Are you really surprised at this point?
The 2025-26 school year is coming to a close, and what better way to celebrate an outstanding year of sports than to reflect on everything that happened in some of the major sports programs at Brock? From U Sports M.V.Ps to OUA championships and national gold medalists, the Badgers left their mark on what was one of the most dominant years in school history.
Men’s and women’s wrestling
The reign of terror continues for the Brock Badgers wrestling team, following yet another dominant 2025-26 season that saw both men’s and women’s teams take home gold at the OUA championships. This was the 10th year in a row that both teams have taken home gold in Ontario, continuing one of the most impressive streaks in all of Canadian university sports.
This was the 24th title for the women and 11th straight, while the men captured their 10th straight and 27th all-time.
The hot streak didn’t stop in Ontario after the men took care of business, capturing three gold, four silver and one bronze medal to finish first overall in the country. The women also made their mark on the national stage, finishing third overall amongst a stacked pool of wrestlers.
Standouts for the men’s team included Mason Mastroianni and Yazdan Farokhizad, the latter of whom was the SALC leader of the year. On the women’s side, Cassie Corbett and Vanessa Feefe led the way for the Badgers with countless impressive efforts.
It can’t get much better than this;. the Badgers continued to build their dynasty and hope to build off this season heading into 2026-27.
Women’s volleyball
Speaking of dynasties…
The Brock women’s volleyball team came into the 2025-26 season with a vengeance, after being taken down by the McMaster Marauders in the previous year’s Quigley Cup final. Head Coach Steve Delaney had some big holes to fill with former all-time points leader Sadie Dick graduating, accompanied by some other roster shakeups. They had a chip on their shoulder and embraced it to the fullest.
Right out of the gate, they were dominating the regular season, beating teams handily almost every game. Each set felt like the Badgers were going to win after the first 10 points, with composure and consistency flowing through each point.
By the end of the regular season, the Badgers were the one seed in the province and fourth in the country, their highest ranking of the season. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy, however, as the year before they were favoured and fell in one of the more shocking upsets in school history.
The pressure didn’t seem to matter. Just like the regular season, the women dominated the field, making it all the way to the final in a rematch against McMaster on their home court.
Three sets later and that was it. The Badgers had captured their fourth OUA title in five years, beating the Marauders in three sets in the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
From there, it was onto nationals.
In their first game in British Columbia, they handled Saint Mary’s University, sweeping the Huskies away en route to a semi-final berth against the University of Sherbrooke Vert & Or.
After one of the hardest-fought battles of the season, the Badgers ultimately fell in five sets, setting up a highly anticipated bronze medal game against the Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans.
It was against the Spartans when the Badgers women’s volleyball program won its first-ever medal at nationals, capturing bronze in a five-set victory against TWU.
Standouts of the season included Emily Foest, who became the program’s all-time leader in points, passing Dick for the honour after an outstanding season for the outside hitter. She also became an OUA Second Team All-Star, wrapping up an incredible career as a Badger.
Mackenna Knox proved to the whole league why she was the best setter in the entire province by putting together arguably her best season yet at the collegiate level. The poise and control she displayed were undeniable, setting up her teammates in the toughest situations and making the right play when it mattered. Her fundamentals, sneaky athleticism and lovable personality helped her not only become one of the league’s best players but also the most beloved by Badger fans. She was an OUA First-Team All-Star, joining Foest and Emma Baruchelli as two of three all-stars on a stacked Badger squad.
Finally, Baruchelli, Madison Tuck and Daryan Chadwick all had remarkable seasons of their own. Tuck filled in for Dick on the right side, playing her best season by far as a Badger. She came up with endless clutch points for her team, often going on rallies by herself to will her team back into games. Baruchelli has been a force ever since she came to the OUA, racking up some of the most memorable kills of each season. Chadwick took home the team M.V.P. coming off a dominant campaign of her own.
Aside from Foest leaving this summer, much of the team will remain the same heading into next season. Don’t be surprised if the Badgers women’s volleyball team ends up back on the national stage in 2027.
Men’s basketball
It’s been a rollercoaster of a decade for Brock men’s basketball. After taking home the OUA championship a few years back, the team hasn’t quite reached the heights it once did under Head Coach Willy Manigat. That’s not to say anything other than a provincial title isn’t a success, as this Badger team has overcome expectations almost every year past that peak season.
In 2025-26, the Badgers men’s basketball team proved yet again why you can never count them out, finishing with one of the best records in the OUA by season’s end. The regular season had its ups and downs, but by the final game, the team’s chemistry was in full swing. This team was built on their all-around talent. From top to bottom, they maintained consistency in their lineup, with no clear number one at the helm, and they played a defensive-minded style of hoops.
Their first playoff matchup of the year was against the red-hot University of Ottawa Gee-Gees at home. Ottawa had slaughtered the Badgers in their regular-season matchup, torching them by 20-plus points in the nation’s capital.
After one of the most competitive games of the year for both teams, the Badgers were able to take down the Gee-Gees to move on to the semi-final round against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in Toronto.
It was there that the Badger season came to an end against the eventual OUA champions in a rock fight that saw Aaron Rhooms of the TMU Bold have a legendary performance.
Standouts from the team included Andrew Mackenna, who returned to Brock after a year in the States. Mackenna was a Second-Team All-Star in the OUA thanks to his stellar play.
Rookie Birch Pockar was a pleasant surprise for Manigat all season long, delivering instant offence into the Badger lineup with incredible shooting and shot-creating ability. Pockar shone under the bright lights, improving after each game and playing clutch-time minutes by the time the playoffs rolled around. The Alberta native is now entering only his second year at Brock, a great sign for the team’s future and projected success.
Women’s basketball
A team defined by its relentless work ethic and top-heavy lineup, the Brock women’s basketball team had a season to remember. It was reigning OUA M.V.P. Madalyn Weinert’s final season as a Badger, which marked this campaign as the last hurrah for one of the country’s best players.
Like their men’s counterpart, the regular season wasn’t a breeze, but they still managed to finish with a solid record heading into the postseason. Their success weighed heavily on Weinert, as she played arguably her best season yet, dropping some inhuman stat lines along the way to capture her third straight OUA M.V.P.
Notable Weinert performances:
– 36 pts, 25 reb vs York on Jan. 28
– 37 pts, 17 reb vs McMaster on Feb. 18
– 29 pts, 19 reb vs Queen’s on Jan. 24
– 25 pts, 16 reb, 4 stl vs Ottawa on Feb. 7
After beating McMaster in the play-in round, it all came down to their quarter-final matchup against the Windsor Lancers.
In the end, the Badgers weren’t able to come away with the win and fell to the Lancers on the road to end their season early.
After the season wrapped up, it was announced that Weinert was named the U Sports M.V.P. for the first time, officially becoming the most valuable player in all of Canadian women’s basketball. She has a career that will not only be remembered by her family and friends at Brock, but by an entire country.
Weinert spoke with The Brock Press about her future and her reflections on an outstanding Badger career, noting that there are “some good things on the horizon” for her future in athletics.
Women’s and men’s hockey
Badger hockey lived up to all expectations this year with some of the best program highlights and moments coming from this past season. Both the men’s and women’s teams battled to earn an OUA playoff berth in one of the most challenging campaigns either team has seen in a while.
The women took a very talented Laurier team to the brink, fighting until the end in both quarter final games. The men finished their season against the TMU Bold where they left it all on the line, just narrowly losing.
Both teams are aiming to improve following this season heading into the next, with some players graduating. It will be interesting to see how both coaching construct their rosters heading into the summer and if any young players will make a splash during the 2026-27 season.