NASHVILLE, Tenn. – UT Martin’s Jacob Crews averaged a double-double this past week as the junior powered the Skyhawks to two big road victories and earned this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.
In the two outings this past weekend, Crews, a junior guard/forward from Hilliard, Fla., averaged 29.5 points and 11.5 rebounds, while shooting .633 from the field and .938 from the free-throw line. At Lindenwood, Crews scored 28 points as he was 9-for-14 from the floor and pulled down 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
He followed that performance with 31 points – shooting 10-for-16 – with 11 rebounds at Southeast Missouri.
On the women’s side, Carson-Newman graduate guard Braelyn Wykle went off for two big performances as she could barely miss in two contests, shooting 71.8 percent from the field, 58.8 percent from long-range and 100 percent from the line as she averaged 32.5 points per game.
Against Virginia-Wise, the Greeneville native scored 37 points on 13-of-15 shooting as she knocked down seven of nine 3-point tries and all four free-throw tries while collecting two rebounds, a steal and an assist in the win.
She followed that up on Saturday at Limestone as she added 28 points on a 10-for-17 effort, with three 3-pointers and hitting all five free-throw tries. Wykle also had three rebounds and two steals in the game.
BASEBALL: Tennessee Tech catcher Hayden Gilliland helped keep its six-game winning streak alive at the plate as the Maryville native batted .625 with 10 hits in 16 at-bats with two doubles and a home run while driving in six and coming home to score seven times.
Earlier in the week, Gilliland had a 4-for-4 performance at Alabama A&M, collecting a double, two runs scored and two RBI. He went 4-for-4 again in the series finale Sunday against Sacred Heart as he scored three times with three RBI. He scored in each game of the series against the Pioneers, collecting two doubles and a homer in the series.
Austin Peay redshirt senior pitcher Andrew Devine earned the pitching honor for the week after a tremendous performance in a run-ruled victory over Maryland Eastern Shore. The Simi Valley, Calif., product and Texas Tech transfer threw a complete-game one-hit shutout, striking out 12 over the course of seven innings – the most by an APSU pitcher in a single game since 2019.
Devine improved to 2-0 and allowed just one hit – a one-out double in the first inning. Devine retired eight straight batters before allowing a leadoff walk in the fourth, then sat down the next 12 batters, including seven on strikeouts.
SOFTBALL: Union University swept the two softball awards for the week as junior Zoey Neal was named the player of the week and sophomore Lainey Baker the pitcher of the week.
Neal finished the week hitting 6-for-14 (.429) with three home runs, 14 RBI and five runs scored. The big blow came as she hit a walk-off grand slam in the series finale against Delta State.
Baker threw eight innings, allowing just two runs – one earned – on two hits. She threw a complete-game one-hitter in the series opener, then the final frame in the second game. Across the eight innings of work, Baker struck out 14.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Jack Browder (Carson-Newman)
11/21 | Mikhail Pocknett (King)
11/28 | Jordan Sears (UT Martin)
12/5 | Reed Kemp (Maryville)
12/12 | Jalen Page (Trevecca)
12/19 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
1/3 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman)
1/9 | Nick Brenegan (Carson-Newman)
1/16 | Jacob Crews (UT Martin)
1/23 | Mikhail Pocknett (King)
1/30 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
2/6 | Jordan Sears (UT Martin)
2/13 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
2/20 | Jestin Porter (Middle Tennessee)
2/27 | Jacob Crews (UT Martin)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
11/14 | Kendal Cheesman (Belmont)
11/21 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
11/28 | Jordyn Cambridge (Vanderbilt)
12/5 | Sacha Washington (Vanderbilt)
12/12 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
12/19 | Jada Guinn (Chattanooga)
1/3 | Faith Wilken (Trevecca)
1/9 | Rickea Jackson (Tennessee)
1/16 | Anastasiia Boldyreva (Middle Tennessee)
1/23 | Reghan Grimes (Tennessee Tech)
1/30 | Anaya Brown (UT Martin)
2/6 | Olivia Falvey (Sewanee)
2/13 | Claira McGowan (Lipscomb)
2/20 | Maya Buckhanon (Fisk)
2/27 | Braelyn Wykle (Carson-Newman)
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)
SOFTBALL
2/20 | Player: Olivia Lipari (Chattanooga); Pitcher: Ashlan Sensing (Trevecca)
2/27 | Player: Zoey Neal (Union); Pitcher: Lainey Baker (Union)