UNB's Veinot, Keating named AUS Athletes of the Year

UNB’s Austen Keating and Jayda Veinot named 2023-24 AUS Athletes of the Year

May 2, 2023

(HALIFAX, N.S.) – Atlantic University Sport is proud to announce that UNB REDS men’s hockey player Austen Keating and women’s basketball player Jayda Veinot have been named the 2023-24 AUS Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

As the AUS Athletes of the Year, Keating and Veinot will become the Atlantic conference nominees for the Honourable Lois Mitchell and Doug Mitchell U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Awards.

Keating and Veinot become the first Atlantic conference nominees from the same school since SMU’s Justine Colley (women’s basketball) and Lucas Bloodoff (men’s hockey) in the 2012-13 season.

2023-24 AUS Female Athlete of the Year: Jayda Veinot, UNB REDS women’s basketball

In her fifth year of eligibility, Veinot has been named the 2023-24 AUS Female Athlete of the Year.

A Masters of Applied Health student from Port Williams, N.S., Veinot earned both U SPORTS and AUS Most Valuable Player honours this past season. She was also named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and an AUS First Team All-Star.

Veinot finished second in league scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game, while also averaging 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest to lead her REDS to a 15-5 record and their first AUS Women’s Basketball Championship final in 13 years.

The first three years of her post-secondary career were spent at Acadia before transferring to UNB for post-graduate studies. In those five years, Veinot was a two-time AUS Women’s Basketball MVP (2021-22, 2023-24), three-time AUS First Team All-Star (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) and a two-time AUS Second Team All-Star (2018-19, 2019-20). In the 2018-19 season, she was also named the AUS Rookie of the Year.

Nationally, Veinot garnered two U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian selections (2021-22, 2023-24) and an All-Rookie Team selection (2018-19).

Earlier this month, she was named UNB’s Female Athlete of the Year.

2023-24 AUS Male Athlete of the Year: Austen Keating, UNB REDS men’s hockey

Austen Keating, a third-year men’s hockey player with the UNB REDS, has been named the 2023-24 AUS Male Athlete of the Year.

The Guelph, Ont., product was named the AUS Most Valuable Player after leading UNB to a perfect 30-0 regular season record and finishing atop the AUS scoring race with 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists). His +47 plus/minus was tops amongst all U SPORTS skaters.

Keating’s REDS went on to complete an unbeaten season, winning their sixth consecutive AUS title and second straight U SPORTS title.

Along the way, the Business Administration student also collected AUS Playoff Most Valuable Player, AUS First Team All-Star and U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian honours.

In his three seasons with the REDS, Keating has collected two U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian (2021-22, 2023-24) and two AUS First-Team All-Star selections (2021-22, 2023-24), as well as a U SPORTS and AUS All-Rookie Team nod (2021-22).

Earlier this month, Keating was named UNB’s Male Athlete of the Year.