LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Rider University seniors Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) and Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) have been selected 2019-20 Rider University Clair Bee Athletes of the Year. Johnson rewrote the Rider Women's Basketball record books, becoming the all-time scoring leader at the school, while Dellavecchia became Rider Wrestling's first-ever Mid-American Conference Champion.

Johnson became the Broncs' first-ever All-American in women's basketball, being recognized as an Honorable Mention honoree by three different outlets – the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Associated Press (AP) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).   Johnson became Rider's first-ever Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year in women's basketball and was selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury.

Johnson was also picked a Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American. She earned MAAC Player of the Year for the second-straight season, becoming the sixth player all-time to achieve the feat in back-to-back years. She was a finalist for both the Nancy Lieberman Award and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year.

Johnson finished the year as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I at 24.8 points per game, more than a point ahead of the next-closest player. She was also the only active Division I player with 2,000 career points, 700 career rebounds, 400 career assists and 300 career steals. In her final game of the season, Johnson set a new league record for a single game, scoring 37 points in the Broncs' MAAC Quarterfinal win over Niagara. All nine of her double-doubles came against conference opponents, including her Feb. 29 triple-double against Canisius. Besides scoring, she also led the MAAC in steals per game (2.9) and minutes per game (37.1).

Dellavecchia became Rider's first-ever MAC Champion at 157 lbs., defeating nationally-ranked wrestlers Larry Early (Old Dominion) and Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) to earn the title. He was an NCAA Qualifier for the second-straight year, taking the No. 4 seeding prior to the tournament's cancellation. Dellavecchia posted a 30-2 record, winning his first 13 matches and final 13 bouts of the year.

He finished first at the Keystone Classic and the Princeton Open, while taking second at the Southern Scuffle. His only two losses came to wrestlers ranked in the top five in the country – Hayden Hidlay (NC State) and Quincy Monday (Princeton). In addition to wins over Early and Jacques, Dellavecchia scored seven wins over wrestlers ranked in the Top 30 in the nation, including a win over Monday at the Princeton Open.

Dellavecchia also defeated Top 30 wrestlers Markus Hartman (Army), Robert Kanniard (Rutgers), Matthew Zavistoski (Appalachian State) and Justin McCoy (two wins)(Virginia). Along with Johnson, Dellavecchia was a three-time Rider Athlete of the Month. His individual win over Minnesota's Carson Brolsma on Nov. 15 helped Rider to a shocking dual victory over the nationally-ranked No. 6 Gophers.