College players of the week named - May 14

May 14, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trevecca junior infielder Cole McCallum had a big week as he helped lead the Trojans to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament championship, earning himself this week’s selection as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s College Baseball Player of the Week.

McCallum, a native of Medina, Tenn., led Trevecca to a 4-0 sweep through the tournament, including a victory over defending tournament champion Walsh, two wins over No. 20 and tournament top-seed Ashland and a triumph over Tiffin in the championship game at cavernous Prasco Park with a high center field fence.

He had no problem finding the clearance though – McCallum’s two home runs sailed over the wall in deep center. For the week, he batted .529 with five RBI and five runs scored, posting a .941 slugging mark and a .556 on-base percentage.

The victory gave Trevecca its second NCAA Division II regional appearance in three seasons.

On the hill, the Pitcher of the Week honor went to Middle Tennessee’s Trace Phillips as the freshman from Spring Hill, Tenn., put together strong outings against Lipscomb and Jacksonville State. In his midweek appearance against the Bison, Phillips tossed two clean frames, recording a career-high four strikeouts before switching over to first base and designated hitter duties.

He shattered his career-best tally just days later against the Gamecocks. Throwing a personal-long seven frames against JSU, Phillips whiffed nine Gamecocks batters as he allowed just one earned run on four hits to earmark the victory.

For the week, Phillips went nine total innings, allowing a single unearned run for a 1.00 earned run average while striking out 13.

BASEBALL
2/20 | Player: John Bay (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Peyton Calitri (Tennessee Tech)
2/27 | Player: Hayden Gilliland (Tennessee Tech); Pitcher: Andrew Devine (Austin Peay)
3/5 | Player: Camden Kozeal (Vanderbilt); Pitcher: Will Pryor (Belmont)
3/12 | Player: Tanner Shiver (Tennessee Tech); Pitcher: Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt)
3/19 | Player: Harrison Travis (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Noah Toney (Union)
3/26 | Player: Cam Suto (Lee); Pitcher: Chandler Alderman (Middle Tennessee)
4/2 | Player: Dylan Dreiling (Tennessee); Pitcher: Bryce Cunningham (Vanderbilt)
4/9 | Player: Brody Szako (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Peyton Calitri (Tennessee Tech)
4/16 | Player: Jacob Tobias (Lipscomb); Pitcher: Landon Smiddy (Tennessee Tech)
4/23 | Player: Christian Moore (Tennessee); Pitcher: Eli Snelson (Union)
4/30 | Player: Lyle Miller-Green (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Bryce Cunningham (Vanderbilt)
5/7 | Player: Harrison Brown (Austin Peay); Pitcher: Solomon Washington (Austin Peay)
5/14 | Player: Cole McCallum (Trevecca); Pitcher: Trace Phillips (Middle Tennessee)

TSWA recognizes college players of the week - May 7

May 7, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay continued to show off the bats as Governors outfielder/first baseman Harrison Brown put on a show last week to earn the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Baseball Player of the Week honor.

Brown, a senior from Cambridge, Mass., batted .500 for the week, going 9-for-18, as he collected seven total RBI and six runs scored. He started the week with an Austin Peay-record 11 RBI in the team’s 35-1 victory over Alabama A&M, topping the single-game record set in 1971. He finished the game going 5-for-6 with an RBI-single, a pair of three-run home runs, a bases-loaded walk and a three-run double.

He continued the effort as he drove in two runs in the opener against Stetson, two more in the middle game, then another pair of runs in Sunday’s finale – his two-run single in the sixth tying the game at seven-all as the Govs scored nine unanswered runs.

The Govs also claimed the Pitcher of the Week award as Solomon Washington went 2-0, standing as the starting pitcher in the game vs. Alabama A&M and earned the win with four scoreless frames with one hit allowed and striking out a career-high seven batters.

Washington, a graduate student from Brentwood, Tenn., also came out of the bullpen in the second game vs. Stetson, picking up the win after holding the Hatters to one run on four hits over three frames of work, entering with the game tied at one and APSU took a 3-1 lead. He finished the week with a 1.00 ERA and 10 total strikeouts.

On the softball diamond, both awards went to Maryville College as the Scots went 4-0 to claim the Collegiate Conference of the South championship with junior third baseman Brecca Williams named the Player of the Week and senior pitcher Megan Ackerman taking the Pitcher of the Week honor.

Williams batted .471 with two doubles, a triple, seven runs scored and five RBI. She had the game-winning hit in Maryville’s 6-3 13-inning victory over No. 6-ranked Belhaven with a three-run double to conclude a 5-for-7 contest against CCS Pitcher of the Year Kennedy Carruth. Williams also went 2-for-3 against Carruth in the championship game as she had a single and scored in the first inning, then had a triple and scoring in the fifth inning. Williams went 7-for-10 against Carruth with four RBI and four runs scored.

Ackerman earned the CCS tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award as she pitched three complete-game victories in three days over 27 innings, posting a cumulative 2.59 ERA. In the 13-inning marathon against Belhaven, she threw 198 pitches. Ackerman allowed three runs over the first five innings, then held the Blazers scoreless over the final eight innings as the Scots prevailed in the 13th. The next day, she pitched a 4-2 win over Piedmont before throwing another complete effort with a 6-5 victory in the championship game. Ackerman threw 396 pitches over the three contests.

SOFTBALL
2/20 | Player: Olivia Lipari (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
2/27 | Player: Zoey Neal (Union); Pitcher: Lainey Baker (Union)
3/5 | Player: Hayden Dye (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Taylor Long (Chattanooga)
3/12 | Player: Brooke Matyasovsky (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
3/19 | Player: Kendall Andrews (Trevecca); Pitcher: Caitlyn Manus (Tennessee State)
3/26 | Player: Kendall Andrews (Trevecca); Pitcher: Taylor Long (Chattanooga)
4/2 | Player: Kailey Snell (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Lainey Baker (Union)
4/9 | Player: Sydney McCormick (Trevecca); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
4/16 | Player: Nicole Hughes (Belmont); Pitcher: Jersey Cabana (Lane College)
4/23 | Player: Macey Hughes (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Emily Sappington (Tusculum)
4/30 | Player: Aliva Eggleston (Freed-Hardeman): Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
5/7 | Player: Brecca Williams (Maryville); Pitcher: Megan Ackerman (Maryville)

Stutts, Knecht garner TSWA men's basketball awards

May 2, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE – Freed-Hardeman’s Drew Stutts and Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht were voted the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men’s Basketball Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, for the 2023-24 season, as announced this week by the organization.

Stutts led the Lions to the school’s first men’s basketball national championship in his fifth year at the helm of the program. FHU posted a 32-4 mark during the season, winning the Mid-South Conference regular season (co-champions) and tournament titles. In the NAIA National Tournament, the Lions won home games in the first two rounds before recording four victories by a combined 19 points en route to the championship.

Freed-Hardeman has played in the NAIA National Tournament in each of the last three seasons, reaching the Round of 16 in 2022-23 before winning the title this year. In five seasons as head coach, Stutts has amassed a 109-45 and was named the NAIA’s National Coach of the Year in 2023-24.

Knecht earned SEC Player of the Year honors and was a consensus First Team All-American. He was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award and won the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award and the Riley Wallace Transfer of the Year Award.

The Thornton, Colo., native averaged 21.67 points per game, leading the SEC in scoring and ranking eighth nationally. He posted six games with 35-plus points, the most of any Division I player in the nation and a UT single-season record, and ranked third nationally with eight 30-point performances.

Knecht registered 25.5 points per game in SEC play, the second-best mark of the last 22 years and the highest league-only scoring figure in Division I. The Vols won the outright SEC regular season championship, reaching the Elite Eight for the second time in program history and ending the year ranked fifth nationally, the best final ranking in program annals.

Insell, Jackson named TSWA women's basketball award winners

May 1, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE – Middle Tennessee’s Rick Insell and Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson were named the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Women’s Basketball Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, for the 2023-24 season, as announced this week by the organization.

Insell earned the Pat Summitt Coach of the Year award, guiding the Blue Raiders to a 30-5 overall record, including a perfect 16-0 in Conference USA play, winning both the regular season and tournament titles. Middle Tennessee became the fourth team in CUSA history to cap an undefeated conference regular season and the second team in league history to sweep both titles while remaining unbeaten.

The squad put together a 20-game winning streak during the year, holding opponents to 55.5 points per game during the campaign, and posted an average margin of victory of 23.5 points in conference play.

The Blue Raiders reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007, overcoming an 18-point deficit against Louisville in the first round in Baton Rouge, the fourth largest comeback in tournament history. Middle Tennessee led at the half in the second round against LSU before falling to the Tigers.

This marked the 17th season with 20-plus wins in 19 years for Insell leading the Blue Raiders and his second with 30-plus victories.

Jackson averaged 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, leading the SEC in scoring with the ninth-best single-season scoring average in UT history to earn First Team All-SEC and Honorable Mention All-America honors. She was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award and posted 29.5 points and 9.5 rebounds during two NCAA Tournament games.

The Detroit, Mich., native overcame an early-season leg injury to score in double figures 24 times in 25 games, including 13 contests with 20-plus points and two games with more than 30. She was selected No. 4 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Jackson is one of only six Lady Vols to average 20-plus points in a season along with Patricia Roberts (29.9), Chamique Holdsclaw (23.5, 21.3, 20.6), Cindy Brogdon (21.7, 20.1), Candace Parker (21.3) and Bridgette Gordon (20.8, 20.4). Her 19.6 points per game career average at UT ranks fourth all-time behind Roberts (29.9, 1976-77), Brogdon (20.8, 1977-79) and Holdsclaw (20.4, 1995-99) and just ahead of Parker (19.4).

College players of the week named - April 30

April 30, 2024 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a week where Austin Peay’s offense put together 63 runs and a 4-0 performance on the field, graduate outfielder Lyle Miller-Green paced the way, earning this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Baseball Player of the Week honor.

Miller-Green, from Burke, Virginia, ended the week with a .500 performance as he went 7-for-14 at the plate, hitting five home runs, driving in 12 runs and scoring 11 times. He posted a .619 on-base percentage and a 1.714 slugging percentage.

The Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week, Miller-Green started the week off right as he hit three home runs and drove in seven runs. He hit a pair of two-run home runs in the first and second innings, a two-run triple in the fourth, then a solo homer in the ninth, tying an Austin Peay record for most home runs in a game and tied for the fourth-most RBI in a game.

His effort continued into the series sweep over conference foe Eastern Kentucky as he scored eight times and drove in three runs. He scored three time in the opener, hit another pair of two-run home runs in a four-RBI, three-run scored outing, then walked twice and scored twice in the finale.

On the mound, Vanderbilt junior righty Bryce Cunningham threw a complete-game shutout on Friday in a 4-0 victory over Mississippi State. The Headland, Ala., native was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week as he pitched the longest outing of his career, throwing 122 pitches while allowing only two hits.

The complete-game shutout was Vanderbilt’s second this season and the first against an SEC team since Hunter Owen shutout Ole Miss on March 17, 2023.

Over on the softball diamond, Freed-Hardeman sophomore infielder/catcher Alivia Eggleston was named the Player of the Week after she batted .529 for the week, collecting a hit in all four games in the past week. The Madison, Ala., native drove in 10 total runs, including five in a 9-2 victory over Cumberland with a three-run homer and a two-run single.

In the circle, Trevecca pitcher Ashlan Sensing won the Pitcher of the Week honor as she collected her 23rd career shutout in a 5-0 victory over Cedarville. In the course of the week, she collected a 0.50 earned run average with two complete games. She struck out 16 batters across 14 innings of work. Opponents hit .154 against her as she allowed eight total hits and three walks.