By Arturo Garcia, May 5, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona set a record for the most CCAA Athlete of the Week recognitions at 44, surpassing the former record holder, UC San Diego.
The effort reflected how thorough Broncos Athletics was overall, with the most awards coming from volleyball at 12, women’s soccer at eight and baseball at seven. Both women’s and men’s basketball, track and field, and cross-country teams also added to the Athlete of the Week tally.
The most recent award came from the CCAA Pitcher of the Week, Matthew Leyva, securing the record for the Broncos. CPP was one nod away two years ago, according to Assistant Athletic Director Alex Kline.
“The hard work that our student athletes are putting in is being recognized on the conference level,” Kline said.
Kline said CPP has a good brand of winning that some students might not be aware of, and if they attended games, they would be watching nationally ranked teams. Almost all of CPP’s teams have been nationally ranked in the last two to three years.
Kline added there are great storylines that unfolded throughout the year, crediting volleyball’s Sarah Ybarra with one of the most captivating stories.
“It seemed like every single week we were putting in a nomination for her, and every single week she was winning,” Kline said.
Ybarra ended with five Athlete of the Week awards, more than some schools throughout the fall, according to Kline.
Aside from the Athlete of the Week awards, Ybarra was also CCAA Player of the Year, made the All-CCAA First Team and broke the CPP record for most kills in a match, 45.
Ybarra finished her third year in the volleyball program and is a two-time All-American, according to head coach Traci Dahl, who also secured back-to-back CCAA Coach of the Year recognitions.
“Sarah worked 110% every day that we see her in practice,” Dahl said.
Dahl said Ybarra works out over school breaks and could play every position that volleyball has to offer.
Another Athlete of the Week recipient, midfielder Liberty Ortiz, said she also worked throughout summer break to recover from an injury that put her out for months.
“This summer was one of the hardest summers I had worked in a while,” Ortiz said. “Receiving some of these awards did validate me just because I felt like I put a lot of work in.”
In her senior year, Ortiz was the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time CCAA Defensive Player of the Week and made the All-CCAA first team, according to Bronco Athletics.
Her teammate, Vanessa Cruz, also had two CCAA Offensive Player of the Week recognitions, while managing to secure the CCAA Player of the Year award as well.
Ortiz said it’s just a team award at the end of the day, because she believes nothing is successful without the 10 girls around her.
“You play the 90 minutes with the girls next to you, so they are definitely the driving factor for always wanting to work hard,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said to be successful in sports, upcoming athletes must learn how to sacrifice, be disciplined and consistent.
“You’re not going to be able to go to the parties that all your friends want to go to,” Ortiz said. “All your weekends are probably going to be consumed by sports.”
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
