Junior Cross Wasilewski just keeps getting better. In his freshman season, the Parsippany, N.J. native went 24-5 and 5-0 in the Ivy League en route to a conference championship win in the 149-pound weight class. He made his first NCAA championships appearance in 2025 off of an at-large bid. This year he finished seventh in the nation in the 149 weight class with All-American honors.

Besides a stellar performance at nationals, he also improved his record to 29-5 on the season and picked up wins at the Journeymen Classic and the Keystone Classic. Wasilewski is on the rise, and he has two more seasons at Penn ahead of him.

Esha Velaga — women’s tennis

Senior Esha Velaga earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors as a freshman. And over the past three years, Velaga captured unanimous first team All-Ivy singles honors each year. Her consistency has garnered national recognition as Velaga entered the 2025-26 season ranked 78th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the highest player in the Ivy League.

As a freshman, Velaga became the first in Quakers history to qualify for the NCAA doubles and singles championships in the same season. In 2026, Velaga made it back to the national stage for the NCAA singles championships after winning the ITA Northeast Regional. 

Jessica Oji – women’s track and field

Sophomore thrower Jessica Oji isn’t just a two-time Ivy League champion — she’s a world champion.

Oji claimed her first global title at the World Athletics U20 Championships in August after putting the shot 18.08 meters. She was the only person in the field to surpass the 18-meter mark and the first Nigerian to win a field event at the World U20 Championships. Oji also earned a silver medal for Nigeria, the country’s first medal in two decades, at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

During the collegiate season, Oji set the African record at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Championships with an 18.50-meter lob, the 29th-best throw in the world this year. She walked away with first team All-American honors twice after a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Jordan Barrow — gymnastics

2026 Gymnastics East Conference Gymnast of the Year and senior Jordan Barrow is ready for her final hurrah. With the vault, bars, and beam specialist on the roster, the Quakers were GEC regular season champions in each of the last three seasons. 

From her freshman year, Barrow was a force in the vault, but she has steadily improved her performances on bars and beam. The past two seasons, she was named first team All-GEC in all three events, and she also added a GEC title in the beam to her resume in 2025. This year, her third consecutive Ivy Classic win in the vault made her the first Ivy League gymnast to achieve that feat since 1982. Coming off of her 2026 NCAA regionals qualification in the vault, Barrow will look to uphold Penn’s GEC dominance in her last season.

Joseph “Tiago” Socarras — men’s track and field 

Sophomore mid-distance specialist Joseph “Tiago” Socarras knows that he’s fast. He was confident enough in his abilities to open his outdoor season at the Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Championships, taking the 800-meter title in an outdoor personal best of 1:47.00. 

Even though Socarras didn’t make it back to the national stage during the outdoor season, he was beyond dominant indoors. In his 800-meter debut for the Red and Blue, Socarras took down USATF indoor silver medalist Sean Dolan. He was undefeated in the 800m run until the NCAA Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the nation.

Malak Khafagy — women’s squash

In her two seasons at Penn, senior Malak Khafagy has collected just about any trophy there is in collegiate squash. Playing at Penn’s top spot ever she joined the team, Khafagy led Penn women’s squash to its second-ever Collegiate Squash Association national team championship in March. 

Khafagy has a 27-5 career record for the Quakers. And in each of her seasons, she won Ivy League Player of the Year, earned first team All-Ivy honors , and was named to the first team CSA All-America. One of the only awards missing from her college squash resume is an individual national title. Regardless of whether she achieves the feat, Khafagy has already written herself into Penn squash history.

Mataya Gayle — women’s basketball

Penn women’s basketball’s offense runs through senior guard Mataya Gayle. Gayle has been one of the most reliable players for the Quakers since she arrived at Penn and has only improved her efficiency since a stellar freshman campaign earned her Ivy League Rookie of the Year. 

The Woodstock, Ga. native is one of the best facilitators in the Ivy League, averaging a conference-high and personal-best 4.5 assists per game last season. She was also fifth in the conference in steals, and one of three Red and Blue players to average more than 10 points per game. After the team placed fifth in the league for the 2025-26 season, Gayle will look to lead the Quakers back to the Ivy Madness tournament in her senior season. 

Miles Teodecki — football

Freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki is breaking records before he even moves in. 

Teodecki garnered national attention in January when he flipped his commitment from Kansas State to Penn. In doing so, he became the highest-ranked recruit of the modern era and the only top-1,000 signee for the Quakers in the last decade. 

Although junior quarterback Karson Siqueiros-Lasky locked down the starting position during spring play, Teodecki will be a threat on the gridiron as soon as he steps on campus. During Teodecki’s two years as a high school starter, the Austin native recorded 5,755 passing yards with an average 68.3% pass completion rate.

Orly Sedransk — women’s lacrosse

Sophomore goalie Orly Sedransk spent her summer training for the World Lacrosse Women’s Championships, where she featured for Israel’s national team. 

Israel topped its group and made it to the semifinals undefeated, ultimately finishing third overall — its best-ever finish at a world championship. Sedransk came away from the tournament with a bronze medal and international experience under her belt, playing in goal in all six of Israel’s matches and making 19 saves for a 42.2% save percentage.

Sedransk has also thrived in the cage at Penn. In both of her seasons with the Quakers, she was named Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year, selected first team All-Ivy, and received a USA Lacrosse honorable mention All-America recognition. Last season, she saved 45.2% of shots faced and recorded 10 or more saves in 13 of 16 games. 

Salman Khalil — men’s squash

Senior Salman Khalil has been a force on the dominant Penn men’s squash team throughout his three seasons at Penn. In his freshman year, Khalil went 7-3 in competition and 3-0 during the CSA National Collegiate Team Championships, helping the Quakers clinch a national title. It was only a taste of what was to come, as the Egypt native played an undefeated sophomore season. He won the CSA National Individual Championships, was named Ivy League Player of the Year, and led the team to back-to-back national titles.

As Penn men’s squash looks to return to national glory in his senior season, success will undoubtedly run through the three-time CSA first team All-American.

TJ Power — men’s basketball

Senior forward TJ Power joined a select number of Penn athletes who achieved national fame when he dropped 44 points in the 2026 Ivy Madness final, tying the tournament record for most points scored set by Harmoni Turner in 2025. While pundits speculated about Power’s fourth transfer in four years following the Quakers’ unexpected March Madness run, the Shrewsbury, Mass., native ultimately chose to stay with the Quakers for his senior season. 

Last year, Power earned unanimous first team All-Ivy honors and first team All-Big 5 honors after leading the Quakers with 492 points on the season, 229 rebounds, and 79 made three-pointers. In addition, Power was second on the team in assists, steals and blocked shots. 

Power’s versatility on both ends of the court made him an easy choice as a finalist for CollegeInsider.com’s Riley Wallace Award as the most impactful transfer in Division I men’s basketball during the 2025-26 season. He looks to lead the Quakers back to the Ivy Madness final to defend the tournament title on home turf.

Watson Nguyen — men’s swimming and diving

Junior breaststroke specialist Watson Nguyen beat out an Olympic gold medalist to claim his first national title in the 50-meter breaststroke at July’s 2026 United States Swimming National Championships. It’s the second long-course national title in program history, and Nguyen’s in good company with 2026 Wharton and Engineering graduate Matt Fallon, who holds the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke. 

During the collegiate season, Nguyen took the Ivy League by storm, winning conference titles in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. Due to the NCAA’s new qualification system, Nguyen automatically punched his ticket for the NCAA Championships by swimming under the NCAA Division I standard en route to the title. He ultimately finished 26th in the 200-yard breaststroke and 28th in the 100-yard breaststroke.

---