History: ASC Athletes of the Year


RICHARDSON, Texas – National championship-winning student-athletes Whitney Simmons of the University of Texas at Tyler and Teidrick Smith of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor have been selected as recipients of the 2016-17 American Southwest Conference Athlete of the Year awards.
 
Simmons claimed two NCAA Division III track and field national championships, the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw, while Smith helped lead Mary Hardin-Baylor to the NCAA Division III football title. Each received conference, region and national honors and awards following performances during the 2016-17 year.
 
With her two individual event titles in 2017, Whitney Simmons (White Oak, Texas) closed her Texas-Tyler track and field career as a three-time NCAA Division III national champion and seven-time Division III All-American. Simmons shattered the Division III hammer throw record with a distance of 64.03 meters on her last throw at the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Simmons as the 2017 South/Southeast Region Field Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons, her first indoor and third consecutive outdoor citations. Simmons won individual events in eight of nine meets during her senior season, including the ASC Women's Track and Field Championship where she claimed the Outstanding Field Athlete of the Championship award and All-Conference honors.
 
"Quite often coaches are blessed to have the opportunity to work with gifted and talented student-athletes, but seldom are they able to see someone achieve as much as Whitney (Simmons) achieved during her college career," said Dr. Howard Patterson, vice president for student affairs at Texas-Tyler. "Whitney has brought distinction to her sport and her accomplishments will stand for years to come. She serves as a role model for countless young women who strive to be the very best they can be."
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor defensive end Teidrick Smith (Hallettsville, Texas) was named D3football.com National Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Cru to the Division III football national championship in mid-December. Following the 2016 season, Smith was voted ASC Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season after leading the conference with 15.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. A three-time all-conference selection, Smith is the first player in ASC history to win conference Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. He finished his career as the ASC all-time and single-season record holder in sacks and tackles for loss. Smith capped his senior season voted to four all-America teams, named All-South Region, and honored as the South Region Defensive Player of the Year.
 
"This is a tremendous honor for Teidrick (Smith), an outstanding football player and a force on our defensive unit as well as a team leader," said Randy Mann, vice president for athletics at UMHB. "Teidrick was a huge part of the success of our program, on and off the field, and all of the accolades he has received are indicative of his hard work and dedication."
 
The ASC Athlete of the Year award recognizes a male and a female student-athlete whose athletic accomplishments best contributed to their sport, their institution's overall athletic program and to the conference during the past athletic year and is presented for the 18th time in 2016-17. Selection is made from campus nominees with the recipients chosen by vote of the conference sports information directors and past Outstanding Media Service award honorees.
 

2016-17 Athlete of the Year Nominees
# Athlete of the Year
 

Women
# Whitney Simmons	Track & Field	Texas-Tyler
Ellyn Avery	Basketball	Sul Ross State
Leah Brown	Softball	Mary Hardin-Baylor
Micah Cisernoz	Volleyball, Basketball	Howard Payne
Jaela Dejean	Basketball	Concordia Texas
Kami Jones	Soccer	Hardin-Simmons
Bryanna Moltz	Basketball	Univ. of the Ozarks
Jayne Perez	Softball	East Texas Baptist
Savannah Settle	Softball	Louisiana College
Shantel Thomas	Track & Field	McMurry
Michelle Toro	Volleyball	Texas Dallas
Stephanie Vana	Soccer	LeTourneau
Men
# Teidrick Smith	Football	Mary Hardin-Baylor
Conner Combs	Baseball	Eat Texas Baptist
Shed Davis	Football	Louisiana College
Jason Disney	Football	Howard Payne
Nate Estrada	Basketball	McMurry
Nathaniel Jack	Basketball	Hardin-Simmons
Jeff Martin	Basketball	LeTourneau
Thomas Mills	Soccer	Univ. of the Ozarks
Joe Neal	Basketball	Concordia Texas
Jermaine Stevens	Football, Track & Field	Sul Ross State
Joseph Weber	Soccer	Texas Dallas
Daniel Williams	Baseball	Texas-Tyler

 
Note: Belhaven University was ineligible for the 2016-17 awards under ASC membership requirements.