"Both Gabriel (Watson) and Bria (Barfnecht) had phenomenal years, which resulted in substantial individual achievement while helping their teams to success on the field," said USF Director of Athletics Pam Gohl. "They proved their mettle in competition and also achieved at a high level in the classroom. We are pleased to honor both of them," she said.

 

Barfnecht, a senior right side hitter for the USF Volleyball Program, was the program's first-ever student-athlete named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA DII All-American Second Team on Nov. 27.

 
Named a first-team AVCA All-Central Region selection, Barfnecht helped lead USF to a DII program-best 20-10 record and a school-best 14 wins in the NSIC. She was part of a team ranked as high as sixth in the NCAA DII Central Region rankings and just missed making the NCAA DII postseason playoffs. 
 
Barfnecht, a senior nursing major from Delano, Minn., was named first team All-NSIC with teammate Lexi Scott. She played a central role in leading USF to the NSIC Postseason Tournament semifinals for the first time. Barfnecht was one of six players named to the All-NSIC Tournament Team.  In two matches in the NSIC Tournament, Barfnecht accumulated 27 kills on 50 attacks with just four errors for a .500 hitting mark. She also had 15 digs, two blocks, two service aces and two assists. In a four-set win over Concordia St. Paul, Barfnecht had 18 kills on 32 attacks for a .531 hitting percentage. She hit .333 with nine kills on 18 attacks in a loss to eventual NSIC Tournament champion UMD.  

In the 2018 season, Barfnecht played in 112 sets with 374 kills on 735 attacks (3.34 kills per set, 9th in the NSIC) and a .393 hitting percentage, which ranked first in the NSIC. She also had 261 digs (2.33 digs per set) and 75 total blocks (0.67 blocks per set).

In her career, she totaled 1,068 career kills which ranks third all-time at USF. In 411 career sets and 111 matches, Barfnecht had a .317 career hitting percentage (1,608 kills, 325 errors, 2,344 attacks) which ranks first all-time at USF. With 2,344 attacks, she was third all-time with her 2.60 kills per set placing her fourth all-time at USF. She finished her career with 570 digs for sixth all-time at USF, was third all-time with 307 total blocks and block assists with 281 and sixth all-time with 26 solo blocks. 

  Watson, who was earlier this spring named one of 32 NSIC Honor Student-Athletes of the Year, was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year, the D2 CCA Super Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year and Don Hansen Super Region Four Offensive Player of the Year, and a Harlon Hill Award finalist during the 2018 season. He was selected to five All-American Teams (Don Hansen, D2Football.com, AFCA, Associated Press and D2 Conference Commissioner's Association) as he led the nation in rushing average per game (177.9) and scoring average (14.2 ppg) while leading USF to a 7-4 record and a 25^th straight winning season.

A 6-1, 221-pound running back, Watson of Piedmont, Calif., led NCAA DII in three rushing or scoring categories. Watson finished fifth in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the DII Player of the Year. Watson was the first student-athlete at USF to advance into the Harlon Hill finalist group. He had a school-record 11 straight games of 100 yards or more rushing while accumulating a regular season NCAA-high and USF single season mark of 1,957 yards (second overall in DII) on 269 carries with an NCAA DII-high 26 TDs.

In setting eight school records this year, Watson had the top per game average of 177.8 yards per carry in DII, which is also a USF school record. Of players with 200 carries or more, Watson registered the top per rush average of 7.41. The 1,957 yards rushing by Watson broke Max Mickey's school record of 1,764 of 2016. Watson's 26 touchdowns is the most in a single season in USF's DII history and second overall (David Ruter, 29 TDs, 1988). He also led the nation with 14.2 points per game on his 26 rushing scores.

In 2018, Watson had 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the first game he played at USF, which was a 27-24 win over Concordia-St. Paul in the home opener.

A junior exercise science major, Watson followed up that opening game performance with games of 172 yards and 193 yards. Against Minot State, he accumulated 205 yards rushing on 15 carries with two touchdowns and played just the first half. Watson had a breakout season in his first year with USF.

A first-team All-NSIC honoree, Watson was named the D2Football.com National Player of the Week after setting a single game USF rushing record of 320 yards on 19 carries with five TDs against MSU Moorhead. In that game, he played just three quarters. A three-time NSIC Player of the Week, he recorded seven games of 150 yards or more with three games of at least 200 yards or more. Watson scored two or more TDs in a game eight times and had at least three TDs four times.