TAMUC – Sports

 

McNutt promoted to Associate Head Coach.

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball program is pleased to announce that Gay McNutt has been promoted to associate head coach.

“With the success of our program in five years, it has allowed us to replace an outstanding coach with another outstanding coach,” Lion Softball head coach Richie Bruister said. “Coach McNutt is a perfect fit to help continue our high level of success. The players have really gravitated to her in just one season, and she has elevated our pitching staff to new heights. It is an honor for me to be able to say we are promoting coach McNutt to a well-deserved and earned the position of associate head coach. She is a true representative of ‘Best in Class.'”

McNutt joined the Lion coaching staff before the start of the 2019 season, working primarily as a coach for the pitching and catching. In her lone season with A&M-Commerce, McNutt helped lead the Lion pitching staff to unprecedented success. As a whole, the pitching staff set single-season records for lowest team ERA, lowest opponent batting average, fewest walks allowed, most strikeouts per seven innings, and most shutouts.

Under McNutt, Emily Otto had a record-setting sophomore campaign, earning Third Team All-America honors and was also a top-25 finalist for NFCA National Player of the Year. Otto was also named D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year, Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year, was a First Team All-LSC selection, and a gold glove recipient. She was twice named National Pitcher of the Week and four times named LSC Pitcher of the Week. Otto set single-season records for wins, lowest ERA, fewest walks per seven innings, lowest opponent batting average, most appearances, most starts, most innings pitched, most strikeouts, most complete games, and most shutouts.

Bruister also wanted to thank coach Christina May for her five seasons with the team.

“I can’t express how thankful I am for all that coach May has meant to our program and to my coaching staff. She is an outstanding coach and an even better person. She will certainly be missed but never forgotten in everything she did to help start the most successful start-up program in NCAA history. Thank you, coach May, from all of us with Lion Softball.”

 

 

Alex Shillow wins the John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Alex Shillow has been recognized as one of eight winners of this year’s John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award, as announced Monday.

Shillow (Pflugerville) was entering his redshirt junior season on the Lion Football team and was a team captain in 2018. He is the chair of the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the president of the A&M-Commerce SAAC, which has won the last two Lone Star Conference SAAC Cups. A second-team all-LSC selection, Shillow is a recipient of the 2018 Hunt County African American Leadership Conference – MLK Social Justice Award and a three-time LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree. He plans to pursue an advanced degree in athletics administration or business administration at A&M-Commerce.

Of the eight national winners of the award this year, Shillow is one of three who is earning his bachelor’s degree from a Division II institution, and the only one who is completing his graduate work at a Division II school.

“On behalf of the McLendon Foundation, we would like to congratulate this year’s scholarship recipients,” stated McLendon Foundation President and Director of Athletics at Georgetown University, Lee Reed. “Coach McLendon believed deeply in the value of education, and we are proud to honor his legacy by supporting the continued educational pursuits of these eight future leaders.”

Funding for the John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship has been provided in part by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); the Cleveland Cavaliers; Major League Baseball (MLB); the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC); the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA); Capital One; and Sears, Roebuck and Co. As of the 2018-19 academic year, the John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Program has awarded over 100 scholarships, totaling over $1 million.

The 2019 John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship recipients are:

Student	Undergraduate Institution	Undergraduate Major
Brianna Cassidy	University of Nebraska – Lincoln	Communication Studies; Sociology
Nicholas Clark	Coastal Carolina University	Communication & Business Administration
Naomi Eastland	Northern Arizona University	Athletic Training
Kiambra Griffin	Davidson College	Africana Studies
Alexandra Holt	University of the Pacific	Social Sciences
Victoria Larsen	California State University, Stanislaus	Kinesiology
Nicholas Mutebi	Wayne State University	Business Administration/Management
Alex Shillow	Texas A&M University-Commerce	Sport and Recreation Management

 

Josh Manck
Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce
Committed to a “Best In Class” student-athlete experience.
Office: 903.886.5131 | Mobile: 817.487.5136 |
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3011 | Commerce, TX 75429
Physical Address: 2600 Neal Street | Commerce, TX 75429
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Marcus Jensen
Director of Athletic Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce
Office: 903.468.3027 | Mobile: 801.624.8529
Follow us: @Lion_Athletics | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LionAthletics.com
Committed to a “Best in Class” student-athlete experience.