TAMUC – Sports

Vicky Back and Ashley Bassett nominated for 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year – FULL NCAA RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS – Texas A&M University-Commerce student-athletes Vicky Back and Ashley Bassett have been announced as nominees for the NCAA’s Woman of the Year Award, as released Tuesday.

Established in 1991 and now in its 27th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school candidates.

“To be certain, it is a distinct honor anytime you have a candidate for this type of national recognition,” A&M-Commerce Director of Athletics McMurray said. “To have two very deserving young ladies nominated in one year is outstanding. Vicky Back and Ashley Bassett epitomize the term ‘scholar-athlete,’ and it shines through their commitment in the classroom, in competition, and in service to others. They exemplify our Best in the Class mission.”

Back recently received the honor of being a Lone Star Conference Scholar-Athlete from A&M-Commerce. She finished her A&M-Commerce career ranked first in total minutes played, eighth in total points (71), tied for ninth in assists (15), and tied for tenth in goals scored (28). In the 2016 season, Back became the first player in A&M-Commerce soccer history to be named a First Team All-American, earning that honor from the National Socer Coaches Association of America, the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association, and Hero Sports. Also, Back was one of the first two student-athletes in program history to be named an NSCAA Scholar All-American. She was a four-time All-American, five-time All-Region player and a four-time First Team All-LSC selection, making her the most decorated player in program history.

Bassett finished her A&M-Commerce career as the school record holder in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400 meter relay and the indoor record holder in the 600-yard dash and the 4×400 meter relay. She was twice named All-Region and is a six-time All-Lone Star Conference athlete, including back-to-back championships in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles. She had 11 first place finishes and 39 finishes in the top three. She is a three-time NCAA Division II Championships qualifier, earning All-American status in the 400-meter hurdles as a senior.

Nominated were a record 543 student-athletes from across the country for the award by their institutions. Following each conference’s selection of two Woman of the Year nominees, The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.

From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.

The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

The school nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, with 229 from Division I, 117 from Division II and 197 from Division III. The candidates competed in 21 different women’s sports, and 122 were multisport athletes during their time in college – including Bassett, who competed in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

Back and Bassett is two of seven nominees from the Lone Star Conference. A&M-Commerce is the only school in the LSC to have multiple candidates this year.

 

131 Lions named to Spring 2017 LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce is represented by 131 student-athletes on the Spring 2017 Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, as announced by the LSC office on Tuesday.

They announce the Commissioner’s Honor Roll at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters with student-athletes qualifying based on grade point average for the current semester. For student-athletes to be eligible, they must have a minimum 3.30 GPA for the current semester and be on the roster.

In addition to leading the conference with the most scholar-athletes posting a perfect 4.0-grade point average – as 44 Lions had excellent marks in the spring term – the Lions led the league with 131 overall on the honor roll when comparing sports which A&M-Commerce sponsors. Gibired were a total of 1,116 student-athletes across all sports, and all schools.

Student	Yr.	4.0 GPA	Sport(s)	Major	Hometown
Yangmi Kang	Grad	*	Athletic Training	Health, Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Japan
Jeffrey Williams	Grad	*	Athletic Training	Health, Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Palm Harbor, Fla.
Richard Cooper	Sr.	*	Football	General Studies	Angleton, Texas
Weston Zeller	Sr.	*	Men’s Basketball	Industrial Engineering	Grants, N.M.
Austin Yaeger	Sr.	*	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Curriculum and Instruction	Irving, Texas
Natalie Hessong	Sr.	*	Women’s Basketball	Accounting	Corpus Christi, Texas
Marisa Delgado	Sr.	*	Women’s Golf	History	Keller, Texas
Emily Taylor	Sr.	*	Women’s Golf	Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Howe, Texas
Alexandra Vansickle	Sr.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Human Performance	Winfield, Kan.
Terra Truitt	Sr.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Masters of Social Work	Pampa, Texas
Ashley Phillips	Sr.	*	Women’s Soccer	Psychology	Arlington, Texas
Haley Vanschaick	Sr.	*	Women’s Soccer	Sports and Recreation Management	Mesquite, Texas
Kieston Carter	Jr.	*	Football	All Level Kinesiology	Mexia, Texas
Jonathan Aguilar	Jr.	*	Football	Learning and Technology	Lubbock, Texas
Florian Obst	Jr.	*	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Master of Business Administration	Emmering, Germany
Turner Pool	Jr.	*	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Finance & Accounting	Frisco, Texas
Mariah Jameyson	Jr.	*	Softball	All Level Kinesiology	Seattle, Wash.
Cherie Jackson	Jr.	*	Softball	Biological Sciences	Carrollton, Texas
Selena Rima	Jr.	*	Softball	Human Performance	Spokane, Wash.
Monica Cherry	Jr.	*	Softball	Sports and Recreation Management	Forney, Texas
Tyler Oppenheim	Jr.	*	Softball	Sports and Recreation Management	Marble Falls, Texas
Sophie Haywood	Jr.	*	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Hull, England
Raven Porter	Jr.	*	Women’s Soccer	Public Health	Fort Worth, Texas
Isaac Asrat	So.	*	Men’s Basketball	Biological Sciences	Plano, Texas
Jeremiah Earle	So.	*	Men’s Golf	Mathematics	Corinth, Texas
Ciera Nunez	So.	*	Softball	Human Performance	Amarillo, Texas
Kayla Kilcrease	So.	*	Softball	Human Performance	Kerens, Texas
Jaslyn Wacker	So.	*	Volleyball	Accounting	Austin, Texas
Savannah Himes	So.	*	Volleyball	All Level Kinesiology	Greenville, Texas
Jaryn Wacker	So.	*	Volleyball	Finance	Austin, Texas
Shelley Chapron	So.	*	Volleyball	Pre-Nursing	Houston, Texas
Maggie Waites	So.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Biological Sciences	Vicksburg, Miss.
Sarah Hogan	So.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Psychology	Gatesville, Texas
Katherine Holleman	So.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Accounting	Greenville, Texas
Tanner Lange	Fr.	*	Football	Psychology	Richardson, Texas
Joshua Lucas	Fr.	*	Football	Sports and Recreation Management	Garland, Texas
Kensie Hebler	Fr.	*	Softball	Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Cypress, Texas
Abreanna Harrison	Fr.	*	Women’s Basketball	History	Wichita Falls, Texas
Katherine Lyles	Fr.	*	Women’s Golf	Finance	Daingerfield, Texas
Madeline Shubert	Fr.	*	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Criminal Justice	Rowlett, Texas
Garrett Blubaugh	R-Fr.	*	Football	Biological Sciences	Keller, Texas
Michael Peschka	R-Fr.	*	Football	Mathematics	Arlington, Texas
Ryan Guevara	R-Fr.	*	Football	Pre-Nursing	Canyon, Texas
Jasmyn Poe	R-Fr.	*	Women’s Basketball	Finance	Kennedale, Texas
Mandolyn Peterson	Sr.		Athletic Training	Human Performance	Greenville, Texas
Jessica St. Aubin	Sr.		Athletic Training	Sports and Recreation Management	Rockwall, Texas
Jeremiah Walters	Sr.		Football	General Studies	Oakland, Calif.
Jared Cate	Sr.		Football	Master of Business Administration	Boyd, Texas
De’Andre Carson	Sr.		Men’s Basketball	Sports and Recreation Management	Austin, Texas
Laramie Graham	Sr.		Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Technology Management	Springtown, Texas
December Rivers	Sr.		Softball	Criminal Justice	Spring, Texas
Ashley Mireles	Sr.		Volleyball	Interdisciplinary Studies	Georgetown, Texas
Selasie Koto	Sr.		Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Computer Science	Justin, Texas
Shachar Elisha	Sr.		Women’s Soccer	Computer Science	Ramat Gan, Israel
Victoria Back	Sr.		Women’s Soccer	Master of Psychology	York, England
Anitra Wright	Sr.		Women’s Soccer	Technology Leadership	Fort Worth, Texas
Anissa Arenas	Sr.		Women’s Soccer	Sports and Recreation Management	Lubbock, Texas
Richard Whitaker	Jr.		Football	Sports and Recreation Management	Denton, Texas
Jordan Brown	Jr.		Men’s Golf	Accounting	Mansfield, Texas
Jessie Williams	Jr.		Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Technology Management	Sulphur Springs, Texas
Terrell Russell	Jr.		Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	General Studies	Ennis, Texas
Erick Quiroz Osornio	Jr.		Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Finance	Greenville, Texas
Lacie Jessup	Jr.		Volleyball	Accounting	Irving, Texas
Princess Davis	Jr.		Women’s Basketball	Kinesiology and Sports Studies	Shreveport, La.
Lauren Parker	Jr.		Women’s Basketball	Business Administration	Chicago, Ill.