 11 a.m. home doubleheader against Minot State (N.D.) at the Assembly Athletic Complex.

Last season Robb became MSU Denver's first-ever softball NFCA All-American and earned All-America first team from the D2CCA with a spectacular season that included a school-record batting average of .535 that ranked fifth in NCAA Division II. She led the Roadrunners to a 29-11 season that included a streak of 29 wins in midseason 34 games.

The MSU Denver baseball team was also wildly successful last year while going 34-10, earning a national top-25 ranking and missing the NCAA Division II national tournament only because of upsets and a condensed tournament field due to COVID-19. Cade Crader pitched the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's first-ever perfect game during the season.

Besides Robb's and Crader's accomplishments, other top storylines in the online vote included:

• Volleyball's Rylee Hladky winning nearly every award there is to win during the 2021 season. She was named All-America first team by two organizations, earned Academic All-America first team, was the South Central Region Player of the Year, eand arned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year, RMAC Academic Player of the Year and the RMAC Summit Award. She was the No. 1 option for the team that spent the final five weeks of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country and finished No. 3 in the final rankings.
• The MSU Denver volleyball team took center stage throughout the fall season, ascending to No. 1 in the national rankings for the first time in program history and spending the final five weeks at that perch before finishing at No. 3 in the final rankings. The Roadrunners finished 28-4 after winning the prestigious Colorado Premier Challenge for the first time since 2003 and went 18-0 during regular-season RMAC play. They had a 24-match winning streak and extended their home winning streak to 21 matches before having it snapped late in the season.
• Erin Norton joined the MSU Denver indoor track & field program as a transfer and quickly established herself as one of the top distance competitors in Division II, qualifying for the Indoor National Championships in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters while setting school records in both events.
• Men's track & field sprinter Blaize Holland had perhaps the most dominant season in program history, winning both the 100 and 200 meters at the RMAC Outdoor Championships, earning RMAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, and earning All-America status with a sixth-place finish in the 200 at the National Championships. Holland broke school records seven times during the outdoor season between his individual events and two different relays. 
• In men's basketball, Laolu Oke evolved from backup big man into one of the most dominating defenders in Division II. Oke was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year after winning the league's Defensive Player of the Week Award six times. He set school records for rebounds per game (12.2) and field goal percentage (67.6) and tied the school mark with 20 rebounds in one game. He led Division II in offensive rebounds per game and had the highlight of one of his blocked shots shown on ESPN+.
• In women's basketball, transfer forward Allie Navarette joined the program and turned in one of the best seasons in program history, earning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-America honorable mention honors after leading the league in scoring (21.2 points per game) and ranking third in rebounds (8.6). She helped the Roadrunners to a strong 12-6 season, including 11-4 in league play. 

While the spring sports are getting ready to go, the winter sports season is still in session. Oke and Navarette are once again starring for the basketball programs. The men's team is drawing attention in the national top-25 polls, and the women are looking to overcome a slow start to the conference season after a strong non-conference performance.
 
Get your tickets to MSU Denver home athletic events and support the Roadrunners as the top stories of 2022 unfold.