TSWA honors girls basketball all-state teams

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Sports Writers Association announced all-state girls basketball teams for four classes in Division I and two classes in Division II on Tuesday for the 2022-23 season.

Division II-A
Jailyn Banks, Middle Tennessee Christian, Sr.*
Olivia Lee, Trinity Christian, Sr.*
Angelica Velez, Webb School-Bell Buckle, Sr.*
Aaliyah Converse, St. George’s Independent, Jr.
Keira Leffew, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Sr.
Juleigh Anne Tucker, The King's Academy, Sr.
Aalyah Del Rosario, Webb School-Bell Buckle, Sr.
Bree Robinson, Webb School-Bell Buckle, Sr.
Haylen Ayers, University School of Jackson, 8th grade
Kelsie Johnson, Silverdale Baptist, Jr.
Addie Wilhoit, Providence Academy, 8th grade
Whitley Miller, Nashville Christian, Sr.

Division II-AA
Jaloni Cambridge, Ensworth School, Jr.*
Kayli Clarkson, Briarcrest Christian, Sr.*
Sydney Mains, Knox Catholic, Jr.*
Ella Fite, Briarcrest Christian, Sr.
Madelyn Ladd, Knox Webb, Sr.
Meeyah Green, Knox Webb, Fr.
Jaz Williams, Knox Catholic, Sr.
Trinity Fields, Brentwood Academy, Sr.
Bella White, Baylor School, Sr.
Aubriyana Camp, Chattanooga Christian, 8th grade
Bella Shepherd, Lipscomb Academy, Fr.
Ava Krumwiege, Harpeth Hall, So.

Class 1A
Blair Baugus, Wayne County, So.*
Lyndie Ramsey, Unaka, Sr.*
Kylie Reynolds, McKenzie, Sr.*
Layla Bouldin, Van Buren, Jr.
Madi McClain, Hampton, Sr.
Courtney Zensen, Whitwell, Sr.
Kelsey Pike, Oneida, Sr.
Addison Oliver, Harriman, Sr.
Savannah Davis, McKenzie, Jr.
Lucy Curry, Dresden, Sr.
Sonya Wagner, North Greene, Sr.
Maddie Gray, South Fulton, So.

Class 2A
Reese Beaty, York Institute, So.*
Jada Harrison, Westview, Sr.*
Maddy Newman, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Jr.*
Curnesha Taylor, Memphis Business Academy, So.
Molly Masingale, McMinn Central, Jr.
Karina Bystry, McMinn Central, So.
Karli Haworth, Alcoa, Sr.
Micah Hart, Gibson County, Jr.
MJ Simmons, Community, Sr.
Izzy McPherson, Sycamore, Jr.
Evyn Cantrell, Gibson County, Sr.
McCall Sims, Westview, So.

Class 3A
Lauren Bailey, Greeneville, Sr.*
Abigail Johnson, Upperman, Sr.*
Ti’Mia Lawson, Jackson South Side, Sr.*
Lina Lyon, Elizabethton, Sr.
Renna Lane, Elizabethton, Sr.
Jenna Hare, Sullivan East, Sr.
Ellie Butler, Livingston Academy, So.
Brianna Burgess, Creek Wood, Sr.
Hallie Allen, South Gibson, Jr.
Albany Collins, Jackson South Side, Sr.
Carlee Lowry, Signal Mountain, So.
Braley Bushman, Page, Sr.

Class 4A
Imari Berry, Clarksville, Jr.*
Mallory Collier, Bartlett, Sr.*
Avery Treadwell, Bearden, Sr.*
Nevaeh Scott, Bartlett, Sr.
Anna Lee Avery, Germantown Houston, Jr.
Hilary Shikuku, Colliervillle, So.
Natalya Hodge, Bearden, Fr.
Emily Monson, Blackman, Sr.
Cassie Gallagher, Cookeville, Sr.
Kimora Fields, Bradley Central, Fr.
Harmonie Ware, Bradley Central, So.
Aubrey Blankenship, Green Hill, Sr.

*-Miss Basketball Finalist

Tennessee’s Gibson, Austin Peay’s Benefiel garner TSWA weekly accolades

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s McKenna Gibson and Austin Peay’s Jordan Benefiel garnered softball Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 10-16.

Gibson batted .538 (7-for-13) with four 3-run homers, 13 RBIs and seven runs scored in four games for the Lady Vols. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native recorded two hits and two runs scored with a three-run homer at Virginia Tech to start the week.

The sophomore registered a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly while scoring twice in the second of three games at Kentucky. She ended the series with a 4-for-4 effort that included two 3-run homers, six RBIs and three runs scored.

Gibson is hitting .369 with five doubles, 13 home runs, 49 RBIs and 28 runs scored in 39 games this season.

Benefiel continued her excellent work in the circle for the Govs, tossing 13.0 scoreless innings in two starts at Lipscomb.

The Pendleton, Ind., native tossed a complete-game shutout in the first of a three-game series against the Bisons, allowing five hits with five walks and five strikeouts. She worked around 11 baserunners in the contest, stranding eight and getting two doubleplays.

The junior righthander worked six more scoreless frames in the series finale, giving up five hits with no walks and five strikeouts, retiring the side in order in the second and fifth innngs.

Benefiel improved her Atlantic Sun Conference record to 9-0 in 10 starts with eight complete games, five shutouts, one combined shutout, an opponents’ batting average of .157, and an ERA of 0.53 with 75 strikeouts in 66 innings of work in league action. Overall she upped her mark to 17-6 with a 1.73 ERA in 25 appearances covering 149.1 innings, allowing just 111 hits and 38 walks with 167 strikeouts. 

2022-23 TSWA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Macey Neal, Union University (Player)
February 28 – Chloe Kleischmidt, Tusculum University (Player); Rylee Gattis, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
March 7 – Acelynn Sellers, Chattanooga (Player); Alyssa Lavdis, Chattanooga (Pitcher)
March 14 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)
March 21 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Caitlyn Manus, Tennessee State (Pitcher)
March 28 – Kendall Andrews, Trevecca Nazarene (Player); Savana Luper, King University (Pitcher)
April 4 – McKenzie Henry, Lincoln Memorial (Player); Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)
April 12 – Megan Hodum, Austin Peay (Player); Jordan Benefiel, Austin Peay (Pitcher)

Lincoln Memorial’s Hall, Sewanee’s Munn earn TSWA weekly honors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial’s Chris Hall and University of the South’s Matt Munn were named the baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 10-16.

Munn tossed the final seven innings in a 10-inning, 2-1 victory against Oglethorpe University, allowing one run with a career-best 14 strikeouts for the Tigers. The Bellaire, Texas, native gave up just five hits with no walks and one hit batter in the relief outing, holding the Petrels scoreless over his last five innings.

He retired the side in order in the eighth and 10th innings and faced the minimum in the order, erasing a leadoff single with a doubleplay. The 14 strikeouts are the second most in a single game at Sewanee since at least 2008.

Munn improved to 5-3 this season in 10 appearances with seven starts covering 46.1 innings with 16 walks and 51 strikeouts.

Hall batted .615 (8-for-13) with one double, one homer, two RBIs and seven runs scored in three games for the Railsplitters. The Sandy Springs, Ga., native posted three hits with a double and one run scored in a midweek game at Lenoir-Rhyne.

The junior outfielder collected three more hits and scored three times in the first outing of a doubleheader at UVA-Wise. He added two more hits with a two-run homer and three runs scored in the second game of the twinbill against the Cavs.

Hall is batting .321 with two doubles, one triple, one homer, five RBIs and 11 runs scored in 16 games (53 at-bats) this season.

2022-23 TSWA BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Jack Roode, University of the South (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
February 28 – Jared Dickey, Tennessee (Player); Chase Burns, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 7 – Blake Burke, Tennessee (Player); Chase Dollander, Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 14 – Cole Turney, Cumberland University (Player); Jaden Hamm, Middle Tennessee (Pitcher)
March 21 – Gabe Jennings, Middle Tennessee (Player); Hunter Owen, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
March 28 – Parker Noland, Vanderbilt (Player); Noah Thompson, Lipscomb (Pitcher)
April 4 – Eston Snider, Middle Tennessee (Player); Devin Futrell, Vanderbilt (Pitcher)
April 12 – Austin Kelly, Lipscomb (Player); Logan Van Treeck, Lipscomb (Pitcher)

TSWA announces college basketball player, coach of the year awards

A first-year coach who turned around a program that won five games the season before with essentially little change to the roster heads up the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s college basketball awards for the 2022-23 season.

Karen Booker’s revival of Trevecca Nazarene earned her the Pat Summitt TSWA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year award announced Monday. She’s joined by junior guard Destinee Wells, who led Belmont’s transition to the Missouri Valley Conference as the Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.

Jerry Stackhouse, the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Coach of the Year, is the TSWA Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year after leading Vanderbilt to its most league wins since the 2015-16 season. Kendric Davis of Memphis is the men’s basketball player of the year after leading the Tigers to a second straight NCAA Tournament berth.

Booker, a Franklin native who was All-SEC as a player at Vanderbilt, was hired as Trevecca Nazarene’s sixth women’s coach last summer. She added only two freshmen and a transfer, who was a reserve, yet led the team to a 21-win season and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II Championships.

It was the Trojans’ most wins in their 11-year tenure at the NCAA level. They also went undefeated at home for the first time in program history, finishing 14-0. Trevecca Nazarene made the Great Midwest Tournament as the No. 3 seed and advanced to the finals after being picked to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the preseason coaches’ poll. Booker led them to the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional. 

Wells, who has since announced her transfer to Tennessee, was the only player in the nation to average more than 19 points and 4.5 assists while also shooting over 45 percent beyond the arc. She was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 assists, three rebounds and a steal per game.

She averaged 32.4 points over her final five games, including three MVC Tournament games and a WNIT road contest. Wells tied her career-best, scoring 35 points in the WNIT loss at Ball State. She set the single-season scoring record for Belmont’s NCAA era and leaves the program ranked sixth all-time with 1,648 career points.

Stackhouse also won the Ben Jobe National Minority Coach of the Year after leading the Commodores to 22 wins, their fifth-most victories in a single season over the past three decades. The 11 SEC wins marked just the third time with that many league victories or more in the same span.

Vanderbilt won 14 games at Memorial Gym, also the Commodores’ most since the 2015-16 season. Stackhouse led the Commodores to the NIT quarterfinals for a second straight season.

Davis made an immediate impact in his lone season at Memphis, leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring with 21.9 points a game, which ranked eighth nationally. He was the only Division I player to rank in the Top 20 for both points scored per game and assists with 5.4 per game.

He shot 41.4 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from 3-point range and 85.4 percent at the free throw line. He ranked third nationally in free throws made and posted a career-high 42 points on Jan. 11, the fifth-most points in program history and one off the AAC record.

Davis became the first player to lead the AAC in scoring three times and in three straight seasons. He was a unanimous All-AAC First Team pick and AP All-America Honorable Mention after being a six-time AAC player of the week.

He set the AAC records for career points scored, total assists and free throws made. His 744 points scored this season topped coach Penny Hardaway for second-most all-time in Memphis history, 18 shy of Dajuan Wagner’s mark of 762.

Austin Peay’s Hodum, Benefiel garner TSWA weekly accolades

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay’s Megan Hodum and Jordan Benefiel garnered softball Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association for their efforts in contests from April 3-9.

Hodum batted .700 (7-for-10) with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs in a three-game series against Bellarmine. The Stantonville, Tenn., native collected a pair of doubles and scored twice in the first game versus the Knights and was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, posting a two-run double in the fifth inning in a 2-0 victory.

She finished the series with two more hits, one run and one RBI, an RBI single in the second inning. For the season Hodum is hitting .259 with eight doubles, 11 RBIs and 18 runs scored in 32 contests.

Benefiel tossed a pair of complete-game shutouts for the Govs against Bellarmine, allowing just four hits with one walk and 13 strikeouts. The Pendleton, Ind., native gave up three hits and one walk while striking out six in the first outing of the three-game series, a 2-0 win, retiring the side in order in the second, third and seventh innings. She worked around a single and a hit batter in the fifth as well, stranding a pair of runners.

The junior righthander tossed a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in the final game against the Knights, setting down the side in order in five of the seven frames. She hit a batter in the third and gave up a single in the sixth, improving to 7-0 with a 0.66 ERA in ASUN play. For the season Benefiel upped her record to 15-6 with a 1.90 ERA in 136.1 innings, allowing 101 hits with 157 strikeouts and a .200 opponent batting average. 

2022-23 TSWA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
February 21 – Macey Neal, Union University (Player)
February 28 – Chloe Kleischmidt, Tusculum University (Player); Rylee Gattis, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
March 7 – Acelynn Sellers, Chattanooga (Player); Alyssa Lavdis, Chattanooga (Pitcher)
March 14 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)
March 21 – Macauley Bailey, Carson-Newman (Player); Caitlyn Manus, Tennessee State (Pitcher)
March 28 – Kendall Andrews, Trevecca Nazarene (Player); Savana Luper, King University (Pitcher)
April 4 – McKenzie Henry, Lincoln Memorial (Player); Ashlan Sensing, Trevecca Nazarene (Pitcher)