G-MAC Male Athlete of the Year
Hunter Newman
Trevecca Nazarene University
Baseball
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.