DEARBORN, Mich. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn Department of Athletics & Recreation is proud to announce the 2019-20 UM-Dearborn Athletes of the Year.
The 2019-20 UM-Dearborn Athletes of the Year are Madelin Skene from softball and Thomas Proudlock from men's ice hockey.
The UM-Dearborn Athlete of the Year honors are awarded annually to one female and one male. Their head coaches nominate student-athletes and the All-Sports Banquet Awards Committee votes on the nominees.
Madelin Skene
Despite the 2020 softball season getting cut short by the global pandemic, sophomore Madelin Skene was able to dominate through 28 games to earn her first career UM-Dearborn Athlete of the Year award.
In just 75 at-bats, Skene finished her season with 32 hits, nine home runs (one away from the UM-Dearborn single-season program record), nine doubles, 26 RBIs, 20 runs scored, .933 slugging percentage, and a .427 batting average. In addition, the Hartland, Mich., native was one of the top pitchers for the Wolverines in 2020, appearing in 12 games on the mound. She finished with a 4-3 record, one save and one complete game while striking out 31 and maintaining a 3.10 ERA.
"I am honored to receive this award," Skene said. "This shows that the hard work that we have put in pays off. I have the best teammates and they support me and through everything."
At the time of the cancelation of the season, Skene led the NAIA in home runs. She was also second in total bases (70), ninth in slugging, 10th in RBIs, and 25th in total hits.
"We were playing so well and to have that taken away was difficult," Skene said about the season shutdown. "It gets us excited for the next season. My hope is that we continue to hold ourselves to a high standard."
Additional accolades for Skene in 2019-20 included one WHAC Player of the Week honor and an NAIA Scholar-Athlete award.
Thomas Proudlock
The recent success of the UM-Dearborn men's ice hockey team has been backstopped by the outstanding play of goaltender Thomas Proudlock, who closed his career with another remarkable season in 2019-20, leading the Wolverine to a fifth consecutive ACHA DI National Tournament qualification.
"It's a culmination of four years of hard work," Proudlock said. "I have been surrounded by great people and this is a team award. Couldn't have done this without all the members of the team."
In his senior season, the Southgate, Mich., native played in 32 games. He finished with 25 wins, a 2.07 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. He opened the season with an impressive showing in a win over No. 2 Lindenwood University. Proudlock made 37 saves leading the Wolverines to an impressive early-season win. He closed the season with 37 saves in the WHAC Championship Game against Aquinas College to lead UM-Dearborn to the title.
The awards piled up for Proudlock in 2019-20. He tied the WHAC record for consecutive Player of the Week honors with five in a row to start the season and finished the season with eight total. He was named to the All-WHAC First Team for a second straight year and earned ACHA All-Athletic First Team honors for the first time in his career. Proudlock was high-achieving in the classroom as well, named to the WHAC All-Academic Team and the ACHA All-Academic Team.
The future for Proudlock as the Wolverine goaltender was not always certain. He enrolled at UM-Dearborn prior to his first season with no expectation of playing for the team. Proudlock was offered a tryout and returned to the program after some injuries created a vacancy in the net for the Wolverines. Once Proudlock got his chance between the pipes, he never relinquished his spot, cementing himself as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history.
Proudlock has now turned his focus to a professional career. He has secured a tryout in mid-November with the Fort Wayne Komets of the EHL, an affiliate of the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights.
The Athlete of the Year Awards were established in 2015 and are given out annually at the UM-Dearborn All-Sports Banquet. Due to the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, UM-Dearborn was unable to host the event in 2020.
