COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The countdown is on. Archery fans have until February 13 to cast their votes for Brady Ellison as Archer of the Year in the 2025 World Archery Awards, with the United States represented in six of the eight award categories.
Few athletes have defined modern archery quite like Ellison, and in 2025 he proved that his competitive fire burns as fiercely as ever. Nearly two decades into his elite career, the five-time Olympian reclaimed the recurve men’s world number one ranking, returning to the summit 15 years after first reaching the top.
Ellison opened the year in dominant fashion with victory at the Indoor World Series, before closing it by lifting his sixth Archery World Cup Final title. Along the way, he also added to his extensive medal collection with a podium finish at the World Archery Championships in Korea, reinforcing his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
The Archer of the Year honor will be determined through a combination of public and press voting, with the public vote open until 4 p.m. (MT) on February 13.
New award categories introduced in 2025 - recognizing young archers, para archers, acts of fair play, coaches, judges, teams and events – will be decided by appointed panels, and Team USA features prominently throughout.
Savannah O’Donohue is one of five nominees for Young Archer of the Year after a flawless performance at the World Archery Youth Championships. Competing in a field of 570 athletes in Winnipeg, Canada, O’Donohue departed as the only undefeated archer, capturing three gold medals in compound U18 women, compound U18 mixed team and compound U18 women’s team.
Jason Tabansky earned his nomination for Para Archer of the Year following a standout season that saw him finish world number one in the W1 men’s division. His 2025 résumé includes silver at the World Archery Para Championships and gold at both legs of the Americas Para Archery Cup.
The trailblazing recurve women’s trio of Catalina GNoriega, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez are finalists for Team of the Year after rewriting the history books. The squad medaled at three of four Hyundai Archery World Cup stages in 2025 – a remarkable achievement considering the previous U.S. recurve women’s team medal at a World Cup came eight years earlier. Their crowning moment arrived in Turkey, where they captured gold at stage three, marking the program’s first World Cup team gold since 2015.
Elias Cuesta is one of three nominees for Coach of the Year after guiding Team USA through one of its most successful seasons in recent memory. In his first year at the helm, Cuesta led the U.S. to historic results on the World Cup circuit and podium finishes at both the World Archery Championships and World Archery Youth Championships.
Much of that success has been fueled by the Resident Athlete Program in Chula Vista, California, which Cuesta directs. Stepping into the role once held by legendary Coach KiSikLee, Cuesta has not only maintained the program’s elite standards but elevated them – nurturing top-level performers while expanding mentorship opportunities across a rapidly growing youth pipeline. His leadership is already shaping a future built for sustained international success.
Sportsmanship takes center stage in the Fair Play category, where Cindy Czako is one of just two nominees. During the barebow women’s gold medal match at the Easton Foundations Gator Cup, Czako noticed her opponent, Ava Jones, struggling with an equipment issue.
Without hesitation, Czako offered her own tool so Jones could make the necessary adjustment. The match continued, and Jones went on to win 7–3 – but the moment became a lasting reminder of what makes archery special. Czako’s selfless act perfectly embodied the respect, integrity and camaraderie at the heart of the sport.
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