ODESSA, Texas (December 8, 2025) – Thanks to the generosity and support of Edgardo Madrid & Associates, The University of Texas Permian Basin Athletics Department has announced setter Kierra Freeman (Volleyball) and quarterback Kanon Gibson (Football) as the November Student-Athletes of the Month.

UTPB Athletics will be recognizing one male and one female student-athlete each month as the Edgardo Madrid and Associates Student-Athletes of the Month. At the end of the 2025-26 athletics season, one male and one female student-athlete will be selected as UTPB's Edgardo Madrid and Associates Student-Athletes of the Year.

Freeman started in all five matches for the UTPB volleyball team during the month of November and played in all 18 sets. She averaged 9.00 assists per set (162 total assists) during the month while setting her career-high of 51 assists in a 3-2 comeback victory over Eastern New Mexico University on the first day of the month. She also pitched in 2.72 digs per set (49 total digs) during that stretch and had at least one service ace (5 total aces) in four of the team's five matches during the month. She had 42 assists in a 3-0 win vs. Texas A&M International to start the final weekend of the season, which was the third-most assists in a three-set match in the Lone Star Conference this season. Freeman had 20-plus assists in all five matches during the final month and totaled three-double-doubles. For the season, she reached the 40-assist threshold five times and led the Falcons with 12 double-doubles. Freeman is a member of UTPB's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is a high-achieving student (3.25 GPA) in the nursing program.

UTPB Head Volleyball Coach CJ Allard said, "Kierra is a perfect example for any student-athlete. She put in the work on and off the court after not seeing the court as much as she wanted her freshman season, which led to a career-year across the board. It was great to see her cap off her sophomore season with a great month which included a career-best performance in a home victory over Eastern New Mexico."

Gibson, an Honorable Mention All-Lone Star Conference selection in his first season at UTPB, started all five games at quarterback and led the Falcons to an undefeated month of November (5-0) that also featured the first two NCAA playoff wins in the history of UTPB football. He completed 131 of 205 passes (63.9 percent) for 1,650 yards and 15 touchdowns during the month, accounting for half of his 30 passing touchdowns on the season, and averaged 333.0 passing yards and three passing touchdowns per game during the month. He completed at least 24 passes in each of the last four games of the month, had 300-plus passing yards in four of the five games during the month, and threw multiple touchdown passes in all five games, including three games with three or more touchdown passes. He also had at least three combined touchdowns between passing and rushing in four of the five games during the month. For the season, Gibson finished with eight 300-yard passing games, five games with at least three passing touchdowns, and three games with five combined touchdowns.

In the first game of the month at Western New Mexico University, Gibson commanded a UTPB offense that put up 658 total yards, the third-most in program history. The next week in the Falcons' home win over Eastern New Mexico University, Gibson completed a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ben Patterson, which was tied for the second-longest touchdown pass in the LSC this season. Gibson threw five touchdown passes in just two and a half quarters in UTPB's Senior Day win vs. Sul Ross State, and added a 33-yard reception on a double pass in the first quarter. Gibson led a Falcons' offense that put up 639 yards of offense against the Lobos (UTPB's second-most total yards this season), while his five touchdown passes in one game were tied for the season best in the LSC. In UTPB's first-ever playoff win at Colorado State University Pueblo, Gibson was magnificent from the word "go" and ultimately totaled five touchdowns for the game (3 passing, 2 rushing). Through three drives for the Falcons against the ThunderWolves, Gibson was 12-for-16 for 181 yards and two touchdowns. UTPB put up 302 yards of offense in the first half, led by Gibson's 15-for-22 for 221 passing yards and two touchdowns. Gibson also added 12 rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown at the break. Then in the Falcons' playoff win at Western Colorado, Gibson had a career-high 354 passing yards and had 425 total yards off offense, all while accounting for three combined touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) during the fourth quarter and overtime to help lead the Falcons to a comeback win. Gibson completed 18 of his 21 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and ran seven times for 32 yards and a touchdown during the fourth quarter and overtime. Gibson's 425 yards of total offense against the Mountaineers is tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history while his 354 passing yards were also a season-high. In addition, Gibson's 71 total offensive plays and 38 passing completions vs. WCU were both the most in the LSC this season while his 51 passing attempts were the fourth-most, his 425 yards of offense were the fifth-most, and his 354 passing yards were the ninth-most.