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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University Honors Athletic Excellence at 2024–25 ESPEAYs Awards

Austin Peay State University Honors Athletic Excellence at 2024–25 ESPEAYs Awards

Austin Peay State University - APSUClarksville, TN – Celebrating the 2024-25 athletics season, Austin Peay State University (APSU) athletics honored its top performers on the field, in the classroom, and in the community at the seventh annual ESPEAYs, Monday, in the Winfield Dunn Center.

Highlighting the night was the presentation of the 2024-25 Legends Award, which continues APSU’s long-standing tradition of honoring the most valuable male and female senior athletes. The honor began with the Joy Award in 1947, which the late Wilson Goodrich, then owner of Joy’s Jewelers, created.

The Female Legends Award was earned by women’s golf’s Erica Scutt. She is currently the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President and has been a vital part of the women’s golf team’s success for the previous four seasons.

Scutt helped the APSU Govs win the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Championship as a freshman while being named OVC Freshman of the Year and earning All-OVC, All-Newcomer, and All-Tournament honors. Scutt holds the top-four individual 18-hole scores in Austin Peay history State University and was named a 2024 First Team All-ASUN and 2023 Second Team All-ASUN selection.

The Male Legends Award went to John Bay, who has slashed .336/.457/.751 in 121 games at Austin Peay with 48 home runs, 34 doubles, five triples, 140 RBI, and 148 runs scored. A 2024 Second Team All-ASUN and ABCA All-Southeast Region selection, Bay’s 24 home runs in 2024 are the third-best single-season mark in program history and his 48 career homers are the second-best career total in APSU history. Bay is two homers away from being the second Gov to hit 50 in a career and is eight home runs away from matching 2019 APSU Legend’s Award winner Parker Phillip’s career record of 56. 

Softball’s Kylie Campbell was the 2024-25 Female Athlete of the Year after posting a .397/.485/.728 slash line with eight home runs, nine doubles, six triples, 30 RBI, and 43 runs scored in the season’s first 44 games. Baseball’s Cameron Nickens was the Male Athlete of the Year after tallying an equally impressive slash line of .423/.521/.801 with 13 homers, 18 doubles, 51 RBI, and 48 runs scored in 38 games.

Chandler Kirton of the football team and Erica Scutt of the women’s golf team were awarded the Total Gov Concept Award by Austin Peay State University Vice President and Athletics Director Gerald Harrison. In its third year, the award honors a male and female student-athlete who embodied the ‘Total Gov Concept’ ideology and sought excellence in all aspects of their student-athlete experience and their teammates during the year.

The department also recognized its 2024-25 Scholar-Athletes of the Year, recognizing the ungraduated student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade-point average. Men’s Tennis’ Hogan Stoker was the male honoree after compiling a 4.0 GPA while working toward a bachelor’s degree in communications, sciences, and disorders. Hannah Zahn, of the women’s soccer team, earned the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year after posting a 4.0 grade-point average while working toward a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Those eight major awards were the tip of the iceberg as the Austin Peay State University athletics department recognized its best performances of 2024-25.

Softball coach Kassie Stanfill was named the Coach of the Year after leading her team to 30 wins, faster than any team in program history, and a program-record 24-game winning streak this season. Stanfill’s 33 wins this season are already tied for the second-best single-season total in program history and are just six away from matching the record of 39 set by the 2018 team. Stanfill’s squad has also broken APSU’s single-season home run record with 62 homers and counting this year.

In addition, softball’s Kiley Hinton was named the Female Breakout Athlete of the Year after batting .325 with seven home runs, 12 doubles, 26 RBI, and 24 runs scored in 44 games. Hinton and the softball tea also claimed the Game of the Year recognition for their 5-3 win over No. 22 Florida Atlantic to claim the first-ever win against a nationally-ranked team in program history.

The Men’s Breakout Athlete of the Year award went to Andres Matias, who has recorded a .300 batting average with seven doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI, and 32 runs scored while playing shortstop for the Governors. 

The baseball team also earned Team of Year recognition after going 30-10 in their first 40 games of the season and becoming the fastest team in program history to win 30 games in a season. The Moment of the Year also went to the baseball team for Lyndon Glidewell’s seven-inning no-hitter – the first by an APSU pitcher since 1996 – in a 20-0 win over North Alabama on April 13th.

The Male Rookie of the Year award went to the 2024-25 ASUN Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Year Tate McCubbin, who averaged 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while making a freshman program-record 71 three-pointers in 31 games last season. Patton Samuels of the men’s golf team was named the Male Newcomer of the Year after leading the Governors with a 70.00 scoring average, 13 rounds in the 60s, 19 rounds at even or under par, a 4-0 match-play record, and a counting score in all 26 rounds played this season.

On the women’s side, track and field’s Taylin Segree and Madelyn Kocik were named the Female Rookie of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. Segree was a member of the Govs’ 4×400 meter relay team that broke the APSU record at the ASUN Indoor Championships, where she also finished as the runner-up in the 400 meters. Kockick was the ASUN Indoor Track & Field Triple Jump Champion and also finished as the runner-up in the long jump.

Below is a complete list of awards presented, along with the nominees and winners (in bold). All award winners are marked in bold.

Male Legends Award

John Bay, Baseball

Female Legends Award

Erica Scutt, Women’s Golf

Male Athlete of the Year

Cameron Nickens, Baseball
John Bay, Baseball
Tate McCubbin, Men’s Basketball
Patton Samuels, Men’s Golf

Female Athlete of the Year

Kylie Campbell, Softball
Madelyn Kocik, Track & Field
Erica Scutt, Women’s Golf

Male Total Gov Concept Award

Chandler Kirton, Football

Female Total Gov Concept Award

Erica Scutt, Women’s Golf

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Hogan Stoker, Men’s Tennis

Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Hannah Zahn, Women’s Soccer

Male Rookie of the Year

Tate McCubbin, Men’s Basketball
Grady Cox, Men’s Golf
Corey Richardson, Football

Female Rookie of the Year

Taylin Segree, Track & Field
Kiley Reese, Soccer
Annovia Sheals, Women’s Basketball

Male Newcomer of the Year

Patton Samuels, Men’s Golf
Lyndon Glidewell, Baseball
Austin Smith, Football

Female Newcomer of the Year

Madelyn Kocik, Cross Country/Track & Field
Sam Leski, Softball
Katie Raper, Softball

Male Breakout Player of the Year

Andres Matias, Baseball
Anton Brookshire, Men’s Basketball
Seth Smith, Men’s Golf

Female Breakout Player of the Year

Kiley Hinton, Softball
Lauryn Berry, Soccer
Jillian Breedlove, Women’s Golf

Coach of the Year

Kassie Stanfill, Softball
Roland Fanning, Baseball
Asha Gibson-Smith, Cross Country/Track & Field
Easton Key, Men’s Golf

Team of the Year

Baseball
Men’s Golf 
Softball
Women’s Golf

Game of the Year

March 1st, 2025: Softball defeats No. 22 Florida Atlantic, 5-3

November 8th, 2024: Men’s Basketball defeats Butler, 68-66

February 8th, 2025: Men’s Golf defeats Murray State, 6-4, in the Battle of the Border Match Play

October 6th, 2024: Women’s Golf defeats Murray State, 4-3, in the Battle of the Border Match Play

Moment of the Year

April 13th, 2025: Baseball’s Lyndon Glidwell throws a no-hitter at North Alabama

September 21st, 2024: Football scores an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown all in the first quarter vs. Alabama A&M

February 28th, 2025: Track & Field 4×400 meter relay team breaks APSU’s indoor record at the ASUN Championship

October 3rd, 2024: Soccer’s Kylie Wells scores an Olimpico goal at North Florida, which was featured on SportsCenter Top 10

Courtney Turner Memorial Scholarship

Isabella Schmidt

Govs Cup

Softball with 3,267 points

Team Academic Award Winners

Jacob Weaver, Baseball
Anala Nelson, Women’s Basketball
Isaac Haney, Men’s Basketball
Emily Freel, Beach Volleyball
Emma Stewart, Cheerleading
Sydney Freeman, Women’s Cross Country
Lucas Bales, Men’s Cross Country
Grace Henderson, Dance
Chandler Kirton, Football
Autumn Spencer, Women’s Golf
Caleb Brummitt, Men’s Golf
Alexis Arnett, Track & Field
Hannah Zahn, Soccer
Kylie Campbell, Softball
Denise Torrealba, Women’s Tennis
Hogan Stoker, Men’s Tennis
Abby Thigpen, Volleyball

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