Brittany Fowler Named SBC Player Of The Year; Eight Lady Jags Named To All-Conference Team
Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson presents Brittany Fowler with her plaque honoring her as Sun Belt Player Of The Year Tuesday at Troy. Fowler, a senior, is the first Jaguar to be named Player of the Year. | usajaguars.com
The University of South Alabama’s Brittany Fowler, a senior on the softball team, was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, another first in Jaguar history. In addition eight total Jaguars were named to the All-Conference team on Tuesday.
The announcement came at Troy’s Family Night on Tuesday before the Sun Belt tournament begins on Wednesday. The selections were made by a vote of the conference’s nine head coaches.
Fowler led the league with a .518 batting average and a .645 on-base percentage against conference foes. The Jacksonville, Florida native batted a .406 average, slugged for .648 with 48 runs scored, eight home runs and 31 RBI.
She was also a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases and won SBC player of the week honors on March 18.
Additionally Haley Fagan was named SBC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference in slugging percentage with .883, home runs with 7, RBI with 30 and total bases with 53. The Dunnellon, Florida native third baseman hit for .433 against conference foes and also picked up a SBC weekly honor on April 22.
Fowler and Fagan were two of the eight Jaguars selected to the All-Conference team. Hannah Campbell, Blair Johnson, Julie Moss and at-large selection Kaitlyn Griffith joined the pair on the first team.
Farish Beard and Britany Campbell earned second team All-Conference honors.
Emily Rousseau of Western Kentucky was named Pitcher of the Year and Tyra Perry, also of WKU, was named Coach of the Year.
Congratulations Brittany and congratulations to all of the Lady Jaguars honored on Tuesday. But also congratulations to the Coach Clark, the staff and the rest of the team for an amazing season so far, but it’s only just beginning. Go get’em at the conference tournament and the NCAA Regionals. We will be supporting you all the way!
GO JAGS!
USA Honors Turning 50 With Celebration This Evening
It was 50 years ago today that the University of South Alabama was founded. This evening the University will mark the momentous occasion.
As well as celebrating the school, they will also pay tribute to President Gordon Moulton, whose career spans most of that period. He has overseen the phenomenal growth of the university during his 15 years as president.
The celebration will begin at 6:30pm at The Mitchell Center and will feature food and music. They will also have memories of the University’s early ears, recognition of faculty and their teaching, research, scholarly activity and creative works. They will also have a video presentation of USA’s first half-century.
Each person who attends will be given a copy of a new book that features nearly 200 pages of historic and modern photographs as well as first-hand accounts of the University’s beginnings and it’s growth.
Also in attendance will be Alabama Governor Robert Bentley with several other local, state and federal leaders who will speak.
The event is free and open to the public. The dress is business casual.
When USA was established there was no other public, four-year degree granting institution in the region. Civic and business leaders recognized the importance of a university to the region’s success and pushed for it’s creation.
The single-building campus in west Mobile quickly expanded, established a medical school and is recognized today as a vibrant, competitive teaching and research institution.
Over it’s 50 years it has awarded 75,000 degrees; 15,000 currently enrolled students; 250,000 patients treated annually; 5,500 employees; $400 million in annual payroll, one of the area’s largest; $2 billion in economic impact each year.
Gordon Moulton arrived at the University when it was only three years old as he joined the business faculty in 1966. He has served as director of the USA computer center, founding dean of the School of Computer and Information Sciences (now named the School of Computing) and vice president for services and planning.
Then, most notably, he was selected as the University’s second president in 1998.
He led the development of the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute, the largest research endeavor in the school’s history. The USA Health System which consists of the USA College of Medicine, physician practice, USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the USA Medical Center.
He also led the creation of the USA Research and Technology Park which is now home to 16 technology based firms and 600 private sector employees.
He has also led the construction of multiple new facilities on campus including Shelby Hall, Meisler Hall, a new Student Center, and the Football Fieldhouse when the University began a NCAA football program and marching band program.
USA-SLU Game Rescheduled
The University of South Alabama baseball team has rescheduled their game against Southeastern Louisiana which was rained out on April 3 due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.
The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 7 with first pitch set for 6:30pm at Eddie Stanky Field.
South Alabama Vying To Be Regional Host
South Alabama’s baseball and softball teams are having a very good season so far this year. With their regular season games dwindling the postseason is looming large both teams could potentially host regional tournaments over the next several weeks.
Athletic Director Joel Erdmann announced on WNSP that the University has put in a bid to host a regional tournament for softball and he said that they would also put in a bid for a baseball regional tournament. He indicated that, if the Jags can finish in the top 16, USA should be able to host a regional.
SouthEasternBaseball.com is projecting South Alabama to host a regional. They also project South Florida, Mississippi State and Southern Miss to be in this regional.
The website also has three other Sun Belt schools in the postseason. They have Troy as a #2 seed at the regional at Florida State, Florida Atlantic as a #3 seed in Nashville for the Vanderbilt regional and Louisiana-Lafayette as a #2 seed at the LSU regional.
South Alabama Honored Their Student-Athletes Tuesday Night
On Tuesday evening the University of South Alabama honored their student-athletes at the fourth annual Pete Tolbert Night of Champions at the Mitchell Center.
Augustine Rubit was named Jaguar Male Student-Athlete of the year. Rubit earned All-American honors from CollegeInsider.com and was a National Basketball Coaches Association first-team All-District selection. Along with several other accolades.
Hannah Campbell was named the Jaguar Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She is ranked in the top five nationally in ERA and saves and leads the Sun Belt in both categories while ranking in the top five in wins and strikeouts as well. In 33 appearances she has a record of 18-7 with six saves, a 0.94 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 164 2/3 innings of work. She aslo recorded her first career no-hitter in March versus UC-Santa Barbara. Some notable appearances include wins over nationally ranked ULL and Mississippi State and saves against then #25 ranked Florida State and Ole Miss.
The event recognized the achievements of South Alabama nearly 400 student-athletes both in the classroom and in competition.
Brittany Fowler is USA’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. To be eligible for the honor a student-athlete must be a varsity letterwinner who will complete her intercollegiate eligibility by the end of spring sports season. They must have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5. She is batting a team-leading .406 with 52 hits, eight home runs, 31 RBI and 48 runs scored. She rankes among the conference leaders in each of those categories.
Julie Moss earned the Tom and Barbara Corcoran Scholar-Athlete Endowed Scholarship Award which is presented to a Junior who most excels in sports while maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Brittany Campbell earned the Denny-Gottfried Athletic Scholarship Award that goes to a student-athlete who holds a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA, has completed their NCAA eligibility and with the assistance of the fund will graduate from USA within two consecutive semesters. The Senior’s total of seven home runs this spring are more than her previous three seasons combined while she is batting .328 with 11 stolen bases and 33 runs scored.
Trey Clark earned the Jimmy Taylor Scholarship Award which is given to a student-athlete who has exhausted their eligibility, maintained an outstanding GAP and achieved significant Athletic accomplishments. Clark not only played every snap at center last season for the Jags, but he also started every game for the Jags since the teams inception in 2009. Clark also earned second-team Capital One Academic All-America honors off the field.
Romelle Jones earned the Male Perseverance Award while Scott Garber earned the Male Jaguar Athletic Fund Award for the second year in a row.
Mychal Ammons earned the Wilson Durgin Memorial Scholarship Award which is presented to a deserving minority student-athlete.
COle Billingsley earned the Auralia Crowell Freshman Scholar-Athlete Award for the most outstanding freshman based on excellence in academics and athletics. In his first season with the Jaguar baseball team he is batting .295, scored 26 runs and 19 RBI.
Kristyn Thacker earned the Female Perseverance Award while Amber Wyatt earned the Female Jaguar Athletic Fund Award.
Brent Mitchell earned the Forrest W. and Beverly B. Crowder Endowed Scholarship for Baseball. Jacob Noble earned the Clifton Inge Endowed Baseball Award. Garrett Schumacher earned the McKinney Family Endowed Scholarship for Track and Field Award. Ross Metheny was named the Mayer Mitchell Quarterback Endowment Fund Award winner while Daniel Ballard was named the George Smith Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund Award winner.
Travis Toth was named the Matt Smith Award Winner. This is presented to a member of the athletic staff who consistently goes the extra mile, has the spirit of commitment, strong work ethic and a deep sense of pride in their job. It is named for former USA Sports Information Director Matt Smith who passed away in December of 2004.
Each sports program also presents awards. The winners of those honors were: Eddie Stanky Award (baseball), Brent Mitchell; Goldie Ungar Heart of Gold Award (men’s basketball), Javier Carter; Lady Jag Basketball TEDs Award (women’s basketball), Ronneka Robertson; Female Distance Award (women’s cross country), Salom Lecoq; Male Distance Award (men’s cross country), Patrick Rohr; Jim Yance Heart of a Jaguar Award (football), B.J. Scott; Heath Slocum Award (men’s golf), Jared Burleson; Beth Barry Award (women’s golf), Kristen Golightly; Lindsay Rogers Award (soccer), Jess Oram; Extra Mile Award (softball), Meghan Collins; Lubel Family Award (men’s tennis), Daniel Leitner; Marilyn Lubel Award (women’s tennis), Mary Angela Martin; Female Field Events Award (women’s track and field), Briana Aiken; Male Field Events Award (men’s track and field), Nick Farrell; Female Track Events Award (women’s track and field), Leah Hixon; Male Track Events Award (men’s track and field), Tyler Agee; and, Jaguar Volleyball Award (volleyball), Olivia Mohler.
USA has 45 student-athletes set to receive their degree in two weeks at commencement. They were given Sun Belt Conference Graduation Medallions to honor their accomplishement both through competition and academics culiminating in their graduation.
Congratulations to all of the Jaguar Student-Athletes and good luck to the soon-to-be alumni. Thank you for your hard work both on and off the field and for representing the University in a distinguished manner.
GO Jags!!
Demetre Baker Dismissed From Team
Running back Demetre Baker is asking for his release from South Alabama according to his Social Media accounts and WNSP.
Coach Jones told WNSP that Baker had over 20 rules infractions against team rules. He missed games last season due to breaking team rules as well. Jones also said that, after a meeting and a vote of the seniors on the team, they voted to kick him off the football team.
Baker has taken to Social Media and said that all he wants is his transfer papers, but that post has since been taken down.
He participated in spring drills and practices after being named ineligible after failing two classes in the fall. According to Baker’s interview with SunBeltInsider.com, he has been banned from “…offices and campus facilities” which I assume means sports offices and facilities and not academic facilities.
When more information comes out about this situation, we will cover it. But as of now, all we know is that Baker has been dismissed from the team and is looking to get his release to transfer to another school.
NCAA Football ’14 Preview Now With More Jaguars
Image by EASports.com
We covered the controversy last year when EA Sports failed to include South Alabama in the 2013 edition of their yearly NCAA Football franchise. Many Jaguar fans were annoyed and mad about being overlooked and they took to social media and email to let EA know about their displeasure.
EA responded with an initial, “oops, sorry we’ll get you next time.” But that was not enough for the fans. They continued to contact EA and they finally relented and gave the school their “first class treatment.”
Last season EA sent a crew to do detailed stadium scans, fan and tailgating photos and audio recordings to be included in the 2014 edition. They spent the week leading up to the game to collect data on the stadium and information about the team’s playbook. They also experienced gameday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and have been using it to digitially recreate it “in the game,” as they say. This oversight may have worked out in South Alabama’s favor after all.
This was posted by EA Sports on their website previewing the 2014 game. “This year, South Alabama makes its long-awaited debut in NCAA Football along with Old Dominion and Georgia State. The Jaguars stadium has been accurately recreated, as has Texas State’s. That’s right, Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium will be in the game. Both big and small schools received attention, with TCU’s stadium updated to reflect their recent renovations. Horned Frogs fans should feel right at home.”
You can read the entire EA article here.
Our previous articles covering this topic can be viewed below:
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/06/south-alabama-being-left-out-of-eas-ncaa-football-13/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/14/south-alabama-gets-lots-of-press-over-ea-fumble/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/06/22/ea-fesses-up-and-pledges-extras-for-south-alabama/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/09/07/ea-sports-to-be-at-stadium-on-saturday/
https://www.thunderjags.com/2012/09/08/ea-sports-is-making-good-on-their-promise/
Graves Adds Final Assistant To Staff
South Alabama’s head basketball coach Matt Graves announced the addition of Dan Matic to finish his staff. | Photo usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s head basketball coach Matt Graves completed his staff on Thursday when he announced the addition of former Eastern Illinois assistant Dan Matic to his staff.
Matic is a native of Brooklyn, New York and spent the 2012-13 season at Eastern Illinois as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. One of his recruits led all of the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring as a freshmen as the Panthers qualified for the conference tournament for the first time in three seasons.
Prior to EIU, he was an assistant at Olney Central College in Olney, Ill. In his lone season at OCC, they won 27 games and won the Great Rivers Athletic Conference championship for the first time in 14 years. Under his tutalige, Trivante Bloodman earned player of the year honors in the GRAC and the team finished second in the NJCAA region 24 Tournament, the best finish by the school since 1994. Five players, including Bloodman who signed with Mississippi State, went on to play at NCAA Division I schools.
Matic also worked as a video coordinator for the USA National Basketball team in 2009 in the 2009 World University Games in Serbia. The team led by Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan brought home the bronze medal. Matic then served two seasons as a graduate assistant and academic mentor at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Matic began his coaching career in 2001 with AAU Team Takeover of New York City. During his six seasons as head coach he led the squad to a sixth-place finish at AAU nationals and had 16 player earn scholarships to Division I schools. Devin Eubanks, who went to West Virginia and is now with the L.A. Lakers, and Ed Davis, who went to North Carolina and now the Toronto Raptors, were two who earned scholarships.
USA Has Four Named To All-SBC Teams In Tennis
South Alabama placed four student-athletes on All-Sun Belt teams on Wednesday.
Sophomore Daniel Leitner and senior Alex Bernard were named to the 2013 All-Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Team. Leitner was voted to the first team in singles while Bernard was voted on the second team in singles, giving him his second consecutive All-Sun Belt honor in the last two seasons. He earned doubles honors in 2012.
The #2 seeded South Alabama Jaguars will open play in the Sun Belt Championships on Thursday against Western Kentucky.
Sophomore Emily Newton and freshman Michaela Meszarosova were named to the All-Sun Belt Conference team for women’s tennis.
Newton was named to the second team in singles while Meszarosova was to the doubles second team. These honors were the first for the program since 2009.
The Lady Jaguars earned a #4 seed in the Sun Belt Championships and will play the winner between #12 Western Kentucky and #5 Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday morning.
Terry Fowler Hired As Head Women’s Basketball Coach
Terry Fowler was named the new head women’s basketball coach at South Alabama. | timesdaily.com
South Alabama Athletics Director Joel Erdmann announced he has hired Terry Fowler as the head women’s basketball coach for the Jaguars. Fowler is coming off two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in the last three years at the University of North Alabama.
Fowler has been the head coach at UNA for the last seven seasons as the guided the Lions to the NCAA tournament in both 2011 and 2013 by winning 20-plus games in each of those seasons. He was chosen to Gulf South Conference East Division Coach of the Year in 2011 after leading his team to a 12-0 record in conference play. They would finish 21-7 after advancing to the NCAA Tournament for thier first appearance in the event since the 1993-94 season.
When Fowler was hired by UNA, he inherited a team that won 11 games combined the two previous seasons. In his first season, he led the Lions to a 14-14 record overall and their first berth in the conference tournament since 2003. He then coached the team to winning records in each of the last five season posting an overall record of 115-87 for a 56.9 winning percentage. He also has a 57-32 record in conference play for a 64 winning percentage.
Fowler has previously worked at both Spring Hill and South Alabama prior to his stint at UNA. He was an assistant on the Lady Jaguars staff during the 2000-01 and ’01-02 seasons. He also served as an assistant at SHC from 1993-98 before being promoted to head coach before the start of the ’98-99 season. He led the Badgers to their first-ever NAIA Tournament appearance with a 23-11 overall record while winning both the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. He was named the conference coach of the year.
He returned to SHC in 2002 to lead the Badgers to their first ever NAIA national ranking and the semifinals of the GCAC TOurnament on two occasions.