OREM — In a lot of ways, it was a historic year for Utah Valley University.

Here are the top 10 moments from a growing athletic department on University Parkway.

Wolverine baseball qualifies for first-ever NCAA Tournament

The Wolverines entered the WAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed and proceeded to win four straight games, including a 4-0 win over top-seeded Seattle University in the championship game to win their first-ever WAC title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

UVU lost its inaugural game in the Baton Rouge Regional to host LSU. The Wolverines followed that up with a 3-2 loss to Southeastern Louisiana to close out the most successful season since 2012 when UVU went 47-12 and won 32 straight games despite not getting an invite to the NCAA Tournament.

And really, this step highlights a really good season for college baseball across the state of Utah.

First-ever hoops win over BYU

In a return to his old stomping grounds, Isaac Neilson scored a career-high 26 points to help UVU knock off crosstown foe BYU for the first time in school history. Brandon Randolph chipped in 21 points and a game-high 14 assists while Conner Toolson and Jordan Poydras finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

UVU hit 18 3-pointers and shot 53 percent from the field as it scored the most points ever allowed inside the Marriott Center. Jared Stutzman was the fifth Wolverine in double figures as he finished with 11 points on just seven shots. The win earned him Sportscenter anchor Kevin Connors "Star of the Night" and put UVU on the map.

Jade Rauser earns second All-American wrestling status in school history

For three straight years, UVU wrestler Jade Rauser had earned his spot at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, and for three straight years he had fallen short of his goal to become an All-American.

In his fourth and final season, Rauser wasn’t going home without hardware. Trailing 5-0 going into the final period, Rauser scored a quick takedown followed by a four-point near fall to take a 6-5 lead. With time running down and No. 6 George DiCamillo of Virginia holding the edge in riding time, Rauser recorded another near fall to win the match 7-6 and become the 2nd All-American in UVU wrestling history.

School privately funds $3.5M indoor practice facility for hoops

UVU broke ground on a $3.5 million, 14,500-foot practice facility for the men and women’s basketball teams in June. The NUVI basketball center was able to come together thanks to high-profile donors and key contributors, including NUVI executive chairman Keith Nellesen and Vivint co-founder and CEO Todd Pedersen.

The building will make it possible for the basketball teams to practice at will rather than competing for limited space in the school’s PE Building with baseball players, track athletes and physical education classes.

UVU men’s soccer snubbed by NCAA selection committee

UVU won 15 games, which was tied for second-best in the nation. The Wolverines won their regular-season WAC championship and were ranked in the top 25 the majority of the season. UVU also defeated two nationally ranked opponents in Washington and Gonzaga, which were both ranked 20th when they played the Wolverines.

However, the NCAA selection committee wasn’t impressed with the regular season resume. It looked more at the loss to UNLV in the WAC semifinals and decided that the Wolverines didn’t deserve an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament despite doing more in 2016 than they did in 2015 when they did receive an at-large berth.

Nick Taylor represents Utah Valley at NCAA track championships

Nick Taylor already held the school record in the 200-meter and 100-meter dash but the ultimate goal was to get to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Taylor became the first-ever UVU sprinter to compete at the NCAA Championships and the first-ever to do so in dual-events. Taylor claimed WAC titles in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter relay for the sprinter’s triple crown, and finished in 19th place in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA championships to earn honorable mention All-American honors,

Transfer U. on University Parkway

Second-year head coach Mark Pope has an entirely new lineup to start the 2016-17 season. Four of his five starters are transfers and the sixth man off the bench is another transfer. It is why Pope has referred to UVU as "Second Chance U."

Isaac Neilson, Jake Toolson and Cory Calvert (BYU), Conner Toolson and Hayden Schenck (SLCC), Brandon Randolph (Xavier), Kenneth Ogbe (Utah), Jordan Poydras (St. Cloud State), Ivory Young (Navarro College), Andrew Bastien (Irvine Valley College) and Akolda Manyang (Oklahoma) round out the UVU roster that features just four players who haven’t transferred to UVU.

UVU women’s hoops wins first postseason game since joining WAC

For the first time since becoming a member of the Western Athletic Conference in 2012, the UVU women’s basketball team won a postseason game. The Wolverines defeated Missouri-Kansas City 61-53 to advance to the WAC Tournament semifinals.

Sam Loggins scored a team-high 14 points to help the Wolverines earn their first win in an automatic qualifying conference tournament since becoming a Division I program in 2003.

24th-ranked UVU defeats 20th-ranked Washington in 2016 season-opener

In what was a highly anticipated season-opener on Aug. 26 for the UVU men’s soccer team, the match against 20th-ranked Washington lived up to the hype. Karson Payton was shown a red card and sent off just six minutes into the second half, forcing UVU to play a man down the rest of the match.

It didn’t matter as Paul Hoffmeister scored his second goal of the match, the game-winner, in the 55th minute to help UVU escape with a 2-1 win over its opponents from the Pac-12 Conference. The win over the Huskies paved the way for UVU to start the season 6-1 and make its way higher in the national rankings.

UVU hurler drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates

UVU right-handed pitcher Danny Beddes was the school record holder for career wins, career strikeouts and strikeouts in a season. Beddes finished his senior season with a 9-4 record with a 4.56 ERA and 99 strikeouts, helping the Wolverines win their first-ever WAC title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Pittsburgh Pirates saw that success and drafted Beddes in the 15th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft on June 11. Beddes is the highest of five picks since UVU jumped to NCAA Division I in 2004 and the first Wolverine picked since 2012 when Goose Kalunki was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 27th round.

Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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