GREENWOOD, Ind. – Ohio Valley’s Alyx Henry and Trevecca Nazarene’s Hunter Newman were respectively named Great Midwest Athletic Conference Athletes of the Year for their 2014-15 accomplishments on Friday.
Voting for the awards was compiled among a combination of administrative staff from the G-MAC’s member institutions.
G-MAC Female Athlete of the Year
Alyx Henry
Ohio Valley University
Volleyball
Sophomore
Outside Hitter
Norwalk, Calif.
Valley Christian H.S.
Henry helped put the Fighting Scots’ volleyball program back on the map with a stirring postseason run that culminated with a runner-up finish in the G-MAC Championship.
OVU finished a memorable 2014 campaign with a 24-10 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the conference schedule.
She was named the G-MAC Player of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors while her current mentor on the sidelines, head coach Paul Jacoby, also earned conference coach of the year billing.
At a diminutive 5-5 height, Henry’s explosive athleticism was on display from her outside hitter position all year long and the Norwalk, Calif., product is primed to be the conference’s solo record holder in several categories by the time her career ends.
By the end of her sophomore campaign, Henry is now just 12 points shy of 1,000 for her career and ranks second all-time in the league with 848 kills. She also has 113 service aces, another ranking of second in the G-MAC archives.
Henry racked up 450 total kills in 2014, a conference single-season record.
G-MAC Male Athlete of the Year
Hunter Newman
Trevecca Nazarene University
Baseball
Junior
Third Baseman
Chapmansboro, Tenn.
Goodpasture H.S.
Newman parlayed his power-laden junior campaign on the baseball diamond into a 22nd-round selection in the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the third G-MAC player to be drafted since the league’s inception.
Newman started his career with the Johnson City Cardinals, the rookie ball affiliate of St. Louis in the Appalachian League. He made his professional debut on Tuesday against Kingsport, recorded his first hit on Wednesday and doubled twice in Thursday’s JC home opener.
Newman was tabbed the G-MAC Offensive Player of the Year and received numerous regional and national accolades, including ABCA/Rawlings All-American status. He was also one of the final eight in consideration for the Tino Martinez Award, presented to the most outstanding player in Division II.
Newman was an integral part of helping the Trojans to their third consecutive conference title and he ranked near the top of the national rankings in several categories.
Playing third base as a junior, Newman was fifth in NCAA DII in batting average (.451), sixth in RBI (77), sixth in slugging percentage (.877), 11th in hits (88), 12th in home runs (12) and 19th in doubles (21).
Trevecca Nazarene finished the 2015 spring with a 36-18 overall record and went 21-3 in the G-MAC.