MOBILE, Ala. — Softball shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith and men’s tennis standout Daniel Leitner were named South Alabama’s Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year on Monday night at the sixth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center.
The event recognizes athletic and academic achievement among the nearly 400 student-athletes in the University of South Alabama athletics program. The top individual honors are based on scholarship, athletic ability and citizenship.
Student-Athletes of the Year
Griffith, a senior from Centre, Ala., is batting .296 with a team-high 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and 25 runs scored for a South Alabama softball team that is 33-9 and has held a top-25 national ranking throughout the 2015 season. She is a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete and carries a 3.82 cumulative grade-point average. She is scheduled to receive her degree in exercise science in May.
Leitner, a senior from Niederfischbach, Germany, is the two-time reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in men’s tennis. He earned the honor this spring after posting a 28-5 singles record and a 22-6 doubles record, and he was named first-team All-Sun Belt in both singles and doubles. As the conference’s highest-rated individual, he will receive a berth in the NCAA Singles Championships in May. Leitner will graduate in May with a 3.89 GPA in exercise science.
Softball Teammates Also Honored
Two of Griffith’s softball teammates also received major awards. Pitcher Farish Beard was selected as South Alabama’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, and Blair Johnson received the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship.
The Woman of the Year nomination goes to a varsity letterwinner completing her eligibility by the end of the spring season who has excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership while holding at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA. Beard has a 3.39 GPA and is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She is 9-3 this season with a 2.37 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 71 innings.
The Jimmy Taylor Scholarship goes to a student-athlete with at least a 2.5 GPA who has completed NCAA eligibility and, with the help of the fund, will graduate from South Alabama within two consecutive semesters. Johnson, a two-time All-Sun Belt selection, is hitting .254 with 12 extra-base hits, 25 RBIs and 14 walks against eight strikeouts.
Scholarship and Leadership Awards
Soccer player Sophie Haywood of Hull, England, received the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the top freshman based on academics and athletics. Haywood was named first-team All-Conference after scoring seven goals with five assists for 19 points as the Jaguars won the conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She holds a 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major.
Baseball’s Adam Ballew received the Denny-Gottfried Scholarship Award, presented to a student-athlete who has exhausted eligibility while maintaining an outstanding GPA and achieving athletic success. Ballew is batting .275 with five extra-base hits, 26 RBIs and eight stolen bases for a Jaguars team that is 29-16. He is an exercise science major with a 3.38 GPA.
Derek Westbrook of Diamondhead, Miss., received two honors: the Shirley Holt Scholarship Award, given to a student-athlete who shows outstanding team spirit, character and concern for fellow student-athletes, and the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award, which recognizes overall support of South Alabama athletics. It is the second consecutive year Westbrook has received the JAF Award. Caroline Beebe won the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award, also for the second straight year.
Pitcher Hunter Colemani received the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award, which goes to a junior who excels in athletics while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA. The right-hander has a 4.0 GPA in biomedical sciences and is 1-0 with a 0.59 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings this season.
Jimmie Gipson III received the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award, which honors a minority student-athlete who has excelled in the classroom and in competition.
Perseverance Awards
Volleyball’s Nikki Gittens received the Female Perseverance Award. After a stress fracture in her tibia forced her to redshirt in 2013, Gittens returned to rank third on the team with 243 kills while leading the Jaguars with a .250 attack percentage and 83 total blocks. She helped South Alabama qualify for the Sun Belt tournament while playing through tendinitis in her knee and hitting shoulder.
Football offensive tackle Ucambre Williams received the Male Perseverance Award. Williams underwent three surgical procedures and more than six months of rehabilitation. After surgery on his right knee in September, he returned in 15 days and went on to start 11 consecutive games, posting a team-best 90 percent overall grade. He was named second-team All-Sun Belt and helped the Jaguars reach the first bowl game in program history.
Endowed and Staff Awards
Brandon Bridge, the Jaguars’ starting quarterback last fall, received the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award. Matt Bolger received the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award, and David Knapp received the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endowed Scholarship for baseball. In track and field, Mark Watts received the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship Fund award and Emily Newton received the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund award.
Greg Keel, assistant athletic director for ticket operations, was selected for the Matt Smith Award. The award goes to an athletics staff member who consistently goes the extra mile and shows commitment, a strong work ethic and pride in the job. It is named for former South Alabama sports information director Matt Smith, who died in December 2004.
Before the Student-Athletes of the Year were announced, 46 current and former student-athletes who will graduate at the end of the semester received gifts from the athletics department.
Sport Award Winners
Each program also presented its own award:
- Eddie Stanky Award (baseball): Matt 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): Daniel Leitner
- Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis): Laura Matuskova
- Most Outstanding Women’s Track and Field Student-Athlete Award: Kaitlyn Beans
- Most Outstanding Men’s Track and Field Student-Athlete Award: Jan-Louw Kotze
- Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball): Nikki Gittens
