EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In an evening that celebrates the accomplishments of the University of Southern Indiana student athletes during the 2016-17 year, senior Haley Hodges (softball), senior Jeril Taylor(Louisville, Kentucky), senior Bobo Drummond (men’s basketball), and senior Kendyl Dearing (women’s basketball) were recognized as the top student athletes at the 15^th annual USI All-Sports Banquet sponsored by Old National Bank Monday evening.

For the third time in the history of the ONB/USI Female Student Athlete of the Year award, Hodges joins a select club in being selected twice for USI’s top female athletic honor. The All-American catcher received co-honors last year with women’s cross country junior Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio).

Hodges has made her mark on the softball the field in the last two seasons, setting the career-records for home runs (40) and RBIs (162) this season. The computer science major also has earned Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week twice.

This season, Hodges is hitting a team-high .408 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs. She also has a team-high .633 slugging percentage and is tied for first with 12 doubles

Hodges finished last year as a first-team All-American by the NFCA, the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA), and by HeroSports.com; in addition to being named second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America. She set single-season school records for home runs and RBIs last year.

USI’s softball team, currently, is ranked fifth in the nation in the NFCA Division II Top 25 poll; first in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region; and first in the GLVC standings with a 39-9 overall record and a 18-6 mark in league play.

Previous winners of the award were Shannon Wells (2003, volleyball), Jenny Farmer (2004; cross country/track), Heather Cooksey (2005; cross country/track), Laura Ellerbusch (2006; volleyball), Allison Shafer (2007; cross country/track), Kristin Eickholt (2008; softball), Mary Ballinger (2009, 2010; cross country/track), Danielle LaGrange (2011, 2012; volleyball), Susan Ellsperman (2013; soccer), Anna Hackert (2014; basketball), MacKenzie Dorsam (2015; softball), and Emily Roberts (2016; cross country/track).

The ONB/USI Male Student Athlete of the Year, Taylor was dominating on the basketball court this year. The individualized studies major and the 2017 GLVC Player of the Year was named All-America by Basketball Times, Division II Bulletin, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

In addition to the All-America awards, Taylor was named NABC All-District; CCA first-team All-Midwest Region, and first-team All-GLVC. The 2017 four-time GLVC Player of the Week honoree also was selected to play in the NABC/NCAA Division II All-Star Game.

The Louisville, Kentucky, native led the team for the second-straight season in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. The senior also set a USI single-game record for scoring with 50 points in the road win at Truman State University and became the 19th USI player to reach 1,000 career points.

The USI Men’s Basketball finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 25-5 overall record and ranked 16th nationally after bowing out of the NCAA Division II Tournament in the Midwest Regional. The Eagles also finished second in the GLVC East Division with a 15-3 conference mark.

Previous winners of the award were Duncan Bray (2003, 2004; soccer), Matt Keener (2005; baseball), Chris Thompson (2006; basketball), Melvin Hall (2007; basketball), Paul Jellema (2008; cross country/track), Shaun Larsen (2009; baseball), Jamar Smith (2010; basketball), Trevor Leach (2011; baseball), Dustin Emerick (2012;  cross country & track), Michael Jordan (2013; cross country & track), Johnnie Guy (2014, 2016; cross country & track), and Tyler Pence (2015, cross country & track).

Dearing and Drummond were named the female and male recipients the ONB/USI Screaming Eagles Pride Award. The award winners, who have been role models on the men’s and women’s soccer teams and in the department, were selected in a vote by the Athletics staff.

Dearing, a four-year member of the women’s basketball team and a major in exercise science, helped lead the USI student athletes as a member of the USI SAAC. The two-time Academic All-GLVC performer finished her career this year after playing in 76 games over four seasons.

A constant presence around USI Athletics and events, Drummond had been a leader on and off the court during his three years on the men’s basketball team. The sport management major helped lead the Eagles to the NCAA II Tournament this year by changing his role from a starter to coming off the bench after battling through a back injury. He finished his time at USI with career averages of 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in 84 appearances as a Screaming Eagle.

Previous winners of the Pride Award were Ginnie Roberts (softball) 2003; Mike Arnold (men’s basketball) 2004; Brian Kendall (men’s cross country/track) 2005; Angie Davis (softball) 2006; Geoff Van Winkle (men’s basketball) 2007; Kathy Wood (softball) 2008;  Austin Inge (men’s track) and Brittany Neuman (women’s basketball) 2009; Jeron Lewis (men’s basketball) and Sara Loete (softball) 2010; Lauren Meneghetti (women’s basketball) and Mohamed Ntumba (men’s basketball) 2011; Susan Ellsperman (women’s soccer) and Brendan Devine (men’s cross country/track) 2012; Ellena Stumpf (women’s tennis) and Scott Ernstberger (baseball) 2013; Stephanie Carpenter (women’s basketball) and Jeff Neidlinger (men’s soccer) 2014; Austin Davis (men’s basketball), and Mary O’Keefe (women’s basketball) 2015; and McKinsey Durham (women’s soccer) and Lucas Woodford (men’s soccer) 2016.

Jamie Seitz, an associate professor of accounting, was presented the Dr. Jane Davis Brezette Faculty Excellence Award. The award is presented to a USI faculty member who has contributed to the success of USI Athletics by mentoring student athletes and helping them to achieve their goals in the classroom and beyond.  Previous winners of award were Dr. Jane Davis-Brezette, the former chair of Kinesiology and Sport and instructor in the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education (2008); Tim Mahoney, an instructor in the Romain College of Business (2009); Patti Marcum, an instructor in the Pott College of Science Engineering, and Education (2011); Dr. Lacie Rogers, an instructor in the Romain College of Business (2012); Dr. Darrin Sorrells, an instructor and learning specialist in Academic Skills (2013); Chris Croft, an instructor in Pott College of Science Engineering, and Education (2014); Timothy Bryan, an instructor in accounting (2015); and  Dr. Brandon Field,  an associate professor of engineering (2016).

The USI Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) recognized women’s cross country with the Team GPA Award (3.54), while women’s basketball was presented with the Team Spirit Award.

Women’s cross country has earned the Team GPA Award for a third time (2017, 2016  2013), ranking second behind  volleyball, which has won the award five times (2015, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007) since the creation of the award in 2006. Softball has won award twice, (2014 and 2012) , while women’s soccer (2006) and women’s basketball (2011) have each earned the honor once.

The Team Spirit Award, which is selected in a vote by the SAAC and created in 2005, is the first for women’s basketball. Men’s cross country/track & field (2005, 2009, 2011) and men’s soccer (2012, 2013, 2014) has been honored three times, while softball (2014, 2015) and men’s tennis (2007, 2008) have been chosen twice. Men’s basketball (2010), women’s soccer (2012), women’s cross country/track & field (2006), and baseball (2016) have been selected for the award once.

Senior Wil Pahud shot an even 72 on Tuesday to lead the University of Evansville men’s golf team to a 6^th place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Cog Hill Golf Club.

Pahud’s round saw him jump up the leaderboard to a tie for 21^st place in the event with a 3-rond tally of 232.

Tyler Gray remained in the top ten, finishing in a tie for 8^th.  The junior carded a 75 on Tuesday, finishing the tournament with a 224.  Four strokes behind him was Noah Reese.  His effort of 75 in the third round vaulted him to a 15^th place finish.

Matthew Ladd notched a 79 and tied Pahud’s total of 232 strokes.  The duo finished in a tie for 21^st.  Jon Pick posted his low round of the championship as he notched an 81.  His total of 251 strokes put him in 44^th place.

Trent Wallace of Illinois State held on to take medalist with a score of 218.  He defeated Wichita State’s Yannick Emmert by one shot.  The Shockers took top team honors as their final of 883 came in five strokes ahead of the Redbirds.

UNI took third with an 899 while Missouri State (908) and Southern Illinois (915) finished off the top five.  Evansville finished just one outside of the top five with a 916.