SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Jillian Albayati of softball and Chris Carrillo of men's basketball have been named the Cal State San Marcos Student-Athletes of the Month for January 2026.
 
The CSUSM Student-Athlete of the Month awards are determined through a vote of all Department of Athletics coaches, administrators and staff. Each in-season program nominates a student-athlete to be considered for the award each month.
 
Albayati led the Cougars with a .588 batting average, 10 RBIs, nine runs, two home runs, 10 hits, 17 total bases, a .632 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage while earning a stolen base and a double in CSUSM's 4-1 start to the season. The senior from Anaheim opened the season with a 4-for-5 performance against Chaminade, including three RBIs and two runs. Albayati had at least one hit in all five games. She was subsequently named the FloCollege/CCAA Player of the Week and was placed on the NFCA Selected Top Performances list for the opening weekend. 
 
Carrillo averaged 13.4 points, a 52.0 field-goal percentage (39-of-75), a 52.0 3-point field-goal percentage (13-of-25), an 87.8 free-throw percentage (43-of-49), 1.6 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 steals for the month. He tallied six games of at least 10 points and three games of at least 20. The freshman from San Diego scored a season-high 26 points in the Cougars' win at Cal Poly Pomona following a 19-point performance in CSUSM's victory at Cal State San Bernardino. This led to Carrillo being named the FloCollege CCAA/Player of the Week for Jan. 5-11, becoming the first freshman in program history to earn the honor.
 
This is the first CSUSM Student-Athlete of the Month honor for both Albayati and Carrillo.