Burnett, Roeder Named 2026 Ernest T. Sigler Award Winners
6/3/2026 10:00:00 AM | General, Men's Basketball, Rowing
CHICAGO, Ill. -- University of Michigan men's basketball forward Nimari Burnett and rowing coxswain Logan Roeder were named as the 2026 Ernest T. Sigler Award recipients by the University of Michigan Club of Greater Chicago. The 2026 honorees mark the 50th recipients in the history of the award.
The Sigler Award, established in 1977, is in its 50th year in 2026. The award is presented annually to U-M's top male and female student-athletes from the Chicago area who demonstrate exceptional leadership and athletic performance. It is named in honor of Ernest T. Sigler, who served as the club's executive director for 35 years.
Burnett is the sixth men's basketball player to earn the accolade, along with Dan Pelekoudas (1983), Rob Pelinka (1993), Charles Matthews (2019), Mike Smith (2021) and Danny Wolf (2025). A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and Michigan's 2025 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient, Burnett becomes the sixth overall and second straight Michigan men's basketball player to earn the accolade.
Burnett concluded his collegiate career as one of the most reliable and respected players of Michigan's championship era. He helped lead the Wolverines to a program-record 37-3 season and the program's second NCAA national championship in 2025-26. A starter in all 40 games, Burnett was one of just three Wolverines to start every contest and finished his Michigan career having started 109 consecutive games without missing a game in Ann Arbor.
Burnett played a key role in one of the most successful seasons in school history, helping Michigan capture the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, claim the Big Ten regular-season title with a conference-record 19-1 mark, advance to the program's ninth Final Four and defeat UConn, 69-63, to secure the Wolverines' first national championship since 1989.
Burnett averaged 8.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.8 minutes per game while providing veteran leadership and perimeter shooting. He reached double figures 15 times, highlighted by a career-high 31-point performance against Penn State (Feb. 5). Burnett connected on a career-best seven three-pointers in the victory, becoming the first and only Wolverine to score 30-plus points during the 2025-26 season.
Roeder is the second-ever recipient of this honor from the rowing program, joining Emily Krebs (2019). A three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2024-25-26) and two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree (2025, '26), Roeder is accomplished in the classroom. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and this spring, graduated with her master's in social work. She has also been honored as a CRCA Scholar Athlete three times (2024, '25, '26) and earned a Leaders and Best Award (2024) at the Maizies.
A team captain, Roeder was a member of two Big Ten championship-winning teams during her career (2023, 2024). She was an All-Big Ten first team selection in 2026, and a Pocock/CRCA All-America honorable mention in 2025.
Roeder has won three Big Ten medals with the 1V8 (gold, 2023; silver, 2024; bronze, 2025) and has helped guide the boat to 12th, seventh, 12th and 13th-place finishes at the NCAA Championships during her tenure. With Roeder leading the team's top boat, U-M finished each season with a top-12 national rank.
Roeder is a native of Chicago and the top coxswain in the Michigan program. She leads the coxswain group with hard work and true commitment to the team, making the boats she works with faster while uplifting her teammates. Roeder helped the 1V8 execute race plans brilliantly throughout her career.
Ernest T. Sigler Award Winners
1977: Dominic Tedesco (Football)
1978: Robert J. Creek (Gymnastics)
1979: Matt Horwich (Tennis)
1980: George Lilja (Football)
1981: Kurt Becker (Football)
1982: Robert Thompson (Football)
1983: Art Balourdos (Football) & Dan Pelekoudas (Basketball)
1984: Mike Mallory (Football)
1985: Doug Mallory (Football)
1986: Andre McIntyre (Football)
1987: Mike Husar (Football)
1988: Derick Walker (Football)
1989: Chris Calloway (Football)
1990: Erick Anderson (Football)
1991: Dave Ritter (Football)
1992: Corwin Brown (Football)
1993: Robert Pelinka (Basketball)
1994: Trezelle Jenkins (Football)
1995: Thomas Guynes (Football)
1996: Blake Sloan (Hockey)
1997: Tai Streets (Football)
1998: Bubba Berenzweig (Hockey) & Aaron Shea (Football)
1999: Elizabeth Kampfe (Track & Field/Cross Country) & Tim Dehr (Gymnastics)
2000: Jeanne Shin (Field Hockey) & Robert Fraumann (Football)
2001: Shannon Melka (Volleyball) & Kurt Anderson (Football)
2002: Molly Powers (Field Hockey) & Dan Rumishek (Football)
2003: Chantel Reedus (Volleyball) & Tony Pape (Football)
2004: Therese Heaton (Soccer), Jason Avant (Football) & Al Montoya (Hockey)
2005: Samantha Findlay (Softball) & Jason Avant (Football)
2006: Katie Lieberman (Gymnastics) & Eric Tannenbaum (Wrestling)
2007: Katie Bruzdzinski (Volleyball) & Tim Jamison (Football)
2008: Katie Bruzdzinski (Volleyball) & Tim Jamison (Football)
2009: Casey Taylor (Track & Field) & Adam Harris (Track & Field)
2010: Angela Findlay (Softball) &Â David Moosman (Football)
2011: Lexi Zimmerman (Volleyball) & Thomas Kelley (Gymnastics)
2012: Caitlin Dauw (Swimming) & David Molk (Football)
2013: Katie Zurales (Gymnastics) & Evan King (Tennis)
2014: Lyndsay Doyle (Softball) & JT Compher (Hockey)
2015: Kristen Dodge (Tennis) & Eric Jacobson (Baseball)
2016: Kelly Christner (Softball) & Graham Glasgow (Football)
2017: Brienne Minor (Tennis) & Ty Isaac (Football)
2018: Olivia Karas (Gymnastics) & Micah Beller (Track & Field/Cross Country)
2019: Emily Krebs (Rowing) & Charles Matthews (Basketball)
2020: Lexi Funk (Gymnastics) & Jordan Glasgow (Football)
2021: Nicki Hernandez (Soccer) & Mike Smith (Basketball)
2022: Sierra Brooks (Gymnastics) & Paul Juda (Gymnastics)
2023: Sierra Brooks (Gymnastics) & Paul Juda (Gymnastics)
2024: Sierra Brooks (Gymnastics) & JJ McCarthy (Football)
2025: Lauren Derkowski (Softball) & Danny Wolf (Basketball)
2026: Nimari Burnett (Basketball) & Logan Roeder (Rowing)
