History:
ASC Athletes of the Year
RICHARDSON, Texas – Hardin-Simmons University junior
Kenne Kessler and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior
Haston Adams were selected as the 2017-18 American Southwest Conference Athlete of the Year recipients, the league office announced Monday.
Kessler was named the national Forward of the Year after leading the Cowgirl women’s soccer team to the NCAA Championship Semifinals. She also set the school and ASC record for goals in a season with 37, which ranks sixth in NCAA Division III history. She also added 10 assists and was selected the ASC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com. Kessler posted a 4.00 grade point average in Biology and earned CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, USC Scholar All-American and ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
“Although Kenne has received numerous athletic and academic awards, she continues to challenge herself to improve in all areas on a daily basis,” said HSU Director of Athletics John Neese. “She demonstrates transformational leadership to her teammates and has made a significant impact on the HSU campus since she arrived. We look forward to seeing her compete in her final season and we know she will continue to be a great mentor for our younger players.”
Adams was named First Team All-America as a defensive lineman by the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press and D3football.com as a senior. The ASC Defensive Player of the Year led the Cru to another Stagg Bowl (the NCAA Championship Finals) and No. 2 national ranking to end the season. Adams finished with 20.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and 47 total tackles for the top defense in the ASC. He also broke up three passes and forced a fumble as UMHB allowed just 28 points in five playoff games and held opponents to 7.3 points per game on the season. The Cru defense also posted four shutouts and limited ten of their 15 opponents to one or fewer scores. Adams was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, presented annually to the outstanding small college defensive player in the country. He was also an All-American in 2016 when UMHB earned the NCAA Division III National Championship. Adams was also a two-time All-Region and three-time All-ASC selection and was invited to the Arizona Cardinals rookie minicamp.
“Haston is obviously a great football player,” said UMHB Vice President for Athletics Randy Mann. “He is the best interior lineman that we have ever had. His impact on our team was significant. He was the number one reason we had such a great defense. More importantly, he is as great a person as he is a football player. Haston has a strong faith and lives it out each and every day. He is the most polite, respectful, and kind young man. I don’t know that I have ever met anyone more kind than him. Haston is most deserving, because he is more than a football player. He cares about others more than himself and makes others around him better.”
Kessler is the sixth woman and third soccer player from Hardin-Simmons to be named Athlete of the Year. Adams becomes the ninth man from Mary Hardin-Baylor and the seven Cru football player to earn the award.
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 19th time in 2017-18. 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.
2017-18 Athlete of the Year Nominees
# Athlete of the Year
| Women |
|
|
| # Kenne Kessler |
Soccer |
Hardin-Simmons |
| Lauren Ebbs |
Soccer |
Sul Ross State |
| Bethany Everett |
Track & Field |
McMurry |
| Linzie Lewis |
Softball |
East Texas Baptist |
| Aliah McPhaul |
Track & Field |
Belhaven |
| Ashley Perez |
Softball |
UT Tyler |
| Lindsey Rayborn |
Cross Country |
UT Dallas |
| Sarah Rempe |
Soccer |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Alexis Segura |
Soccer, Cross Country, Track |
LeTourneau |
| Hannah Smith |
Cross Country, Track & Field |
Ozarks |
| Mattie Stine |
Softball |
Louisiana College |
| Emily Villines |
Cross Country, Track & Field |
LeTourneau |
| |
|
|
| Men |
|
|
| # Haston Adams |
Football |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| Barry Casey |
Baseball |
UT Dallas |
| Alex Chavez |
Soccer |
McMurry |
| Deauton Delgado |
Baseball |
Louisiana College |
| Matt Godwin |
Track & Field |
UT Tyler |
| Somto Ngwudike |
Soccer |
Belhaven |
| Ty Parsons |
Football |
East Texas Baptist |
| Khyce Randall |
Basketball |
Howard Payne |
| Nathaneal Rankin |
Cross Country, Track & Field |
Ozarks |
| Vic Rodriguez |
Football |
Hardin-Simmons |
| Caleb Thomasson |
Basketball |
Sul Ross State |
| Nate West |
Basketball |
LeTourneau |
| Logan Young |
Golf |
Concordia Texas |
Annual ASC Athlete of the Year Award Recipients
| Year |
Men |
Women |
| 1999-2000 |
Brad Parris, McMurry (track & field) |
Ogonna Merritt, McMurry (basketball) |
| 2000-01 |
(co) Aaron Kernek, Austin College (football) |
Talitha Belcher, McMurry (basketball, track & field) |
| |
(co) Robert Moore, Mary Hardin-Baylor (basketball) |
|
| 2001-02 |
Robert Moore, Mary Hardin-Baylor (basketball) |
Kendra Anderson, Hardin-Simmons (basketball) |
| 2002-03 |
Preston Meyer, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Kendra Anderson, Hardin-Simmons (basketball) |
| 2003-04 |
Cody Fredenburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Brittany Cary, McMurry (golf) |
| 2004-05 |
Cody Brotherton, McMurry (track & field) |
Holly Glover, Mary Hardin-Baylor (golf) |
| 2005-06 |
Aaron Crais, Texas Lutheran (baseball) |
Sandi Clark, Louisiana College (softball) |
| 2006-07 |
Josh Kubiak, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Meia Daniels, Howard Payne (basketball) |
| 2007-08 |
Jerrell Freeman, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Meia Daniels, Howard Payne (basketball) |
| 2008-09 |
Hann Ollison, McMurry (track and field) |
Ashley Huston, Hardin-Simmons (track & field) |
| 2009-10 |
Jake Mullin, McMurry (football, baseball) |
Ayrika Henderson, East Texas Baptist (softball) |
| 2010-11 |
Ben McLaughlin, Louisiana College (football) |
Amy Kuykendall, Hardin-Simmons (soccer) |
| 2011-12 |
Kevin Cunningham, McMurry (track and field) |
Brittany Roberson, Howard Payne (basketball) |
| 2012-13 |
Javicz Jones, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Katie Kuykendall, Hardin-Simmons (soccer) |
| 2013-14 |
Kyle Schleigh, UT Dallas (basketball) |
Lauren Robenalt, UT Tyler (softball) |
| 2014-15 |
Connor Bertsch, Concordia Texas (baseball) |
McKenzie Ralston, Mary Hardin-Baylor (golf) |
| 2015-16 |
Conner Combs, East Texas Baptist (baseball) |
Kelsie Batten, UT Tyler (softball) |
| 2016-17 |
Teidrick Smith, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Whitney Simmons, UT Tyler (track & field) |
| 2017-18 |
Haston Adams, Mary Hardin-Baylor (football) |
Kenne Kessler, Hardin-Simmons (soccer) |