NEW YORK (Aug. 6, 2026) – Creighton volleyball standout Kiara Reinhardt and DePaul track and field standout Alex Bernstein have been selected as the recipients of the 2025-26 BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award, the league announced Thursday. The recipients were chosen by the BIG EAST Conference Academic Affairs Committee.

The awards are presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete from a BIG EAST-sponsored sport who have been admitted to a degree-granting or professional program for the following academic year and have demonstrated leadership through excellence in academics, athletics and service to their institution or community.

Reinhardt and Bernstein will each receive a $5,000 scholarship, which may be applied to postgraduate study. The award is named for Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST’s first full-time employee, who served as commissioner of the conference from 1990 to 2009 and embodied leadership and dedication from the league’s inception.

Reinhardt earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Creighton in May 2024 with a 3.86 cumulative grade-point average and graduated summa cum laude. She is pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing and owns a 3.96 graduate GPA. Reinhardt was named a 2025 College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American, earned Academic All-District honors three times and was selected to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team five times. She has also devoted extensive clinical and volunteer hours to patient care and participated in community-service initiatives focused primarily on children.

One of the top middle blockers in Creighton history, Reinhardt earned AVCA Second Team All-America honors in 2025 and was a two-time All-BIG EAST selection. She owns multiple Creighton NCAA Tournament and D.J. Sokol Arena career records and played in a program-record 124 victories as the Bluejays won six BIG EAST regular-season titles and six conference tournament championships during her career. Reinhardt was selected eighth overall by the Omaha Supernovas in the 2025 Major League Volleyball Draft and later earned the league’s Rising Star Award.

Bernstein earned a bachelor’s degree in business analytics from DePaul with a 3.913 cumulative GPA and is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. He was named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team five times and earned DePaul Athletic Director’s Honor Roll recognition every quarter. Bernstein also worked as a graduate assistant in the DePaul Athletics Business Office, served as an academic tutor and co-founded Rate My Rents, a company designed to help students review dorms and apartments.

In competition, Bernstein earned 2026 NCAA Outdoor Second Team All-America honors in the hammer throw and became a five-time BIG EAST champion, including three consecutive outdoor titles. A two-time NCAA Championship qualifier and three-time NCAA regional qualifier, he holds DePaul’s indoor and outdoor hammer throw records and became the first Blue Demon to surpass 70 meters in the event. Bernstein was also named DePaul’s 2026 Male Athlete of the Year and men’s track and field Most Valuable Player.

Bernstein will return to DePaul in 2026-27 to complete his master’s program and continue serving as a graduate assistant in the Athletics Business Office before pursuing a career in business. Reinhardt plans to continue her nursing career following the completion of her graduate degree, with the possibility of continuing to play professionally.