SHERMAN, Texas — The Austin College coaches and team members honored more than 50 student-athletes, including the Austin College male and female athletes of the year, in its annual Athletics Convocation on Thursday night in Hughey Gymnasium on the Austin College campus.
By virtue of head coaches' selections, junior men's soccer player Louis Catchpole and senior swimmer Sammi Thiele were named the Pete Cawthon Male Athlete of the Year and Gene Day Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.
Catchpole earned the Cawthon Award following a season in which he was named first team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and finished second in the conference in scoring with 14 goals. He was also an Academic All-District recipient for his work in the classroom.
Thiele was named the Gene Day winner for the third straight year after winning two SCAC championships and earning All-America status in three events at the national championship meet. She was also named an Academic All-District performer and won the SCAC Elite 19 Award as the top scholar-athlete in the conference.
Baseball player RayShawn Riley and women's basketball player Lexi Martin were named the male and female Tim Jubela Award winners as the most outstanding freshmen student-athletes of the year. Riley was the team leader in virtually every offensive category, batting .345 with two home runs, seven doubles, 29 runs batted in, and 20 runs scored, while Martin led the 'Roos with 10.4 points-per-game and added 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals-per-game.
List of Award Winners:
Team Awards
- Baseball – Cecil Grigg Award (most outstanding baseball player) – RayShawn Riley
- Baseball – Newcomer of the Year – Tino Ramirez
- Men's Basketball – Hustle Award – Ethan Pearce
- Men's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Joshua Joe
- Women's Basketball – Brittany Simpson Award – Kaylee Lewis
- Women's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Lauren Traylor
- Football – William B. Traylor Award (for hard work and dedication) – Colton Gerken
- Football – Gene "Duke" Babb Award (most outstanding football player) – Jarrett Pleasant
- Men's Soccer – Clayton Hustle Award – Ben Schrib
- Men's Soccer – Most Outstanding Player – Pierce Wear
- Women's Soccer – Carole Lomangino Award – Kaya Jensen
- Women's Soccer – Hustle Award – Brittany Hutton
- Softball – Spirit Award – Trista Conforto
- Softball – Most Outstanding Player – Elizabeth Preston
- Men's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Alex Lai
- Men's Swimming – Most Improved – Tim Smith
- Women's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Sammi Thiele
- Women's Swimming – Most Improved – Jordan Armstrong
- Men's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Luke Henley
- Men's Tennis – Most Improved – Mario Diaz
- Women's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Karsyn Clouse
- Women's Tennis – Most Improved – Emma Davidson
- Volleyball – Most Outstanding Player – Brianne Tseng
- Volleyball – Team Impact – Mattie Duncan
- Men's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – Sebastian Scheier
- Men's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Alan Rosenberg
- Women's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – McKenna Malone
- Women's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Kylee Noble
- Cheerleading - Most Improved Cheerleader - Jessica Hunt
- Cheerleading - Most Outstanding Cheerleader - Emma Samaniego
- Athletic Training - Most Improved Student Athletic Trainer - Sebastian Scheier
- Athletic Training - Most Outstanding Student Athletic Trainer - Nick Denbo
Departmental Awards (selected by head coaches)
- Gene Day Award – Most outstanding female athlete – Sammi Thiele, swimming
- Pete Cawthon – Most outstanding male athlete – Louis Catchpole, soccer
- Tim Jubela – Most outstanding female freshman athlete – Lexi Martin, basketball
- Tim Jubela – Most outstanding male freshman athlete – RayShawn Riley, baseball
- Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – The 'Roo Senior Class of 2024
- Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Kalee Rush
- Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Cody Dean
- Bo Miller – Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Marianna Bert, basketball
- Bo Miller - Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Nikolas Koelzer, water polo
- Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Taylor Nemeth, volleyball; Bailey Standokes, tennis; Kalee Rush, softball; Emma Boyce, water polo; Sarah Davis, soccer; Avery Rague, basketball; Cassidee Levine, swimming; Tenley Swink, cheer
- Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Ryan Padfield, baseball; Ocie Berry, basketball; Pedro Echeverria, soccer; Trey Salyer, tennis; Viktor Buscemi, water polo; Jarrett Pleasant, football; David Stanford, swimming
- T. Ellis Lockhart Spirit Award - Dr. John Prudich
- Dr. Jack Pierce Academic Excellence Award – Highest Team GPA – Women's Swimming & Diving