NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech junior guard Jaylon Johnson was named the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after a strong week where the Houston, Texas, native led the team in scoring, averaging 26.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Johnson was a scoring machine for the Purple and Gold to close the regular season, while also averaging 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He scored a season-high 31 points and eight 3-pointers with seven rebounds, three dimes and four steals against Western Illinois. The eight 3-pointers on 14 tries tied for the second-most in program history.
He followed up on Saturday against Lindenwood as he never left the floor, scoring 22 points with five rebounds, five assists and hitting 8-for-9 at the line. He also extended his 3-point streak to 31 straight games.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Middle Tennessee’s Ta’Mia Scott led the Blue Raiders to a 2-0 week, scoring 45 points with 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. She scored a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds, an assist and a block in a 63-41 win over New Mexico State. She shot 7-for-14 from the field.
Scott followed that up with 25 points, four rebounds, two blocks and an assist with a 57-35 win over UTP, shooting 47 percent from the field.
BASEBALL: Tennessee junior infielder Gavin Kilen was named the Baseball Player of the Week after an incredible week to keep the Volunteers undefeated and win the 2025 Astros Foundation College Classic. He batted .611 on the week with 11 hits and nine runs score, driving in eight. He had five home runs.
Seven of Kilen’s hits went for extra bases, starting the weekend with back-to-back two-homer games against No. 16 Oklahoma State and Rice before going 2-for-4 with an RBI against No. 24 Arizona. He finished a single short of the cycle as he went 4-for-5 with five runs and four RBI in a win over Rice.
Lipscomb righty Jake Poindexter was named the Pitcher of the Week as he had seven shutout innings, allowing six hits and two walks, striking out six as he picked up the victory over Villanova. The seven innings and six strikeouts were career highs.
He shut the door on the Wildcats in the final two frames, sending Villanova down 1-2-3 in the sixth and around a two-out single in the seventh. For the season, he has struck out 10 batters in 15 1/3 innings.
SOFTBALL: Carson-Newman senior infielder Hayden Dye was named the Softball Player of the Week as she batted .786 on the week, going 11-for-14 with nine RBI. She hit three home runs – one in three of the four games. All four of the games were multi-hit games as she collected 23 total bases.
Chattanooga junior pitcher Peja Goold was named the Pitcher of the Week as she helped lead the Mocs to a 4-0 week with wins over Jacksonville State, IU Indy, Stony Brook and Gardner-Webb. She struck out 39 batters for the week, including 14 against Stony Brook and 12 against Gardner-Webb.
2024-25 TSWA College Players of the Week
MEN’S BASKETBALL
11/12 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
11/19 | Doyel Cockrill III (Fisk)
11/26 | Russ Marr (Sewanee)
12/3 | Trey Bonham (Chattanooga)
12/10 | Jack Browder (Carson-Newman)
12/17 | Jonathan Pierre (Belmont)
12/31 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
1/7 | Parker Applegate (Union)
1/14 | Elyjah Freeman (Lincoln Memorial)
1/21 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
1/28 | John Zhao (Carson-Newman)
2/4 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
2/11 | Tyler Lundblade (Belmont)
2/18 | Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb)
2/25 | Reed Kemp (Maryville)
3/4 | Jaylon Johnson (Tennessee Tech)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
11/12 | Jennifer Sullivan (Carson-Newman)
11/19 | Ni’Kiah Chesterfield (Tusculum)
11/26 | Molly Heard (Lipscomb)
12/3 | Anastasiia Boldyreva (Middle Tennessee)
12/10 | Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
12/17 | Khamil Pierre (Vanderbilt)
12/31 | Khamil Pierre (Vanderbilt)
1/7 | Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
1/14 | Anastasiia Boldyreva (Middle Tennessee)
1/21 | Micah Hart (Bethel)
1/28 | Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
2/4 | Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
2/11 | Ta’Mia Scott (Middle Tennessee)
2/18 | Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
2/25 | Kendal Cheesman (Belmont)
3/4 | Ta’Mia Scott (Middle Tennessee)
BASEBALL
2/18 | Player: Blake Pou (Sewanee); Pitcher: Ryan Higgins (Carson-Newman)
2/25 | Player: Eston Snider (Middle Tennessee); Pitcher: Liam Doyle (Tennessee)
3/4 | Player: Gavin Kilen (Tennessee); Pitcher: Jake Poindexter (Lipscomb)
SOFTBALL
2/11 | Player: Danielle Jason (Tusculum); Pitcher: Maya Johnson (Belmont)
2/18 | Player: Abbie Buckner (Sewanee); Pitcher: Reagen Huskey (Sewanee)
2/25 | Player: Brianna Asmondy (Trevecca): Pitcher: Maya Johnson (Belmont)
3/4 | Player: Hayden Dye (Carson-Newman); Pitcher: Peja Goold (Chattanooga)