MAGNOLIA, Ark. - In its annual effort to cap off the year, Southern Arkansas University and the Mulerider Athletics family gathered together inside a transformed W.T. Watson Center to celebrate its student-athletes, coaches and programs on Monday, April 29 as part of the Seventh Annual Mulespy Awards.
 
Garnering the department's top two athletic honors were Mulerider Football's Melvin Smith Jr., who was named the Auburn Smith Male Athlete of the Year, and Mulerider Softball's Sydney Ward, who claimed the Dr. Margaret Downing Female Athlete of the Year award. The player of the year awards are given to the top Male and Female Athlete in a given year at SAU regardless of classification and that possesses conduct that has been a positive influence for good, and exemplifies the ideals of Auburn Smith and Dr. Margaret Downing; each a SAU Sports Hall of Famer that left an indelible mark on Mulerider Athletics during their storied tenures at the University.
 
For their outstanding academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and athletic ability, the Murphy USA Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were presented to Mulerider Men's Golf's Connor Harrington and Mulerider Volleyball's Morgan Schuster. In continual recognition of Murphy USA's strong partnership with Southern Arkansas University and Mulerider Athletics, Murphy USA President and CEO Andrew Clyde was in attendance to present some remarks on behalf of the organization and help present both scholar honors which were first awarded in 2017.
 
Twenty student-athletes made up the fourth induction class of the SAU Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma; the first, and only, national scholar-athlete society to honor four-year collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition. The ceremony was conducted by SAU Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Scott White and Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations Sage Fowler. With four classes now inducted following the 2021 inaugural ceremony, the chapter roll now stands at 90 outstanding Mulerider scholar-athletes.
 
A small graduation ceremony for 20 student-athletes who are graduating in May, but will not be able to attend the May 10 graduation date due to participation in their respective conference tournaments. Max Dyson, '79, '82 also briefly spoke on the Mulerider Club and of its impact; past, present, and future, on Mulerider Athletics after serving as the club chair this past year.
 
In 2018, through feedback from the SAU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, two new award categories were established with the Male and Female Newcomer of the Year Awards, and the Male and Female Comeback Player of the Year Awards with both now being presented annually. Capturing the honors in the comeback category were Mulerider Softball's Haley Nillen and Mulerider Men's Tennis' Lluc Pasqual. For the Newcomer of the Year award, SAU Softball's Brinson Rogers and Mulerider Baseball's Trace Shoup claimed the hardware.
 
Seventeen outstanding student-athletes were honored, while 57 senior student-athletes were recognized and gifted a special wrist watch to commemorate their time as a Mulerider.
 
Auburn Smith Male Athlete of the Year
Melvin Smith Jr. (Football)
 
Lock. Down. That's Melvin Smith Jr. The Bossier City, Louisiana was a leader in a much-improved defensive backfield for a record-setting Southern Arkansas Football team in 2023.
 
Smith, an AFCA Division II First Team All-American, led uber-competitive Super Region 3 and ranked second nationally in passes defended at 24 and finished the 2023 season with the second-most total pass breakups in the country with 20. His two dozen passes defended set a new single season program record which he achieved in SAU's historic Live United Bowl victory where he defended four passes, a new single-game postseason record, including a game-shifting pick six.
 
That interception was his final of four on the season, but it was not the most electric as Smith became the first player in program history to record a 100-yard interception return touchdown and just the second ever to score from 100 yards out when he did so at home against Southwestern Oklahoma.
 
In the return game, the all-league first teamer ranked fifth in the GAC in kickoff return average at 19.5 and 11th in the league in combined kick return yardage with 312. He recorded 42.0 total tackles with the second-most solo stops with 29. 
 
Dr. Margaret Downing Female Athlete of the Year
Sydney Ward (Softball)
 
A third-year Mulerider, Ward's final season in Magnolia has been just as impressive as her first two and as equally depressing for opposing hitters who have stepped in the box against her. The Paris, Arkansas native has put together a final ride that will park her at or near the top of every major career pitching record in program history.
 
A one-time GAC Pitcher of the Week in 2024, Ward holds top five GAC rankings in multiple categories including ERA where she boast a sub-1.5, games started, hits allowed per seven, shutouts, strikeouts and strikeouts per seven and complete games. Earlier this season, she became just the fourth player in program history to eclipse 400 career strikeouts and her 439 punchouts over three seasons has her currently third all-time.
 
A staple of durability and no stranger to filling up the strike zone, Ward has gone the distance 12 times this season, a top 6 mark in program history, and fired three games of 10+ strikeouts with a career-high 13 coming against Fort Hays State earlier this season. Her 151.0 innings pitched in 2023 gives her the third-most innings pitched ever by a Mulerider arm.
 
With twenty-five starts in 29 total appearances in 2024, Ward has recorded six shutouts and allowed one or fewer runs in 20 appearances in the circle. Her 15 wins this campaign mark the third-straight season reaching that wins mark and gives her 54 victories for her career: the second-most ever by a Mulerider arm and the most by any player that did not begin their career in Magnolia.
 
Murphy USA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Connor Harrington (Men's Golf)
 
A native of Magnolia, Harrington is a Mathematics: Education major with a 3.88 GPA.
 
Whether it's been on the golf course, in the classroom, out in the community or even at other Mulerider sporting events, Harrington's collegiate time in his hometown has been well spent. Harrington has served this department as a member of the SAU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, as a student worker in the Athletic Communications office, as a member of the FCA leadership team and through "Muleriders in Magnolia." He's volunteered in multiple capacities at his home church of FBC Magnolia, is involved with SAU's Association of Baptist Students (ABS) and has coached a local travel baseball team for the past five years.
 
A two-time All-GAC honoree on the course with second team honors this season, Harrington enters NCAA regional play with a top 20 individual ranking in the Central Region as a top 130 golfer in all of Division II. In ten tournaments, the fifth-year senior has collected 524 wins, two top three finishes with three additional top six performances and is averaging a 72.5 across 29 total rounds of golf.
 
A three-time CSC Academic All-District selection and a three-time GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete, Harrington has recorded 335 pars this season with 77 birdies, two eagles and seven rounds in the 60s highlighted by a career-best 68.
 
Murphy USA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Morgan Schuster (Volleyball)
 
Schuster, a senior setter from Arlington, Texas, is a Biology: Pre-Health major with a 3.95 GPA.
 
No stranger to this stage, Schuster garnered this honor following the 2021-22 year to become the second female to win the honor twice. Since then, the Texan has continued to impress on the court, in the classroom and throughout the community. Schuster has served as a member of the SAU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and SAU's Pre-Health Club in addition to serving being active with "Muleriders in Magnolia" helping out places such as CCAPS and the Boys & Girls Club.
 
A four-time team captain for the Mulerider Volleyball program, Schuster played an instrumental role in the team's turnaround last fall. A four-time All-GAC selection and a four-time GAC All-Academic honoree, Schuster became the first player in program history to eclipse 3000 career assists as she produced a top 30 assists total in the Central Region last fall with 605.
 
Schuster, a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection, has presented at the Arkansas Academy of Science as well as the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, will be attending the University of Arkansas Medical School this fall.
 
Male Comeback Player of the Year
Lluc Pasqual (Men's Tennis)
 
A native of Barcelona, Spain, Pas-quall battled through a nagging hand injury and less than ideal on-court performances during his first season in Magnolia. After recording a 4-14 singles record in 2022-23, Pas-quall has experienced a turnaround that has proved beneficial for the Muleriders this season.
 
The GAC's Flight 4 Individual Champion last fall, Pas-quall has won 14 matches in singles action, including seven-straight to open the spring campaign, with victories coming across three different positions in the lineup and a team-best 88% winning rate. After earning just one double win a season ago, Pas-quall has enjoyed an eight-win improvement in pairing play to provided much-needed consistency for one of the region's top teams.
 
Female Comeback Player of the Year
Haley Nillen (Softball)
 
Nillen, a graduate student from Conroe, Texas, battled through multiple injuries throughout the 2023 season; her first in Magnolia, which caused her to miss 22 games and make only 20 starts. 
 
A season later, a healthy Nillen has played and started all 48 games for the Muleriders and is hitting .324 with 45 hits, 30 RBI and 18 runs scored. She is one of six Muleriders with 10 or more multi-hit games and ranks third on the team with seven multi-RBI games. Defensively, she manages the league's top pitching staff which leads the GAC and ranks fifth nationally in strikeouts per seven and holds top three league rankings in WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and ERA.
 
Male Newcomer of the Year
Trace Shoup (Baseball)
 
Shoup, a native of El Dorado, Arkansas, has delivered a highly-impressive first year as a Mulerider. A natural infielder, Shoup found a home roaming the Mulerider outfield and his bat was certainly welcomed in the lineup as well.
 
A starter in 45 of Southern Arkansas' 46 regular season games, Shoup leads the Muleriders in average, OPS, run scored, doubles, slugging percentage and on-base percentage and has the team's second-highest marks in hits, triples, home runs, walks and total bases. Entering postseason play, Shoup carries an 18-game reached base safely streak, which is two games off his season-high and team-best effort. His 18 multi-hit games are the most among Muleriders as are his six three-plus hit games, while his eight multi-RBI games are the third-most on the team.
 
Female Newcomer of the Year
Brinson Rogers (Softball)
 
A native of Statesboro, Georgia, Rogers has provided the punchouts for the Muleriders in 2024. The right-hander's dominance in the circle has set Southern Arkansas up with one of the top pitching duos in the conference.
 
For starters, she holds a top 20 mark nationally in hits allowed per seven with the second-best mark in the GAC. Also ranked in the 20 nationally in total strikeouts, Rogers' 197 Ks this spring has her on the verge of becoming just the fourth pitcher in program history to reach 200 strikeouts in a single season. A two-time GAC Pitcher of the Week, Rogers leads the GAC and ranks seventh among all Division II arms in strikeouts per seven with 10.8 and she carries top five league marks in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio into postseason play.
 
Outstanding Athletes
Brandon Nicoll (Baseball)
Carel Ray Jr. (Men's Basketball)
Diamond Morris (Women's Basketball)
Wesley Maxwell (Men's Cross Country)
Logan Warren (Women's Cross Country)
Kamryn Cross (Cheerleading)
OB Jones (Football)
Connor Harrington (Men's Golf)
Aurea Carlisle (Women's Golf)
Regan Dillon (Softball)
Tim Fischer (Men's Tennis)
Annika Berrendorf (Women's Tennis)
Ja'Kamron Zackery (Men's Indoor Track and Field)
Kamryn Floyd (Women's Indoor Track and Field)
Keith Smith (Men's Outdoor Track and Field)
Jordan Collins (Women's Outdoor Track and Field)
Kayte Delong (Volleyball)
 
2024 Induction Class of the SAU Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma
Kelis Boutte (Women's Track & Field)
Blake Castor (Men's Track & Field)
Kayte Delong (Volleyball)
Alex Gerrard (Men's Golf)
Demi Lindsey (Softball)
Morgan McAlexander (Softball)
Cy Murphy (Baseball)
Isla Olivas (Volleyball)
Lluc Pasqual (Men's Tennis)
Zach Rennard (Baseball)
Kelsey Saveall (Women's Golf)
Inna Serpukhova (Women's Tennis)
Hailey Sutton (Women's Track & Field)
Ava Tanner (Volleyball)
Kailyn Thomas (Women's Track & Field)
Ole Valkyser (Men's Tennis)
Logan Warren (Women's XC/Track & Field)
Easton Welch (Football)
Connor Westhoven (Men's Track & Field)
Chloe Wilbanks (Women's Basketball)
 
2023-24 Senior Student-Athletes
Baseball
Chance Bolter
Jackson Duke
Isaiah Haynes
Mikel Howell
Chris Lyles
Ben Muldoon
Treshon Paschal
Will Richardson
Tim Ruffino
Evan Schroeder
Chris Sutton
 
Men's Basketball
Cedric Garrett
Gregory Hammond Jr.
 
Women's Basketball
Diamond Morris
 
Cheerleading
Kamryn Cross
Lydia Outlaw
 
Men's XC/Track & Field
Dezmand Bryant
Bryson Johnson
Travon Johnson
Traveon Scott
Connor Westhoven
Connor White
Detrich Young
 
Women's XC/Track & Field
Alexis Matlock
Issah Traylor
Katherine Elliott
Katelynn Hogg
Hailey Sutton
 
Football
Cade Baker
Jacob Berry
DK Henderson Jr.
Rayvon Ingram
OB Jones
Garrett McWhorter
Juwan Moody
Kendall Reid
Jake Smith
DJ Wagoner
 
Men's Golf
Connor Harrington
Seth Hopkins
Caleb Miller
 
Softball
Ava Dunn
Kate Faber
Gracie King
Demi Lindsey
Morgan McAlexander
Kamryn Moctezuma
Haley Nillen
Madyson Pogue
Ariana Rolle
Cailynn Simms
Sydney Ward
 
Men's Tennis
Gabriel Breitenmoser
Matthew Tennant
Ole Valkyser
 
Women's Tennis
Greta Wallin
 
Volleyball
Morgan Schuster