Tyler Warren one of two from Penn State to earn Big Ten Medals of Honor for 2024-2025 school year

Penn State star tight end Tyler Warren and softball utility player Maddie Gordon are the school’s 2024-2025 Big Ten Medals of Honor winners. According to a news release from the athletic department, it combines an athlete’s on- and off-field achievements and is the “highest honor that a student competing in conference athletics can achieve in the Big Ten.” Every conference school has one female and one male athlete from its graduating class recognized at the end of every school year.

Like Gordon, Warren was the do-everything utility man who powered Penn State to its first College Football Playoff appearance and a trip to the semifinals. He won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end, was seventh in last season’s Heisman Trophy voting, and was both a unanimous All-American and a unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection. Now an Indianapolis Colt after the NFL franchise took him in the first round of the 2025 Draft, Warren is the only Nittany Lion to ever reach 100 receptions in a season after hauling in 104 for 1,233 yards. His four rushing touchdowns are the most by a Big Ten tight end in a single season since the 1950s. And, his most memorable moment saw him snap the ball and eventually catch a touchdown pass on the same play at USC.

Off the field, Warren was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, which is often referred to as the academic equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. And, he leaves Penn State with two degrees, one in advertising/public relations and a second in telecommunications.

Meet Penn State softball and Big Ten medal of honor Maddie Gordon

Gordon’s award bio reads as follows:

“On and off the field, Gordon has made an extraordinary impact on the Penn State community, as well as the Nittany Lion softball team. While completing a double major with a 3.93 GPA, Gordon has also established herself as one of the most dominant student-athletes in the Nittany Lion softball program’s history. She has a pair of All-Big Ten Second Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team accolades adorning her resume, helping lead PSU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade during the 2024 campaign while anchoring the highest-scoring offense in program annals in the 2025 campaign. Gordon completed her Nittany Lion career with the fourth-most home runs hit in a Penn State batting career, logging 28 since her inaugural appearance on the diamond in 2022.

“Off the field, Gordon has taken interest in the Special Olympics program in Happy Valley, taking part in the Special Olympics Sports Fest at PSU in June of last year. She has made a number of appearances at area elementary schools to connect with local children and encourage reading. In November, Gordon capitalized on her experiences with the local YMCA to take part in a pep rally and engage the community by encouraging the entire Penn State softball roster to join her in that endeavor.

“Over the holiday season, Gordon helped prepare Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to spread holiday cheer while fighting hunger in her local communities. This spring, Gordon developed an undergraduate thesis and presented it to senior athletics administrators and mental health professionals to help drive awareness and build support for student-athlete mental health initiatives. Gordon is also an active member of Penn State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Athletic Department Leadership Institute and Penn State Christian Athletes.”