2023-24 | What a Year to be a Texas Tiger

 PREVIOUS AWARDS | 2016-17 l 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23

The 2023-24 athletic season for East Texas Baptist University became a year to remember with a National Championship, several All-Americans, and major national awards. ETBU won 6 conference championships (4 regular season/2 tournament), participated in eight national tournaments, and won three American Southwest Conference major awards. This year also brought 17 All-American awards, several academic team awards, and ETBU led the ASC in Distinguished Scholar-Athletes for the second year in row. It was a great year to be a Texas Tiger. 

ETBU won six ASC championships this year with four regular season and two tournament championships. They also posted two runner-up finishes in Men's Tennis and Men's Track & Field in the ASC Tournament or Championship Meet. 

Runners Up: Men's Tennis, Men's Track & Field

NATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS

Volleyball: Graycee Mosley | All-Regional Tournament

Softball: Tristen Maddox | National Championship Series MVP

Softball: Tristen Maddox, Izabella Morales, Avery Holland, Tauryn Cummings | NCAA All-Tournament Team

Softball: Avery Holland | Super Regional Most Outstanding Pitcher

Softball: Mary Frances Ellis | Super Regional Most Outstanding Player

Softball: Avery Holland | Regional Most Outstanding Player

Softball: Avery Holland, Tristen Maddox, Emma Bell, Mary Frances Ellis | All-Regional Tournament

A&T: Katie Melton, Ellie Davis | NCATA D3 First Team

A&T: Macie Goff, Brianna Brown, Jaiden Stroman, Jessica Kuhlman| NCATA D3 Second Team

ASC DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

ETBU led the ASC for the second year in a row with four Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award Winners for their sports. ETBU has now produced 33 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Awards over the past 10 years. In the past four years, ETBU has led the ASC with the most student-athletes winning the award. Along with the DSA awards, ETBU had over 200 student-athletes named to the ASC All-Academic team with baseball leading the way producing 40+ players with a 3.0 GPA or higher. 

AWARD WINNERS

• MEN'S TRACK & FIELD: Brandon Powell (third straight)
• WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD: Neelie Schiel
• SOFTBALL: Mary Frances Ellis
• BASEBALL: Jagger Neely

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

ETBU had three College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-Americans this year in softball players Mary Frances Ellis (first team) and Hannah Benavides (second team) and volleyball player Graycee Mosley (second team). 

CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT SELECTIONS

Football: Grady Clay

Volleyball: Graycee Mosley, Lillie Hill

Women’s Tennis: Jayde Childress, Bailey Smith, Isabell Duarte

Men’s Tennis: Slade Austin, Max Karseno

Baseball: Robert Croft, Jagger Neely

Softball: Mary Frances Ellis, Delanie Loya, Hannah Benavides

Men’s Track & Field: Brandon Powell, Trenton Milner

Women’s Track & Field: Neelie Schiel

NATIONAL TEAM ACADEMIC AWARDS

Six programs earned academic team awards for their team grade point average. In select sports, teams also had individuals selected to the national all-academic team.

ITA: Women's Tennis (9 straight years) | ITA Scholar-Athletes - TBA

ITA: Men's Tennis (first time under Drew Lambert) | ITA Scholar-Athletes - TBA

NFCA: Softball (8 straight years) | NFCA Scholar-Athletes - TBA

AVCA: Volleyball (5 straight years)

AVCA: Beach Volleyball (2nd year)

ABCA: Baseball (9 straight years)

ETBU had another strong year producing All-Americans in four sports - football, volleyball, baseball, softball, and men's and women's track & field.

• Football: Grady Clay (AFCA 2nd Team)
• Volleyball: Graycee Mosley (AVCA Honorable Mention)
• Softball: Tristen Maddox (NFCA 1st Team)
• Softball: Courtney White (NFCA 3rd Team)
• Softball: Haylie Stum (NFCA 3rd Team)
• Softball: Hannah Benavides (NFCA 3rd Team)
• Baseball: Sayers Collins (ABCA 1st Team, D3baseball.com 1st Team)
• Men's Track & Field: Brandon Powell (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x400 Meter Relay, 4x100 Meter Relay) 
• Men's Track & Field: Andrae Gibson (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x400 Meter Relay, 4x100 Meter Relay)
• Men's Track & Field: Malik Cooper (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x100 Meter Relay) 
• Men's Track & Field: Hayden Green (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x100 Meter Rleay)
• Men's Track & Field: Carlos Torres-Izquierdo (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x400 Meter Relay),
• Men's Track & Field: Rangel Miller (USTFCCCA Second Team – 4x400 Meter Relay)
• Women's Track & Field: Neelie Schiel (USTFCCCA Second Team - Javelin)

ALL-REGION AWARDS

Football: Jahkamian Carr | Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Non-FBS Team Defensive Line

Football: Jahkamian Carr, Christian Booker | D3football.com Second Team Defense

Football: Joey Verrett | D3football.com Third Team Defense

Volleyball: Graycee Mosley | AVCA First Team

Men’s Basketball: Darry Moore | D3hoops.com Second Team

Men’s Tennis: Drew Lambert: ITA West Regional Coach of the Year

Baseball: Sayers Collins | ABCA First Team, D3baseball.com First Team

Baseball: Jacob Evangelista | ABCA Second Team, D3baseball.com Third Team

Baseball: Dylan Burnaman | ABCA Third Team, D3baseball.com Second Team

Baseball: Brett Wagner | ABCA Third Team, D3baseball.com Third Team

Baseball: Nicolas Chavez | D3baseball.com Third Team

Baseball: Connor Massimni | ABCA Third Team

Baseball: Robert Croft | ABCA Third Team

Baseball: Jagger Neely | ABCA Third Team

Softball: Tristen Maddox | NFCA First Team

Softball: Hannah Benavides | NFCA First Team

Softball: Emma Bell | NFCA First Team

Softball: Haylie Stum | NFCA First Team

Softball: Courtney White | NFCA Third Team

Softball: Tauryn Cummings | NFCA Third Team

Men’s T&F: Brandon Powell | USTFCCCA (Indoor) – 200-Meter Dash, High Jump

Men’s T&F: Brandon Powell | USTFCCCA – 100-Meter Dash, Long Jump, 4x400 Meter Relay

Men’s T&F: Rangel Miller | USTFCCCA (Indoor) – 400-Meter Dash

Men’s T&F: Rangel Miller | USTFCCCA – 400-Meter Dash, 4x400 Meter Relay

Men’s T&F: Hayden Green | USTFCCCA – 60-Meter Dash

Men’s T&F: Hayden Green | USTFCCCA - 100-Meter Dash

Men’s T&F: Jordyn Williams | USTFCCCA – 400-Meter Hurdles

Men’s T&F: Andrae Gibson | USTFCCCA – 4x400 Meter Relay

Men’s T&F: Carlos Torres-Izquierdo | USTFCCCA – 4x400 Meter Relay

Women’s T&F: Neelie Schiel | USTFCCCA - Javelin

CBS SPORTS | Tristen Maddox - D3 Athlete of the Year

PERFECT GAME VIDEO PODCAST | Softball - Janae Shirley

HOUSTON ABC 6 | FEATURE | Softball - D3 World Series/Houston Connection