Jaguar Football Game Times on ESPN Announced; Season Opener To Be Broadcast
On Monday the Sun Belt Conference office announced the game times for both of South Alabama’s two appearances on the ESPN family of networks and that the Jaguars opening game of the season will air on ESPN3.
The season opening game on Saturday, September 5 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium against Gardner-Webb will be broadcast on ESPN3 with the start time still to be determined.
The Jaguars game against Arkansas State on Tuesday, October 13 will air on ESPN2 across the nation and will kick off at 7pm CDT, while kickoff for the Jaguars game against Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday, November 12 will be at 6:30pm on ESPNU.
Previously announced the Jaguars road game against Nebraska on September 12 will start at 7pm and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
The start time for all other games will be announced at a later date.
Go Jags!
Track And Field Regional Preliminaries; Softball and Baseball News
Latest news and updates on South Alabama Sports.
Track and Field
Jaguar Men’s Track and Field Renaldo Frechou qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a hammer throw of 66.54m at the East Region Preliminaries in Jacksonville, FL on Thursday.
His throw was 6th place out of the 12 competitors that are advancing to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR on June 10-13.
Zach Blahnik finished 39th in the hammer throw, Mark Watts was 45th in the men’s 400 meter dash. LaMia Miller finished 33rd in women’s shot put and Barbara Rivera was 38th in the women’s javelin throw.
On Friday Jan-Louw Kotze (men’s discus), Nick Farrell (men’s pole vault), Matthew Dillon (men’s 110 meter hurdles), Patrick Rohr (men’s 3,000 meter Steeplechase), Phoebe Dawson (women’s discus), and Kaitlyn Beans (women’s long jump) will all compete to qualify to travel to Oregon for the Outdoor Championships.
Softball
Former South Alabama pitcher Farish Beard, who earned her degree this spring, was named to the 2015 Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American as announced by Premier Sports Management on Wednesday.
She earned all-Sun Belt Conference honors for the third consecutive season and was named to the SBC All-Tournament team after helping the Jaguars claim its third title in the last four years.
She finished with an 11-4 record, 2.53 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings pitched this season while only allowing 32 runs all season and holding opposing batters to a team-low .168 batting average.
The Senior CLASS Award in an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. It honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition and is designed for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can offer.
Baseball
Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill was named to the Louisville Slugger Division I All-American second team as announced on Thursday by Collegiate Baseball.
Hill was also named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year and is the lone representative from the conference. He is also the first Jaguar pitcher to earn All-American honors since P.J. Walters was a second-team selection by Collegiate Baseball and a third-team selection by Baseball American in 2006.
Hill completed his redshirt junior season and led the Sun Belt in wins (10), ERA (1.73), opposing batting average (.208) and strikeouts (107). He threw four straight complete games against Sun Belt Conference opponents. He recorded two shutouts in 80 2/3 innings ptiched. He was also the first Jaguar to eclipse the century mark in strikeouts since Walters’ 166 in 2006.
Hill is the program’s 27th All-American in 51 years of baseball.
Additionally, Cole Billingsley, a redshirt sophomore, will compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox this summer. He is the third Jag in the last four years to play in the CCBL after former Jaguar standout and 2013 SBC Player of the Year Jordan Patterson competed with the Bourne Braves in the summer of 2012. J.T. Files also competed with the Brewster Whitecaps in the summer of 2012 as well.
He earned first-team All-SBC honors as an outfielder this season after leading the conference in stolen bases (30). He also finished tied for second in the SBC in hits (80) and triples (4), tied for fourth in runs scored (46), eighth in on-base percentage (.437) and tied for eighth in walks (34).
Jaguar Softball Travels to Auburn for the 2015 Auburn Regional this Weekend
The South Alabama Jaguar softball team learned their destination on Sunday at Heroes Sport Bar and Grill during their NCAA Selection Show gathering. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
The 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguars road to the championship this season goes through Auburn as announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday.
On Sunday evening the Jaguars found out that they were selected to participate in the NCAA Auburn Regional this weekend, May 15-17 and that they will face the national #4 seed Tigers, Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech.
This will be the Jaguars fourth appearance in the NCAA Regionals in as many years after earning the SBC automatic bid with their third title in four years. Previously the Jaguars participated in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional in 2012 and 2014 and hosted the 2013 Mobile Regional, which was a first for the program.
USA (38-11) will open play on Friday against Chattanooga at 3pm.
Auburn (49-9) won the Southeastern Conference Tournament title on Saturday with a 6-5 extra innings defeat of 11th ranked Tennessee in the championship game.
Chattanooga (35-13) defeated USA 3-1 at the South Alabama Invitational on February 20, won its 13th Southern Conference Tournament title last weekend with a 3-1 win over Mercer.
Tennessee Tech (32-26) won it’s seventh Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title last weekend as well with a 3-2 win over top-seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
The winner of the Auburn Regional will advance to the Super Regional and will face the winner of the Lafayette Regional which features the 13th seeded Cajuns (39-9), Baylor (38-14), Mississippi state (35-19) and Weber State (38-17).
All games this weekend will be broadcast on the SECNetowrk+ and WatchESPN.com. Links directly South Alabama games will be provided by the USA Softball Schedule page as they are made available. More information about the tournament including tickets can be found at the 2015 NCAA Auburn Regional Tournament Central website.
Jaguars Win 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championship
Photo credit: sunbeltsports.org
The Jaguars had to play an extra game on the way to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, but in the end the Jags fought through and defeated the 10th ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns for the trophy.
On Friday, the Jags faced Louisiana-Lafayette in the Championship Play-In game in San Marcos, Texas. Though the Jaguars got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning, the Ragin’ Cajuns answered back with six unanswered runs from five home runs, the most allowed by USA since March 24, 2007 as they lost to the 10th ranked Cajuns 6-3.
The Jags, then facing an elimination game against Georgia State for the right to face the Cajuns again for the winner-take-all Championship Game played spectacularly against the Panthers.
Emily Messer got on base with a single to start the game then scored on Chloe Rathburn’s single to left field to take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
In the fourth inning they doubled their lead after Messer tripled to center field which scored sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan after she led off the inning with a bunt single.
USA added a third run to their total after Stephanie Pilkington hit a one-out single to center field then was brought home by Kaitlyn Griffith’s double.
In the top of the sixth inning, Georgia State loaded the bases after Farish Beard hit the leadoff hitter, followed by a Jag fielding error and a hit into shallow right field for the Panthers first and only hit of the game.
Beard responded by striking out the next batter looking, but Lauren Coleman lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score the only run for the Panthers.
Beard would then retire the Panthers in order in the top of the seventh inning to seal the game as the improved her season record to 11-4 with a complete game victory after striking out four with four walks and allowing an unearned run on one hit.
The Championship Game was a battle of two heavyweights.
Griffith’s Three RBI Performance Leads USA Past ULM To SBC Championship Play-In Game
Griffith, a senior from Centre, AL, hit her 13th home run of the season to extend her single-season record while driving in three runs against ULM to help the Jaguars advance to the SBC Championship Play-In Game on Friday. | Photo: usajaguars.com
The 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguars advances to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Play-In Game behind senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith’s three RBI performance against Louisiana-Monroe Thursday evening in a 6-2 win.
USA (36-10) opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer, her 13th on the season, to right center field.
In the bottom of the third inning the Jaguars would add three more runs to their total after freshman second baseman Kristian Foster led off the inning with a double to right center. Foster was replaced by pinch-runner Kaleigh Todd. Chloe Rathburn was reach base on a Warhawk fielding error ahead of senior left fielder Blair Johnson’s base hit to shallow left field which would score Todd to make it 2-0. Rathburn would score on a ULM wild pitch.
Sophomore center fielder Amanda Minahan singled up the middle to score Johnson and put the Jags up 4-0 for the final run of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning Todd and junior catcher Stephanie Pilkington both drew walks to set up Griffith for a two-out, two-run double down the left field line which accounted for the final runs for the Jaguars.
The Warhawks would attempt a comeback in the top of the sixth when third baseman Vanessa Garcia hit a two-run homer, but that would be as close as they would get as freshman righty Kalen McGill would finish off the game by forcing the Warhawks into a game-ending double play.
Farish Beard picked up the win after striking out eight batters while allowing two earned runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched.
Griffith finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Johnson was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Rathburn had one hit and a run scored. Minahan also got a hit and an RBI. Todd scored a pair of runs.
Both Rathburn and Pilkington has reached base in a team-high 14 consecutive games now.
In the other side of the bracket, #1 seed Louisiana-Lafayette scored at least one run in all six innings of the run-rule contest against #5 seed Georgia State to take a 10-2 win and to also advance to the SBC Championship Play-In Game.
Today’s games will begin at 10AM with the losers bracket elimination game between #5 Georgia State and #6 UL-Monroe for Game 7 of the tournament.
In the second of three games today will be Game 8, the SBC Play-In game between the two top seeds on Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama. The game is slated to start at 1pm in San Marcos, Texas.
The winner of game 8 will advance to tomorrow’s Championship Game, while the loser will move to the losers bracket for an elimination game against the winner of Georgia State vs ULM for the right to fill the second slot in the SBC Championship Game.
Former Jaguar Brandon Bridge Signs Free-Agent Agreement With Dallas Cowboys
Brandon Bridge was on the Dallas Cowboys’ free-agent signings list as released on Wednesday to make his signing official. He will join the team’s weekend rookie camp which is scheduled for Friday through Sunday. | Photo: Brad Puckett usajaguars.com
Former University of South Alabama quarterback Brandon Bridge – a 6’5″ 235-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – has officially signed a free-agent deal with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Though it was announced on difference social media accounts over the weekend and earlier this week, the Dallas Cowboys released their official free-agent signings list on Wednesday making it official.
Bridge, after going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft last weekend, signed an agreement that will bring Bridge in for the Cowboys’ weekend rookie camp, which is slated to run Friday through Sunday.
In his lone season as a starter for USA, he completed 160-of-307 (52%) of his passing attempts for 1,927 yards while tying the single season record of 15 touchdowns. He also added 297 yards rushing and a team-high-tying four rushing touchdowns. He led the team with 2,224 yards of total offense and ranked ninth in the conference with 202.18 yards passing per game with a 115.76 pass efficiency rating.
After his performance against Georgia State where he rushed for 137 yards, a school record for a quarterback, and a touchdown on 15 attempts while also throwing for 126 yards and two touchdowns through the air, he was selected the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
Against Appalachian State, he threw for 339 yards, the second highest total in school history, with three touchdowns in the road victory. In his final appearance for the Jaguars in the schools first-ever bowl game he finished 20-of-37 for 279 yards and a touchdown while rushing for an additional 41 yards including a 15 yard touchdown in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.
Though he was hampered by a nagging ankle injury for most of the season, he concluded his two-year career at USA among the top 10 in the school’s records in 10 statistical categories including third in total offensive yards (2,792), completions (189), yards passing (2,325), passing touchdowns (16) and pass efficiency rating (111.83).
Congratulations Brandon! Show the Cowboys what you can do!
Billingsley Name SBC Baseball Player of the Week
The Redshirt Sophomore is batting .344 with seven doubles, four triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 40 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 47 games this season. | Photo credit: John Adams usajaguars.com
On Tuesday the Sun Belt Conference office announced that Cole Billingsley was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Billingsley, a redshirt sophomore from Cropwell, AL., hit .450 with three doubles, five RBI, seven runs scored and three stolen bases in four games last week while helping the Jags to a three-game sweep of Georgia Southern.
He recorded multiple hits in each game and drove in at least one run in three of the four contests including a multi-RBI performance in the final two games against GSU.
Billingsley is the first Jaguar to earn the conference Player of the Week honor since Adam Ballew on March 3 of this season.
For the season, he is batting .344 with seven doubles, four triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 40 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 47 games this season. He also had a .443 on-base percentage on the season.
Six Jags Earn Softball All-SBC Team Honors
South Alabama receives the Sun Belt Conference Academic Award for the second-consecutive season with a team GPA of 3.44. | Photo Credit: twitter.com @Blazinjag
As the 23rd ranked South Alabama Jaguar Softball team prepares to make their appearance in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament this week, they are looking to retake the conference tournament crown.
The 10th ranked Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns earned the regular season title and the top seed for the tournament after finishing the season with a 20-3 record in conference play. They also defeated the Jaguars last season in the conference finale in Lafayette, LA after the Jaguars two-year reign as tournament title winners in 2012 and ’13.
Ahead of today’s start to the tournament, the conference office announced the All-Sun Belt Conference teams at Bobcat Stadium as part of Family Night. Six Jaguars were named to All-SBC Teams and for the second year in a row the Jags earned the SBC Team Academic Award with a team GPA of 3.44 over the past year, which is higher than their 3.36 GPA from last season.
Freshman right-hander Kalen McGill and sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn earned first-team honors, while senior pitcher Farish Beard, senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith, junior Stephanie Pilkington and sophomore Amanda Minahan, both outfielders, were chosen for Second-Team honors at their respective positions.
McGill finished the regular season with a 16-2 record and a team-leading 1.82 ERA. She also recorded four saves this season which tops the SBC and is currently ranked seventh in the nation in walks allowed per seven innings (0.97) and 17th in saves. She finished with an 8-1 league record and was named SBC Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Rathburn lead the Jags at the plate with a .387 batting average, 53 hits and 48 RBI and is four RBI away from tying former Jaguar standout Brittany Fowler’s single-season record of 52 which she set in 2011, this is her second time to be named to the SBC First-Team.
Beard finished 6-1 this season in conference play with 53 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched in conference play. She allowed only nine earned runs with three shutouts while holding opposing batters to a .162 average in conference games. She is ranked 15th in the nation in hist allowed per seven innings (4.33). This is her third All-Conference honor of her career.
Griffith set a new single-season home run record when she hit her 12th last weekend against Troy. She also set a Jag record with six sacrifice flies and currently ranks sixth in the country in this category. This is her second All-Conference honor for Griffith.
Pilkington earns her second All-Conference honor as well after leading the Jags in on-base percentage for the entire season with a .485 average with a team-high 28 walks.
Minahan earned her first All-Conference honor after batting .354 on the season with a .555 slugging percentage which is third best on the team, and also with a .418 on-base percentage which is fourth-best on the team. She is tied for second on the team with five home runs. She batted .345 in conference play this season, which is also second best on the team.
The Jags will begin their tournament play on Thursday at 5pm when they face the winner of Game 4 which will be the winner of 6-seed ULM and 7-seed UT-Arlington vs 3-seed Texas State. Below is the full rundown of Sun Belt All-Conference teams.
Sun Belt All-Conference First Team
- P- Randi Rupp, Texas State
- P- Kalen McGill, South Alabama
- P- Jordan Wallace, Louisiana-Lafayette
- P- Jaycee Affeldt, Troy
- C- Lexie Elkins, Louisiana-Lafayette
- C- Ivie Drake, Georgia State
- 1B- Kelsey Vincent, Louisiana-Lafayette
- 1B- Kendall Wiley, Texas State
- 2B- Haley Hayden, UL Lafayette
- SS- Taylor Anderson, Georgia State
- 3B- Callie Alford, Georgia State
- OF- Shellie Landry, Louisiana-Lafayette
- OF- Ashley Christy, Georgia State
- OF- Rochelle Roberts, Louisiana-Monroe
- DP- Chloe Rathburn, South Alabama
Sun Belt All-Conference Second Team
- P- Farish Beard, South Alabama
- P- Alex Stewart, Louisiana-Lafayette
- C- Sarah Warnock, Appalachian State
- 1B- Alexis Cacioppo, Louisiana-Monroe
- 1B- Lauren Coleman, Georgia State
- 2B- Miyuki Navarette, Louisiana-Monroe
- SS- Ariel Ortiz, Texas State
- SS- Kaitlyn Griffith, South Alabama
- 3B- Courtney Harris, Texas State
- 3B- Samantha Walsh, Louisiana-Lafayette
- OF- Taylor Rogers, Georgia Southern
- OF- Amanda Minahan, South Alabama
- OF- Stephanie Pilkington, South Alabama
- OF- Becca Hartley, Troy
- DP- Leandra Maly, Louisiana-Lafayette
Player of the Year
- Lexie Elkins, Louisiana-Lafayette
Pitcher of the Year
- Jaycee Affeldt, Troy
Freshman of the Year
- Ivie Drake, Georgia State
Co-Coaches of the Year
- Beth Mullins, Troy
- Michael Lotief, Louisiana-Lafayette
Kelley Selected As Member Of National Football Foundation Hampshire Society
Kelley had a career best 56 tackles and five sacks in 2014 to lead the defense. Along with his 3.42 GPA entering the spring semester, Kelley was selected as a 2015 member of the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. | Photo credit: usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Jesse Kelley was selected as a member of the 2015 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society on Wednesday. A total of 817 student-athletes from 278 schools qualified for membership in the society in its ninth year of existence, which sets a new record for the number of schools represented in the history of the program since it began in 2007.
In order to qualify for membership, one must be a starter or significant contributor in one’s last year of eligibility (or a senior who has declared for the NFL Draft) at an NCAA FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III or NAIA college or university; achieve a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout their entire course of undergraduate study; and meeting all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress towards their degree requirements.
Kelley will earn his degree from USA in less than two weeks as a meteorology major with a minor in geology with a 3.42 GPA entering his final semester. Earlier this week he was presented with the “Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award” at the Pete Tolbert Night of Champions. The senior was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in the fall as a defensive lineman and has been a member of the Sun Belt Conference Commissioners List each of the last two years.
Kelley helped the Jaguars earn a berth in the program’s first-ever postseason bowl game against Bowling Green in the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in December. He earned honorable mention All-Conference accolades in 2014 after leading the defense with a career-best 56 total stops and five sacks. He equaled his previous high with 6.5 tackles for loss and also broke up two passes. In 42 games over five seasons he earned three letters while recording 116 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
Pete Tolbert Night of Champions Honors Jaguar Student-Athletes
Photo credit Press-Register/Victor Calhoun
South Alabama honored student-athletes Monday at the sixth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center. The event recognizes the achievements, both in competition and academically, of the nearly 400 individuals who comprise the University of South Alabama athletics program.
Kaitlyn Griffith (Softball from Centre, AL) and Daniel Leitner (Men’s Tennis from Neiderfischbach, Germany) were named the Jaguar Female and Male Student-Athlete of the Year respectively, honoring the most outstanding Jaguars based on scholarship, athletic ability and citizenship.
Griffith, a senior shortstop for the softball team is hitting .296 with a team-high 11 home runs, with 38 RBI, 25 runs scored and helping the team to a 33-9 record thus far and a top-25 national ranking throughout the 2015 season. She is a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar Athlete and is set to receiver her degree in May in exercise science. She has a 3.82 cumulative GPA.
Leitner, a senior, is the reigning two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in men’s tennis. He earned the award this spring after amassing a 28-5 overall record in singles play and a 22-6 record in doubles play. He was named to the first-team All-SBC in both singles and doubles, and as the highest-rated individual in the conference, will earn a berth to the NCAA Singles Championships in May. He will graduate with a 3.89 GPA in exercise science in May.
A pair of Griffith’s teammates on the Softball team also earned awards.
Farish Beard was chosen at the school’s NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee with Blair Johnson earning the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship.
Beard, who currently has a 3.39 GPA, was selected as the nominee for that goes to a varsity letterwinner completing her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of spring sports season, who has excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum of a cumulative 2.5 GPA. She is also a finalist for both the Senior CLASS and 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards. This season she is 9-3 with a 2.37 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 71 innings.
Johnson earned the award going to a student-athlete who holds a minimum of a 2.5 GPA, has completed their NCAA eligibility and with the assistance of the fund will graduate from USA within two consecutive semesters. She has earned All-SBC honors twice during her career and this year she is batting .254 with 12 extra-base hits, 25 RBI, and 14 walks to only eight strikeouts.
Sophie Haywood from Hull, England, earned the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar Athlete Awards given to the most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. She was named First-Team All-Conference after posting 19 points on seven goals and five assists in helping the Jaguar soccer team tow in the conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. She has a 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major.
Adam Ballew of the baseball team was awarded the Denny-Gottfried Scholarship Award that is presented to the student-athlete who has exhausted their eligibilty, maintained an outstanding GPA and achieved athletic accomplishment. In his final season at USA, he has helped the Jaguar baseball team to a 29-16 record thus far while batting .275 with five extra-base hits, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases. He is an exercise science major with a 3.38 GPA.
Derek Westbrook from Diamondhead, MS, received a pair of awards. He arned the Shirley Holt Scholarship Award as well as the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award. The former is given to a student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding “Team Spirit” and who has shown great character and concern for his or her fellow student-athletes. The latter recognizes overall support of Jaguar Athletics. Both awards exemplifies Derek’s contributions to South Alabama Athletics and also marks the second-consecutive year that he has garnered the JAG Award honors.
Caroline Beebe earned the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award. Which marks the second consecutive year that both she has earned the JAF Award as well.
Hunter Colemani was awarded the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award which is given to a USA Junior who most excels in sports while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA. The right handed pitcher has a 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences in the classroom while on the diamond he has a 1-0 record with a 0.59 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 15.1 innings of work.
Jimmie Gipson III was awarded the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award which goes to a minority student-athlete who has excelled in both the classroom and competition. Nikki Gittens was awarded the Female Perseverance Award after she suffered a stress fracture in her tibia that forced her to redshirt in 2013, she then returned and ranked third on the volleyball team with 243 kills and led the team with a .250 attack percentage and 83 total blocks while helping the Jags qualify for the SBC tournament despite tendinitis in her knee and hitting shoulder.
Ucambre Williams earned the Male Perseverance Award after undergoing three separate surgical procedures and requiring over six months of rehabilitation. After surgery on his right knee in September he returned in just 15 days and would go on to start 11 consecutive games while posting a team-best 90 percent overall grade and being named to the second-team All-SBC and helped the Jaguars play in its first-ever postseason bowl game.
Brandon Bridge was awarded the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award as the Jaguars starter last fall. Matt Bolger earned the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award. David Knapp earned the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endwoed Scholarship for baseball. Mark Watts earned the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship Fund for Track and Field. Emily Newton earned the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund for Track and Field as well.
Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Operations Greg Keel was selected for the Matt Smith Award which goes to a member of the athletics staff who consistenly goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, a strong work ethic, and a deep sense of pride in their job. The award is named in memory of former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith who passed away in December of 2004.
Each sport program also presented awards at the event. The winners of those honors were:
- Eddie Stanky Award (baseball), Bolger
- Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men’s basketball), Dionte Ferguson
- Jaguar Women’s Basketball NCAA Award (women’s basketball), Breanna Hall
- Female Distance Award (women’s cross country), Nicole Durham
- Male Distance Award (men’s cross country), Christoph Graf
- Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), Jesse Kelley
- Heath Slocum Award (men’s golf), Tyler Klava
- Beth Barry Award (women’s golf), Ingrid Hagen
- Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Alyssa Mayer
- Extra Mile Award (softball), Stephanie Pilkington
- Lubel Family Award (men’s tennis), Leitner
- Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis), Laura Matuskova
- Most Outstanding Women’s Track & Field Student-Athlete Award (women’s track and field), Kaitlyn Beans
- Most Outstanding Men’s Track & Field Student-Athlete Award (men’s track and field), Jan-Louw Kotze
- Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball), Gittens
Prior to the naming of the Jaguar Student-Athletes of the Year, 46 current and former student-athletes who will graduate at the conclusion of the semester received gifts from the department.
Congratulations to all the award winners as well as all of the student-athletes who will earn their degrees. Thank you for representing the University in each of your respective sports with honor and character. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.