MIAMI — FIU student-athletes Brad Malick-Beltran (Men's Cross Country) and Kally Meredith (Softball) were both recognized as the Conference USA (CUSA) Scholar-Athletes of the Year for their respective sports, as announced on Thursday afternoon. 

Malick-Beltran and Meredith earned this distinction as the top scholar-athletes in all of CUSA among their sport's competitors. The award, voted on by the conference's nine faculty athletic representatives, is presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.

Meredith, who earned the CUSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball, was previously named to the 2026 CUSA All-Academic Team. She delivered a historic junior season for the Panthers, leading CUSA in batting average while ranking second in both stolen bases and runs scored. 

The Kaukauna, Wis.-native, who holds a 3.97 GPA as a Psychology major, was named First Team All-CUSA following the 2026 season. Her .457 average for the season is the best in school history as were her 80 total hits. 

Malick-Beltran, who was honored as the CUSA Scholar Athlete of the Year for men's cross country, posted a stellar 4.0 cumulative GPA during the 2025-26 school year majoring in mechanical engineering. Malick-Beltran also earned the 2025-26 CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medal, 2025-26 CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll and was a member of the 2025 CUSA All-Academic Team.

Malick-Beltran ran in the 2026 CUSA Cross Country Championships, where he was the top Panther finisher in the 5K.