LeTourneau University

 

 

The CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) named LeTourneau University senior Taylor Empkey, of Bedford, Texas, to the All-American Second Team for his combined performance athletically and in the classroom.

He is the third CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history. He joins former baseball standout Damon Stokes, who was a two-time First Team All-American in 2005 and 2006 and men’s soccer standout, Ryan Potter, who earned Second Team All-American in 2006.

On the field, Empkey led the team in hits (41), RBI (24), doubles (8) and total bases (54). He was second in walks (16) and stolen bases (6), third in runs scored (21) and slugging percentage (.386). He came in fourth in batting average (.293) and fifth in on-base percentage (.371).

Off the field, in addition to being named first team academic all-district, he also received the R.G. LeTourneau Legacy Award at the 2016 Winter/Spring Sports Banquet. He was selected by the LeTourneau University School of Theology and Vocation as its Outstanding Student. He served as a leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at LeTourneau and inducted into the Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges.

Named the recipients of the 2015-16 American Southwest Conference Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Award, were Xavier Scarlett, men’s soccer from Abilene, TS, and Seth Walters, men’s golf of Tarkington, TX. The ASC office also announced Wednesday (June 1) after a vote of the league’s athletic directors that Cheyenne Dowdey of Mary Hardin-Baylor made the list.

Scarlett was selected as the ASC Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year for men’s soccer and picked up his third all-conference honor in 2015. Scarlett joins Daniel Iya (2008) as the only other honoree in LeTourneau history to receive the ASC Sportsmanship award. Scarlett also becomes the fourth player in program history along with Iya, Dillon Holt, and Ryan Potter to pick up three all-conference honors. In 2015 Scarlett was one of two players to play and start all 18 games for the YellowJackets. The aggressive on-the-ball defender also had seven shots in 2015. After the season, Scarlett joined the Shreveport Rafters FC.

“Xavier is a very hardworking individual and deserving of this honor, said LeTourneau men’s soccer coach Matthew Haesecke. “As a two-year team captain, he was a great leader to his teammates on and off the field. His commitment to our program will be something we will miss as he never gave anything less than 100 percent to all of his endeavors.”

Walters is a mechanical engineering student with a cumulative grade point average above 3.50. Walters won the Louisiana College Fall Invite (Sept. 21-22), is second on the team with a 77.33 scoring average and scored a team-best individual round of 70. He is the second recipient in LeTourneau history, joining Jacob Clay, who earned the honor in 2012. Walters finished tied for 28th at the ASC Men’s Golf Championships, shooting a 234 (82-77-75). He volunteers with both Longview and his hometown First Tee junior golf programs and is a singing and guitar-playing worship leader for LeTourneau chapel services.

“Seth is a very deserving individual of this honor, said LeTourneau men’s golf coach Walt Williams. “He is not only an outstanding golfer that won a tournament win this year but is also a mechanical engineering student. On top of that, he participated by singing and playing the guitar as a worship leader for LeTourneau chapel services.”