All-Time Newcomer of the Year Award Winners | Female Finalists | Follow @IlliniAthletics

Five men have been selected as finalists for the 2016 Fighting Illini Male Newcomer of the Year, presented annually by the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA). The group was honored at the annual All-Sports Celebration on April 25 at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Urbana. The winner will be voted on by Fighting Illini head coaches and a DIA awards committee and announced on Wednesday, June 15. 

Male Newcomer of the Year Finalists

Freshman Cole Bellair (Lockport, Ill.), Baseball
Freshman Jalen Coleman-Lands (Indianapolis, Ind.), Basketball
Freshman Jesse Reiser (McHenry, Ill.), Cross Country
Freshman Alex Diab (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Gymnastics
Freshman Devin Quinn (Punta Gorda, Fla.), Track & Field

Finalist Bios

COLE BELLAIR | Baseball • Big Ten All-Freshman Team • First Illini true freshman starting pitcher since 2013 • Started his career with 17.0 straight scoreless innings • Third on the team in ERA (3.34) • Fourth on the team in strikeouts (35)

JALEN COLEMAN-LANDS | Basketball • Broke 16-year-old UI record for made 3-pointers by a freshman, finishing with 87 treys • 87 made threes also rank fourth on Illini all-time single season list and were second-most among all freshmen from the six major conferences • Ranked third on the team in scoring with an average of 10.3 points, the first Illini freshman to average double figures in scoring in six years • Shot 42.2 percent from 3-point range on the year • Scored in double figures in 19 games, with two 20-plus point performances, led by career-high 26 points at Rutgers (Feb. 3)

JESSE REISER | Cross Country • Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year  • Second-team All-Big Ten in cross country • Finished first among all freshmen at XC Big Ten Championships, placing 11th overall • Timed the seventh-fastest 8K time in school history at Big Ten Championships with a time of 23:52.4 • NCAA West Regional Qualifier in the 1,500m

ALEX DIAB | Gymnastics • All-American in High Bar, finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships with a score of 14.900 • Big Ten Still Rings Champion after winning title with a score of 15.150. • Led the Illini with a total of eight event titles during the season, including both the floor exercise and still rings against No. 1 Oklahoma on March 19. • Two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week selection on Jan. 11 & March 21 • Won the all-around title against UIC in his collegiate debut, along with floor

DEVIN QUINN | Track & Field • NCAA West Regional Qualifier • Placed sixth at Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the 100m dash • Ranks sixth on the Illinois all-time list in the 100m with a time of 10.42 • Cracked the Illinois' top-10 list in both the 60m (6.76) and 200m (20.21) dashes as a freshman • Placed 4th in the 60m dash and 7th in the 200m dash at Big Ten Indoor Championships