College players of the week honored - Oct. 24

October 24, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Maryville College sophomore quarterback Bryson Rollins collected all four touchdowns for the Scots in their 26-6 victory over LaGrange Saturday, earning the football offensive player of the week nod from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association on Tuesday based on the games from October 16-22.

Rollins, an Elizabethton, Tenn., native, rushed for three touchdowns as he carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards, then completed 19-of-32 passes for 237 yards and another score. In the game, Rollins also surpassed the 2,000-yard mark passing and extended his career yardage to 4,595, which already stands as the Scots’ program record.

On the defensive side, Carson-Newman sophomore linebacker Mekhi Brown (Wauchula, Fla.) had a big game defensively in a 21-17 loss to Mars Hill as he recorded three sacks for 21 yards. He had six total tackles with four for-loss for 24 yards.

MEN’S SOCCER: Maryville College senior goalkeeper Mykal Manfred (Gallatin, Tenn.) posted two shutouts in goal as the Scots went 1-0-1 on the week. Across the two matches, Manfred made 17 saves, matching his season-best tally of 11 in a 2-0 victory over Birmingham-Southern, while also preserving a 0-0 draw to Huntingdon, facing 30 tries on the weekend.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: King University senior goalkeeper Kristal Garcia (Orlando, Fla.) made 18 saves over two matches, collecting 10 stops in a thrilling 3-2 victory against North Greenville. She also had eight stops in a 1-0 loss at Lees-McRae.

VOLLEYBALL: King senior outside hitter Hailee Blankenship (Goode, Va.) recorded her ninth and tenth double-doubles of the season as she averaged 5.13 kills and 4.13 digs per set this past weekend. In a 3-0 win over Belmont Abbey, Blankenship recorded 18 kills and 18 digs with three service aces. In a 3-2 loss at Converse, she had 23 kills and 15 digs.

2023-24 TSWA College Sports Players of the Week
FOOTBALL
8/29 | Offensive: A.J. Swann (Vanderbilt), Defensive: De’Rickey Wright (Vanderbilt)
9/5 | Offensive: Joe Milton III (Tennessee), Defensive: Jake Cottle (Carson-Newman)
9/12 | Offensive: Sam Franklin (UT Martin), Defensive: Aaron Beasley (Tennessee)
9/19 | Offensive: Kinkead Dent (UT Martin), Defensive: Sam Brumfield (Middle Tennessee)
9/26 | Offensive: Matthew Palazzo (Tusculum), Defensive: Alex Mitchell (Chattanooga)
10/3 | Offensive: Mike DiLiello (Austin Peay), Defensive: Quinn Johnson (Sewanee)
10/10 | Offensive: Javin Whatley (Chattanooga), Defensive: Derek Taylor (Cumberland)
10/17 | Offensive: Matthew Palazzo (Tusculum), Defensive: Jaylen Mahoney (Vanderbilt)
10/24 | Offensive: Bryson Rollins (Maryville College), Defensive: Mekhi Brown (Carson-Newman)

TSWA releases players of the week - Oct. 17

October 17, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tusculum quarterback Matthew Palazzo pulled together four touchdowns – three passing and one rushing – as the Pioneers topped conference foe Virginia-Wise 35-7 and led the way among a talented field for this week’s Tennessee Sports Writers Association College Sports Players of the Week for the games between Oct. 9-15.

In all, Palazzo recorded 314 passing yards – his second-straight 300-plus-yard game – as two of his touchdown passes were 70 yards or better – tosses of 73 and 70. That is the second time in school history a Tusculum quarterback has thrown two 70-plus yard touchdowns in a game, joining Bo Cordell’s game against Urbana in 2009. Since taking over as the Pioneers’ starting QB in week 3, he has a 4-1 record.

On the defensive side, Vanderbilt graduate defensive back Jaylen Mahoney stood strong against No. 1 Georgia recording a career-best 16 tackles in the contest. That total, the most by a Southeastern Conference player this season, is the most by a Vanderbilt player since November 2019.

MEN’S SOCCER: Trevecca Nazarene senior forward Marlon Grossman helped lead the squad to two victories in a big way as he scored a hat trick in a 5-3 win over Ohio Dominican, then scored another game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Malone University.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Sewanee junior forward Brianna Fee only needed 16 minutes of playing time to record a hat trick in the Tigers’ 4-0 victory over Millsaps. She then picked up an assist in a 3-0 victory at Birmingham-Southern on Sunday to improve Sewanee to a 12-match unbeaten streak.

VOLLEYBALL: Trevecca Nazarene junior right side/middle blocker was unstoppable this past weekend at the Midwest Crossover as she had 20-plus kills in all three matches. She collected 27 against Northern Michigan, 20 against Illinois-Springfield and 20 against Upper Iowa. For the event, she averaged 22.3 kills per match (5.58 per set) with a .248 hitting percentage, while also averaging eight digs per match and collecting nine total blocks.

TSWA announces players of the week - Oct. 10

October 10, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chattanooga sophomore wide receiver Javin Whatley put together a tremendous game on Saturday in the Mocs’ 52-50 loss to Football Championship Subdivision No. 17 Western Carolina. In the contest, he recorded a Chattanooga-record 353 all-purpose yards with career highs in receptions (11) and receiving yards (231), while hauling in four touchdown catches.

Whatley was named the Football Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association announced its weekly College Sports Players of the Week for October 2-8.

The redshirt sophomore from Rockmart, Ga., had touchdown catches of 31, eight, 11 and 32 yards, becoming just the third Chattanooga player to record four or more touchdown catches in a game, joining NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens (vs. Marshall, 1994) and Cos DeMatteo (six vs. Mississippi Valley State in 2000).

It was the first time a Moc player had more than 300 all-purpose yards in a Southern Conference game. The 231 receiving yards are the most for a Chattanooga player since Bryce Nunnelly against the Citadel in 2018 and is the fifth-most in a single game in program history.

On the defensive side, Tennessee transfer Derek Taylor had a big game as the Phoenix upset No. 23 University of the Cumberlands 21-17. Taylor had five tackles in the game but had two huge interceptions.

MEN’S SOCCER: Belmont graduate midfielder Jansen Wilson led the Bruins to its first-ever win at Bradley as he collected two goals in the match to lead Belmont to the 3-1 victory. He scored in the 23rd minute off of a cross, then took a feed from Michael Saunders in the 54th minute.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Sewanee freshman defender Katye Dullye worked hard on both sides of the ball as she collected two goals and an assist as she picked up a score in a 2-0 win over Hendrix on Sunday, while tallying a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Rhodes on Friday.

VOLLEYBALL: Lipscomb middle blocker Meg Mersman had strong outings this weekend as the Bison defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-2 for the Colonels’ first conference loss and third overall loss of the season, then topped Bellarmine 3-1 for Lipscomb’s eighth straight victory. Mersman had 38 total kills, averaging 4.22 per set. She hit .452 with a season-high 21 kills against the Colonels, then had 17 kills against Bellarmine.

College players of the week recognized - Oct. 3

October 3, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay graduate quarterback Mike DiLiello put together a tremendous performance on Saturday as he led the Governors to a 52-10 victory over Lindenwood, earning the week’s Football Offensive Player of the Week as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association announced its weekly College Sports Players of the Week on Tuesday, covering the week of Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.

DiLiello’s performance led Austin Peay to its third-straight win with the Governors outscoring their foes 137-33. The Middle Tennessee transfer from Pembroke Pines, Fla., threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter with touchdown tosses of 42, 46 and 46 coming in the first six minutes of the contest, while also rushing for a 12-yard score to close off the opening stanza.

Behind DiLiello’s effort, the Govs racked up 690 yards of total offense.

On the defensive side, Sewanee graduate defensive lineman Quinn Johnson came through in a big way as the Tigers picked up a 20-19 road victory at Hendrix as the Dothan, Ala., native posted eight tackles with 5.5 sacks in the contest. Johnson also knocked the ball loose on a sack with Connor Maness completing the 20-yard scoop-and-score.

MEN’S SOCCER: Sewanee junior forward Tyler Cozzie (Raleigh, N.C.) picked up the first hat trick of his career as he knocked in three goals in the Tigers’ 6-3 victory over Piedmont. In the contest, he had nine total shots with four on-goal.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: King senior forward Taylor Stubbs (Murrieta, Calif.) collected four goals in the Tornadoes’ 6-3 victory over Lees-McRae on Wednesday. The four tallies tied Stubbs for the program record since King moved to NCAA Division II in 2010. With an assist in the contest as well for her ninth point, Stubbs also broke the King single-match record.

VOLLEYBALL: Belmont junior middle blocker Kristen Clemons (Louisville, Ky.) led the Bruins to a 2-1 finish on the week in Missouri Valley Conference play as she totaled 35 kills on a .542 hitting percentage, averaging 3.18 kills per set. Clemons also had six blocks. She had 15 kills on a .520 hitting night in a 3-2 victory over Murray State, then had 12 kills on a .524 effort in a 3-0 sweep over Bradley.

College players of the week announced - Sept. 26

September 26, 2023 Forrest Freeman

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tusculum sophomore quarterback Matthew Palazzo combined for four touchdowns this weekend in a 35-21 victory over Catawba to earn the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Offensive Player of the Week in football as the organization announced its weekly winners for Sept. 18-24 on Tuesday.

Palazzo, a sophomore out of Greenville, Tenn., combined for 282 yards of total offense and four touchdowns as the Pioneers defeated Catawba 35-21. He threw for 226 yards as he completed 23 of his 33 passes with two scores, while also rushing for 56 yards and two more touchdowns.

On the defensive side, Chattanooga sophomore linebacker Alex Mitchell (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) helped lead the Mocs to a 47-24 win over No. 17 Samford as he collected five tackles – the most by a non-secondary player – with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown. Mitchell and his Mocs teammates held the Bulldogs to a 2-for-5 performance in the red zone, forcing them to a plus-3 turnover margin.

MEN’S SOCCER: In his first career starts, Sewanee sophomore goalkeeper Nathan Vanhoeve (Richmond, Ky.) collected two shutouts and allowed just one goal in three contests last week with 18 saves in all. Vanhoeve collected nine saves in a 2-0 win over Covenant, four in a 0-0 draw with Berry, then allowed one goal on six shots faced on goal against No. 18 Emory in a 1-0 loss.

WOMEN’S SOCCER: Cumberland junior midfielder Brenna Swiger (Franklin, Tenn.) opened Mid-South Conference play with an exclamation point as she scored five goals and had an assist on another in the Phoenix’s 13-0 victory over Freed-Hardeman. She also had an assist in Cumberland’s 2-1 victory over Missouri Baptist to give her 12 points on the week. Swiger ranks second in the NAIA with 12 goals, third in assists with eight and second in points with 12.

VOLLEYBALL: Tennessee State senior opposite hitter Jayla Holcombe (Belleville, Ill.) was dominant on offense and defense for the Tigers on Friday and Saturday as she led TSU to a pair of 3-2 victories over Tennessee Tech to open Ohio Valley Conference play. For the weekend, Holcombe recorded 41 kills with a .262 hitting percentage, while also recording nine blocks. She had 49.5 total points in the two matches for the defending OVC tournament champions.

2023-24 TSWA College Sports Players of the Week
FOOTBALL
8/29 | Offensive: A.J. Swann (Vanderbilt), Defensive: De’Rickey Wright (Vanderbilt)
9/5 | Offensive: Joe Milton III (Tennessee), Defensive: Jake Cottle (Carson-Newman)
9/12 | Offensive: Sam Franklin (UT Martin), Defensive: Aaron Beasley (Tennessee)
9/19 | Offensive: Kinkead Dent (UT Martin), Defensive: Sam Brumfield (Middle Tennessee)
9/26 | Offensive: Matthew Palazzo (Tusculum), Defensive: Alex Mitchell (Chattanooga)