LEWISBURG, Pa. — Rade Joksimovic (Sr., Novi Sad, Serbia/Gimnazija Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj) adds another laurel to his legacy by claiming the men’s 2020 Bucknell University Christy Mathewson Award presented to the “outstanding senior athlete”.
His award announcement states: “The incomparable Rade Joksimovic will be remembered as one of the most-decorated student-athletes in any sport in Bucknell history. After leading the men’s water polo team to its second conference championship in the last three years, Rade became the first Bison in program history to earn First Team All-America honors, and he didn’t stop there. He is currently one of three finalists for the Cutino Award, presented to the National Player of the Year. Rade was the only player on the 2020 first, second or third All-America teams from outside the state of California, and this was his third time being named to one of the top three All-America teams. Rade was named the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Player of the Year all four years, and he led the entire nation in goal-scoring all four years. He never missed a game in his Bucknell career and finished with an incredible 527 goals and 714 points, which rank second only to Hall-of-Famer Scott Schulte, who played more than 30 years ago. Rade owns the school record with 14 goals in a single game, and he is also the school-record holder in career steals. Most importantly, Rade helped lead the Bison to one of its most successful eras in school history, with three 20-win seasons, two league titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances, culminating with a trip to the national quarterfinals this fall.
One of three finalists for the 2019-20 Cutino Award presented annually by the Olympic Club in San Francisco, he is arguably the best water polo player in the history of the Bison program.
Joksimovic is coming off a senior season in which he earned Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division I First Team All-America honors. The inaugural Bucknell water polo player to earn First Team All-America recognition, the laurel marked his fourth All-America nod after previously garnering Second Team honors in 2018, Honorable Mention in 2017 and Third Team honors in 2016. The senior joined Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Hall of Fame member Scott Schulte as the only multi-time All-America selection in Bucknell men’s water polo history last season, and now stands alone as the only Bison to ever earn a spot on the All-America teams three times.
The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Player of the Year for the fourth straight year and the 2019 MAWPC Championship Player of the Tournament, Joksimovic proved an instrumental part in helping Bucknell win the title to advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships for just the second time since 1985. In the Bucknell record books, Joksimovic finished his Bucknell career second in points (714), second in goals (527), fifth in assists (187), first in steals (317), and tenth in ejections drawn (124). The senior also finished his career having started the most games in Bucknell history (120).
Joksimovic compiled 139 goals this season while adding 42 assists for 181 points, the sixth-most in a single season in school history. One of Joksimovic’s finest moments came in the NCAA Tournament win at No. 9 and previously undefeated Harvard University, where he scored six goals en route to helping Bucknell advance to the quarterfinal stage in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
The sole athlete named to the 2019 ACWPC First, Second or Third Team All-America teams from an institution not in the state of California, he goes down as the most honored men’s water polo athlete from any institution outside the state of the California in the history of the sport as the four-time MAWPC First Team selection and MAWPC Championship All-Tournament First Team pick (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019); 2016 MAWPC Rookie of the Year, 2016 MAWPC Championship Rookie of the Tournament; 2016, 2018 and 2019 MAWPC Championship Most Valuable Player; 11-time MAWPC Player of the Week; seven-time MAWPC Rookie of the Week; and two-time MAWPC Rookie of the Week concluded his tenure among the best-of the-best in the history of NCAA water polo.
Each year, the Bucknell Department of Athletics & Recreation bestows 11 different awards to outstanding student-athletes in the senior class. These senior awards recognize a wide range of accomplishments, from on-field success, to academics, community service, commitment to diversity, and other contributions to the department and to the University.
Joksimovic is the third men’s water polo to earn an honor in 2020 following the selection of Logan Schofield (Sr., Maumee, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) and Cooper Dolan (Sr., San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra Catholic) who claimed the school’s Ronald J. “Pete” Pedrick Award and Lee S. “Bud” Ranck Memorial Award, respectively.
The Pedrick Award is “presented in recognition of demonstrated improvement and special contributions to Bucknell athletics over a four-year period”, while the Ranck Memorial Award is “presented for outstanding spirit and contributions to the Bucknell athletics program”.
In addition, women’s water polo athlete Nina Benson (Sr., Henderson, Nev./Green Valley) picked up the Bryan-Humphreys Award which is “presented to a student-athlete who has exhibited exceptional versatility within his/her sport, displaying outstanding achievement and the selfless determination to help the team succeed by contributing in a variety of ways”.
