LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego's Chloe Braun and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones were honored as the Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year as the conference announced its annual awards this week.

Braun, who recently completed her junior season, is a member of the Triton women's swim team while Tait-Jones was a senior on the men's basketball team in 2024-25.

Two scholar-athletes from each of the 11 Big West schools – one male and one female – were selected by their institutions and the conference for their accomplishments on the field, in the classroom, and in their communities. 

The 22 honorees hail from five different states and ten foreign countries on four continents. Athletically, the group includes Big West MVP's, All-Americans, Olympic hopefuls, and top professional draft picks. Honorees represent 15 of the 21 Big West sports and the group has an average GPA of 3.71. 

The Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year represent nearly 2,400 Big West student-athletes that made the Commissioner's Honor Roll, which requires at least a 3.0 GPA. Nearly half of those on the Honor Roll had a 3.5 GPA or better.

CHLOE BRAUN
Women's Swimming
Junior | Breaststroke
Toulouse, France | Lycee Polyvalent Bellevue
International Studies - Political Science
Chloe Braun won three medals at The Big West Championship (200m MR, 1st; 100m BS 1st; 200m BS, 2nd) and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100m breaststroke to highlight the 2025 season. The junior from Toulouse, France has picked up Big West Academic All-Conference, CSC Academic all-District and Provost Honors List awards along the way. Braun has aspirations of continuing to train and hopefully qualify for the LA2028 Olympics before completing a Master's Degree in International Relations.

ANIWANIWA TAIT-JONES
Men's Basketball
Senior | Guard/Forward
Wellington, New Zealand | St. Patrick's College
Communications
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led UC San Diego to its first-ever Big West regular-season and championship titles, and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Triton swingman earned Big West Player of the Year, NABC All-District, All-Big West and participated in the NABC Reese's College All-Star Game. Tait-Jones intends to pursue a professional basketball career and aspires to become a youth basketball coach in New Zealand afterwards.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.