UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Makenna Marisa, majoring in education in the College of Education, and Olumuyiwa Fashanu, majoring in supply chain and information systems in the Smeal College of Business, have been selected as the 2024 recipients of the Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award.
The McCoy Award is presented annually to a senior man and woman student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. The award is named for the longtime dean of Penn State’s College of Physical Education, who also served as the University’s athletic director.
Makenna Marisa
Marisa has experienced an impressive athletic and academic career as a five-year guard for the Lady Lions basketball team. Marisa has played a large role in the yearly increase in success of the women’s basketball program. She has appeared in nearly every game during her time at Penn State, with the exception of three earlier this season due to injury.
Marisa has excelled athletically throughout her career, becoming the only Lady Lion in program history to tally 1,750 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 175 3-pointers, a milestone she achieved in her senior campaign.
On Jan. 25, she surpassed another career landmark, scoring her 2,000th career point. Marisa is one of only seven Lady Lions to surpass 2,000 career points and one of 23 active Division I women’s basketball players to achieve the milestone. In February, she was selected to the 2024 College All-Star Game Watch List, composed of the country’s most elite women's college basketball players. Marisa has been an Academic All-Big Ten honoree multiple times during her career.