SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford women's basketball's Andrea Bailey and softball's Merritt Cahoon were both named recipients of postgraduate scholarships from the Southern Conference Tuesday afternoon.
 
Bailey was awarded the Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship, while Cahoon earned the Dorothy Hicks Scholarship.
 
Bailey and Cahoon are two of 10 SoCon student-athletes to earn postgraduate scholarships. The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships, worth $2,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.
 
"I am incredibly proud Andrea was chosen to receive the SoCon Postgraduate Scholarship," Samford head women's basketball coach Carley Kuhns said. "It is pretty remarkable all she was able to achieve both on and off the floor during her time at Samford. As much as she excelled on the court, she was an even better student and is being rewarded for that work. I can't wait to see all she will accomplish in her professional career."
 
On the court, Bailey was a three-time first team All-SoCon selection, and she was named the league's Player of the Year twice. She led the team in scoring in each of her three seasons at Samford, and her career scoring average of 17.2 points per game ranks second in program history. She scored 1,374 points in just three seasons at Samford, the fifth-highest total in program history.
 
Bailey was a member of the Dean's List in each year of college. In 2018-19 while at Louisiana, she was the women's basketball Student-Athlete of the Year and she went on to become the 2021-22 Samford Student-Athlete of the Year. The native of Merryville, Louisiana, has been a member of the SoCon Commissioner's List during each of her years at Samford and received the Samford University Speech Pathology Academic Achievement Award twice.
 
In the community, Bailey was a team leader for Trees for Threes and a volunteer for the Down Syndrome Association in 2019. Her other volunteer efforts include working with Private Practice, Bundles of Hope and Bell Center. Bailey has also served as a Vacation Bible School teacher and a women's shelter volunteer. The communication sciences and disorders major and religious studies minor will continue her education at graduate school at LSU Health Shreveport.
 
"It doesn't surprise me that Merritt will be receiving this scholarship," Samford head softball coach Kimball Cassady said. "She is one of a kind. We hate to see her graduate, but she is destined to do great things outside of softball. She was a phenomenal leader for our program and has a great softball mind. I'm super proud of her."
 
Cahoon played in 180 games, starting 162 contests in her Samford career. She was named to the SoCon's All-Freshman team in 2019 after hitting .303 with five doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI. As a senior, she hit a career-high .313 with six doubles, one homer and a career-high 25 RBI. For her career, her .294 average is tied for ninth in school history.
 
Cahoon has been on the Dean's List since her arrival on campus as a computer science and mathematics double major and Spanish minor.  She has been inducted into multiple academic societies on campus as well as being named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll.  After leaving Samford, she will continue her academic career at Duke University.
 
In addition to her academic accolades, Cahoon has been extremely involved in the Samford community.  One of her main projects the past two years, as the Co-Chair for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), has been to get Samford student-athletes involved with a canned food drive supporting the Birmingham Community Food Bank. Cahoon also serves as the student-athlete representative for the President's Advisory Committee which helps bridge the gap between the athletics and the campus community.