Samford Holds 2016 SAMSPY Awards

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— The Samford athletics department held its eighth-annual SAMSPY Awards Monday evening at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover.

The SAMSPY Awards are held to honor Samford's student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators for their accomplishments throughout the year.

A total of 22 awards were given out at the event. The first awards were the Team Academic Awards. These awards were given to the teams, one male and one female, that posted the highest grade-point average in the past year. The men's and women's tennis teams took home the Team Academic Awards.

The Female Rookie of the Year award was given to Shelby Maze from the softball team. The Male Rookie of the Year was presented to Austin Edens from baseball.

The Comeback Athlete of the Year award was given to Kassidy Blevins from women's basketball. Hunter Swilling from the baseball team was named the school's Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.

The Jim Griffin Award, which goes to an unsung hero, was awarded to Kinsey Sessions from soccer. The Support Staff of the Year was given to Jarrett Rice, who serves as the Director of Facilities and Operations. Jay Yelton from the soccer team was named this year's Assistant Coach of the Year.

A new award this year was the Greek of the Year award, which was given to Nisu Patel. Larry Harper was named this year's Faculty Member of the Year.

The Best Finish award went to men's track and field for their exciting finish in winning a second-straight SoCon title in 2015. The Best Upset award went to men's basketball for their win at Nebraska.

The Play of the Year award went to Karel Hamilton from football for his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Chattanooga. The Best Championship Performance award went to women's indoor track and field for winning the SoCon title earlier this year.

The Best Blooper award went to Josh Rich of the baseball team for falling down while attempting to give a high-five to a teammate.

The Most Outstanding Team award was given to women's tennis for going a perfect 7-0 in Southern Conference play and then winning the SoCon Tournament. The Head Coach of the Year award was presented to David Vest for leading the women's tennis team on their undefeated conference season.

Niba N'tcha from women's tennis was named the Best Female Athlete. She was named the SoCon Player of the Year, serving as the No. 1 singles player, posting a 14-8 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in SoCon play during the 2015 season. She helped lead the women's tennis team to a perfect 7-0 record in conference matches, and to a SoCon Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth. She was also a member of the No. 1 doubles pair, going 17-6 overall and 6-1 in SoCon play.

The Best Male Athlete award was given to Arsene Guillorel from the track and field team. Guillorel was the 2015 SoCon Outdoor 5,000 meter champion, 2015 SoCon Cross Country Champion and 2016 SoCon Indoor 3,000 & 5,000 meter champion. Guillorel was named SoCon Cross Country Runner of the Year, Cross Country All-SoCon First Team and also the 2016 SoCon Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

This year's Miss Bulldog is Taylor Reece from women's basketball. Reece is a two-time All-Southern Conference selection that currently ranks fifth in school history with 1,196 career points. She was also named to the All-Freshman team and All-SoCon Tournament team after leading the Bulldogs to a SoCon title as a freshman. In the classroom, she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team and was a two-time Academic All-SoCon selection. She was also heavily involved with community service projects, volunteering with Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Samaritan's Feet, Exceptional Foundation, CampUs, Birmingham Reads and Habitat for Humanity.

The Mr. Bulldog award was presented to Richard Greene from baseball. He has played a huge role in the baseball team's success, but has also found time to volunteer with a multitude of local charities, including Samaritan's Feet and Cornerstone Schools. In addition, he was named to the 2016 Johnny Bench Award Watch List, as well as a candidate for the 2016 senior CLASS award. Majoring in finance, he has earned Dean's List honors in both the spring and fall of 2015, as well as being named to the 2014-15 SoCon Academic Honor Roll.

Below is a list of all of Monday night's SAMSPY Awards winners.

2016 SAMSPYs WINNERS

Female Academic Team of the Year - Tennis
Male Academic Team of the Year - Tennis
Female Rookie of the Year – Shelby Maze, Softball
Male Rookie of the Year – Austin Edens, Baseball
Comeback Athlete of the Year – Kassidy Blevins, Women's Basketball
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year – Hunter Swilling, Baseball
Jim Griffin Award – Kinsey Sessions, Soccer
Support Staff of the Year – Jarrett Rice
Assistant Coach of the Year – Jay Yelton, Soccer
Greek of the Year – Nisu Patel
Faculty Member of the Year – Larry Harper
Best Finish – Men's Outdoor Track and Field
Best Upset – Men's Basketball
Play of the Year – Karel Hamilton, Football
Best Championship Performance – Women's Indoor Track and Field
Best Blooper – Josh Rich, Baseball
Most Outstanding Team – Women's Tennis
Head Coach of the Year – David Vest, Women's Tennis
Best Female Athlete – Niba N'tcha, Women's Tennis
Best Male Athlete – Arsene Guillorel, Men's Track and Field
Miss Bulldog – Taylor Reece, Women's Basketball
Mr. Bulldog – Richard Greene, Baseball

Players Mentioned

Kassidy Blevins

Taylor Reece

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