Boone, Gradney named Big Sky Scholar-Athletes

Charley Boone and Trevin Gradney have been named Montana's Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athletes for 2024-25, the league office announced on Wednesday.

Boone, a shutdown center back for Montana's soccer team, becomes the ninth player from that program to be named Big Sky Scholar-Athlete.

Remarkably, she is the fifth player in coach Chris Citowicki's first seven years leading the Grizzlies to be recognized as the department's female honoree.

Gradney, a lockdown cornerback, becomes the third consecutive member of the Grizzly football program to be named Montana's male Big Sky Scholar-Athlete, the 14th this century.

Boone graduated magna cum laude with an undergraduate degree in finance, then added a master's degree in business this past semester.

She and teammate Ally Henrikson placed second in April in UM's John Ruffatto Startup Challenge for their business plan for GoalGetter, a platform connecting female soccer athletes with businesses for NIL opportunities.

Boone, from Seattle, was four times named Academic All-Big Sky Conference and three times was voted Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators.

On the field, Boone ended her collegiate career in the fall as one of the best defenders in program history, a significant accomplishment for a program with three-plus decades of strong defenses.

She was voted first-team All-Big Sky Conference in 2023 and '24 when Montana had two historic defensive seasons on their way to consecutive unbeaten Big Sky regular-season championships.

The Grizzlies went 25-5-8 the last two seasons, 13-0-3 in regular-season Big Sky matches, with Boone playing 3,410 of a possible 3,440 minutes.

Over those two seasons' 38 matches, the Grizzlies allowed 19 goals while recording 25 shutouts, the team's 14 shutouts from this past season establishing a new program record.

Montana's nine goals allowed in 2023 were a Big Sky record. The Grizzlies' 10 goals allowed in 2024 rank second on that list.

Montana led the nation in save percentage in 2023 and ranked third nationally in goals-against average.

In 2024, the Grizzlies led the nation in shutout percentage and ranked in the top 10 nationally in save percentage and goals-against average.

Boone announced herself, oddly enough, on the offensive end in her first season with the program, in the fall of 2021.

Her goal in the 87th minute gave Montana a 1-0 semifinal victory over Sacramento State at the Big Sky Conference tournament and propelled the Grizzlies to their sixth and most recent trip to the NCAA tournament.

She added her second career goal this past season in Montana's 4-0 home win over North Dakota and finished her career with two assists.

Boone played this summer for Minnesota Aurora FC in the USL W League, helping the team to its fourth consecutive playoff appearance and a spot in the national semifinals.

During the regular season, Aurora allowed a league-low four goals, with Boone being named to the USL W's Team of the Month for June.

On Wednesday she was named the USL W Defender of the Year. She has hopes of continuing her playing career either in the U.S. or overseas.

Gradney, from Billings, was an All-America cornerback on the field and an Academic All-American in the classroom.

He carried a 3.80 GPA during his time as a Grizzly, graduating cum laude with an undergraduate degree in marketing in 2022 and earning his MBA from UM's College of Business in 2025.

He was one of three semifinalists for the "Academic Heisman," the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy his senior year.

He earned a place on UM's Dean's List four times and was on the President's List with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring of 2020. He was named a Presidential Member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and was a two-time member of NFF's Hampshire Honors Society.

Selected by his teammates as one of five team captains as a senior, Gradney was a four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection and was part of Montana's Big Sky Team GPA Champion squad in 2023.

On the field Gradney was a stalwart in the defensive secondary, starting 16 times and making 44 appearances for the Griz.

He led UM and was tied for third in the Big Sky in total passes defended his senior season with 11, racking up 10 breakups and one interception. He was a three-time all-conference honoree.

As a junior in 2023 he led the FCS in interceptions for most of the year and finished tied for the fourth-most picks in the nation with five, the most in the Big Sky Conference.

He opened that season with an interception in each of the first four games and added a fifth against Montana State, picking off a Bobcat pass for a fourth-quarter turnover that led to the game-sealing touchdown two plays later.

Led by Gradney, Montana picked off 17 passes that season, the fourth most in the FCS. He finished top-four in the Big Sky in total passes defended with 12, despite missing two games to injury.

He also had a career-high two pass breakups against Furman in the FCS playoffs, the second of which sealed the win for the Grizzlies and sent them to the semifinals.

Following that breakout year, he earned several preseason All-America accolades in 2024 and was named to the preseason all-conference team. During the summer he was also passed down Montana's #37 legacy jersey as a tribute to his "hard work, dedication to the team and tough play on the gridiron."

As a freshman in 2020-21 he earned first team All-Big Sky honors for his work on special teams and earned Montana's Hauck Family Special Teams Player of the Year award after appearing in every game.

On the leadership and volunteerism front, Gradney completed 13 hours of community service in his time at UM.

He assisted with the National Marrow Donor Program's Be the Match registry four times, encouraged campus members to sign up to vote, worked on the Missoula Food Bank's sack lunch project and assisted new students as part of the UM move-in crew.

2024-25 Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athletes

Eastern Washington
Kate Hatch, Volleyball, Masters in Wellness and Movement Sciences (Mesa, Ariz.)
Efton Chism III, Football, Health and Physical Education (Monroe, Wash.)

Idaho
Jenna Bruggeman, Women's Golf, Art and Architecture (Edmonton, Alberta)
Tommy McCormick, Football, Medical Sciences (Fallon, Nev.)

Idaho State
Jamie Streit, Volleyball, Education; Interdisciplinary Studies (Pinedale, Wyo.)
Brandon Walker, Men's XC/T&F, Sports & Exercise Science (Boise, Idaho)

Montana
Charley Boone, Soccer, Finance (Seattle, Wash.)
Trevin Gradney, Football, Business Administration (Billings, Mont.)

Montana State
Grace Gilbreth Women's XC/T&F, Economics (Bozeman, Mont.)
Tommy Mellott, Football, Financial Engineering (Butte, Mont.)

Northern Arizona
Maggi Congdon, Women's XC/T&F, Civil Engineering (Steamboat Springs, Colo.)
Drew Bosley, Men's XC/T&F, Educational Foundations (Thiensville, Wis.)

Northern Colorado
Isabelle DiNapoli, Softball, Sport & Exercise Science: Human Performance (Littleton, Colo.)
Isaac Rascon, Men's XC/TF, Sport & Exercise Science: Human Performance (Middletown, Calif.)

Portland State
Nika Beukers, Women's Tennis, Business Administration: Marketing (Den Bosch, Netherlands)
Abdi Ibrahim, Men's XC/T&F, Nonprofit Leadership (Portland, Ore.)

Sacramento State
Sneha Sharan, Women's Golf, Psychology (Bengaluru, India)
Miles Grant, Men's Track & Field, Art (Portland, Ore.)

Weber State
Kate Payne, Volleyball, Master of Education, (Lehi, Utah)
Tristan Sarap, Men's Tennis, Professional Sales (San Diego, Calif.)

Cal Poly
Charles Lincoln, Football, Agriculture (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

UC Davis
Angelo Genetti, Football, Political Science (Linden, Calif.)

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Charley Boone

Trevin Gradney

Ally Henrikson

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