RICHARDSON, Texas – Acts of sportsmanship in competition, on campus and within the community earned
Conner Combs of East Texas Baptist University and
Alisa Wilson of LeTourneau University recognition as the 2016-17 American Southwest Conference Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Athletes of the Year, the ASC announced Tuesday (June 27).
The ASC Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Award honors each year a male and female student-athlete who best display attributes of sportsmanship, leadership, citizenship and academic integrity in his or her athletic, academic and life pursuits. The conference Directors of Athletics present the annual awards.
A baseball student-athlete,
Conner Combs (Southlake, Texas/Carroll HS) completed a Master's Degree in Business Administration during the 2016-17 year. Selected as the 2017 CoSIDA Division III Baseball Academic All-American of the Year and Academic All-America First Team, Combs was named the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for baseball. He assisted with several projects through athletics and campus organizations and served as president of the East Texas Baptist Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. On the baseball diamond, Combs earned All-America and All-West Region honors in addition to selection as the ASC Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team citation. Combs is the second East Texas Baptist student-athlete to be named a Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year.
"Conner Combs has been a role model on the baseball field, in the classroom and in the community during his time as an ETBU Tiger,” Vice President for Athletics Ryan Erwin said. "We desire for all student-athletes, coaches and staff to exhibit a high level of sportsmanship and to be selected for this award shows the type of student-athlete Conner is and how he carries himself on a daily basis."
Alisa Wilson (Snohomish, Wash.) competed with the LeTourneau women's golf team where she played in 62 career rounds for YellowJackets. During the 2016-17 season, Wilson recorded five top-20 finishes and two top-15 finishes. Wilson majored in microbiology and graduated
summa cum laude. She was recognized as one of the five Outstanding Seniors at the University and selected as the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's golf. Wilson served as a Student Senate representative. She was recipient of the LeTourneau women's golf award for academic excellence and the YellowJacket Award for exemplifying the characteristics of a great teammate, competitor and student-athlete. Wilson is the fifth LeTourneau student-athlete selected as the Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year.
"Alisa Wilson is the epitome of an NCAA Division III student-athlete who excels in the classroom and community as well as on the fairway," said Terri Deike, Director of Athletics at LeTourneau. "Her focus and diligence allowed her to maintain excellence in academics and athletics as she worked a campus job and was an active member of the campus community."
Nominees for the conference-wide award are individuals who were named Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year by the head coaches of their respective sport during the 2016-17 seasons. This is the 16th year the Directors of Athletics have presented the Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year award and 10th since the award was named in honor of the first commissioner of the ASC, Fred Jacoby.
2016-17 Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year Nominees
| Men |
|
|
|
|
| Baseball |
Conner Combs |
East Texas Baptist |
Gr. |
Southlake, Texas |
| Basketball / East Division |
Josh Ferrell |
Ozarks |
Sr. |
West Fork, Ark. |
| Basketball / West Division |
J Bailey |
Howard Payne |
Sr. |
Gunter Texas |
| Cross Country |
Gerardo Viera |
Texas-Tyler |
Sr. |
Mesquite, Texas |
| Golf |
Jarrod Brown (co) |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
Sr. |
Groves, Texas |
| |
Seth Walters (co) |
LeTourneau |
Sr. |
Tarkington, Texas |
| Soccer |
Chan-Young Jin |
Louisiana College |
Sr. |
Seoul, South Korea |
| Tennis / East Division |
John Herr |
East Texas Baptist |
Fr. |
Shreveport, La. |
| Tennis / West Division |
Ryan Morton |
Texas Dallas |
Jr. |
Odessa, Texas |
| Track and Field |
Beau Billings |
East Texas Baptist |
So. |
Mansfield, Texas |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Women |
|
|
|
|
| Basketball / East Division |
Micaela Gonzalez (co) |
Texas Dallas |
Sr. |
McKinney, Texas) |
| |
Lauren Lee (co) |
East Texas Baptist |
Jr. |
Chireno, Texas |
| Basketball / West Division |
London Weilert |
McMurry |
Fr. |
Abilene, Texas |
| Cross Country |
Shelby Spencer |
East Texas Baptist |
Sr. |
Flint, Texas |
| Golf |
Katy Burris (co) |
Hardin-Simmons |
Jr. |
Trophy Club, Texas |
| |
Alisa Wilson (co) |
LeTourneau |
Sr. |
Snohomish, Wash. |
| Soccer |
Stephanie Vana |
LeTourneau |
Sr. |
La Verne, Calif. |
| Softball |
Isaura Rodriguez |
Sul Ross State |
Sr. |
El Paso, Texas |
| Tennis / East Division |
Kate Bramlett |
East Texas Baptist |
Jr. |
Granbury, Texas |
| Tennis / West Division |
Michaela Ellison |
Hardin-Simmons |
Jr. |
Lampasas, Texas |
| Track and Field |
Grasyn Langley (co) |
Ozarks |
Jr. |
Garland, Texas |
| |
Shelby Sparks (co) |
East Texas Baptist |
Sr. |
Richardson, Texas |
| Volleyball / East Division |
Mallory Sanders |
East Texas Baptist |
Sr. |
Mansfield, Texas |
| Volleyball / West Division |
Carly Custer |
Concordia Texas |
Jr. |
League City, Texas |
Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Athletes of the Year
| Year |
Men |
Women |
| 1999-00 |
Joe Fox, Austin College |
Courtney Shires, Mississippi College |
| 2000-01 |
Michael Kawazoe, Austin College |
Sarah Birge, Austin College |
| 2001-02 |
Phil Kaiser, Ozarks |
Lindsey Brotherton, Schreiner |
| 2002-03 |
Preston Meyer, Mary Hardin-Baylor |
Julie Richardson, Ozarks |
| 2003-04 |
Cody Brotherton, McMurry |
Lyndsay Llewellyn, McMurry |
| 2004-05 |
Drew McMaster, Howard Payne |
Katie DeDeaux, Mississippi College |
| 2005-06 |
Kyle Shipp, Mary Hardin-Baylor |
Bethany Harris, Mississippi College |
| 2006-07 |
Ryan Potter, LeTourneau |
Michelle Heckmann, Concordia Texas |
| 2007-08 |
Tyler Winford, Mississippi College |
Lindsey Peters, Texas-Tyler |
| 2008-09 |
Ty Palmer, Texas Lutheran |
Krissy Seaman, Texas Dallas |
| 2009-10 |
David Ashlock, Texas-Tyler (co) |
Kristen Chapman, LeTourneau |
| |
Sam Walker, Hardin-Simmons (co) |
|
| 2010-11 |
Ryan Yezak, East Texas Baptist |
Whitney Wyly, Texas-Tyler |
| 2011-12 |
Collin Janssen, Concordia Texas |
Hannah Langley, Mississippi College |
| 2012-13 |
Marcus Bobb, Ozarks |
Jennifer Cooper, Mississippi College |
| 2013-14 |
Zakk Revelle, Sul Ross State |
Samantha Guerrero, Howard Payne |
| 2014-15 |
Andrew Cummings, Ozarks (tri) |
Jordana Andrews, Ozarks |
| |
Matt Weaver, Ozarks (tri) |
|
| |
Isaiah Minick, Mary Hardin-Baylor (tri) |
|
| 2015-16 |
Xavier Scarlett, LeTourneau (co) |
Cheyenne Dowdey, Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| |
Seth Walters, LeTourneau (co) |
|
| 2016-17 |
Conner Combs, East Texas Baptist |
Alisa Wilson, LeTourneau |