DALLAS, Texas – American Southwest Conference Director of Athletics selected
Cade Rochinski and
Sydney Tate from Howard Payne as the 2024-25 ASC Community Service Athlete of the Year Recipients.
The ASC Community Service Award is presented for the 15th time this year and honors a male and female student-athlete who best displays leadership and action in fostering community service on their campus and local community. Each ASC member institution can nominate student-athletes to the conference-wide ballot.
Cade Rochinski, a senior on the football team, exemplifies the spirit of servant leadership both on and off the field. As a linebacker for the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets, Cade played in every game this season, finishing with 34 total tackles and a quarterback hurry, earning him All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition. But Cade’s impact extends far beyond the gridiron.
Committed to giving back, Cade has dedicated time to various community service efforts throughout the year. He volunteered to clean and prepare the pool area at Brown County Christian Camp, ensuring a safe and enjoyable space for campers. At Coggin Elementary, Cade spent five hours assisting with lunch duty, helping staff and connecting with students in a positive way.
He contributes his time to important community events such as Empty Bowls, an event sponsored by Good Samaritan, where he helped with cleanup, and the Yellow Rose Luncheon, where he respectfully escorted guests to and from their vehicles. Cade also played a vital role in setting up for several large-scale events, including the Coliseum setup, the Boys and Girls Club Banquet, and the FCA Lunch. Cade leads by example—demonstrating humility, dependability, and a deep commitment to serving others.
Sydney Tate, a junior on the women’s soccer team, is a standout student-athlete whose impact reaches far beyond the soccer field. As a dependable presence for the Lady Jackets, Sydney started all 16 games this season, logging 964 minutes of play and contributing on both ends of the pitch with three shots, two of them on goal.
Off the field, Sydney lives out a commitment to service that reflects compassion, leadership, and purpose. She served internationally with 61 Isaiah Ministries in Honduras, where she engaged in meaningful work—assisting with labor projects at a local school, playing with children, and helping run a soccer camp to bring joy and encouragement to the community.
Back home, Sydney continues to invest in others. She volunteered her time on a service project with the Center for Life Resources, demonstrating care for vulnerable populations in her local area. She also took part in unloading and organizing food shipments at a local food pantry, directly supporting families in need.
In addition to her hands-on service, Sydney leads spiritually on campus as the Prayer Team Leader for Genuine College Ministries, faithfully guiding her peers in prayer and encouraging a strong community of faith. Sydney has a heart for service, global and local, along with leadership and athletic dedication.
2024-25 ASC Community Service Award Nominees
Biographical information provided by each student-athletes’ sports information director.
MEN'S NOMINEES
Diego Narezo | East Texas Baptist | Junior | Football
Diego Narezo has been an active member of the ETBU Tiger Football team and has continually set an example serving the ETBU and East Texas community during his time at ETBU. He has participated in the 2024 Baptist Student Ministry Beach Reach Spring Break trip, where he served students on South Padre Island with pancake breakfast and free rides, while sharing the Gospel. He also actively is involved in prayer walks on the ETBU campus and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as volunteered for the 24/7 prayer tent at ETBU during the past Spring semester. Diego is a member of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, where he leads summer camps for youth groups and helps with worship. He is a leader of a college “tribe” group at City Tribe Church in San Antonio and also helped organize and work a clothing drive sponsorship in San Antonio. He is a part of the Disciple Now mission group in San Antonio, where he helps to serve the homeless or those in need and has served as a Disciple Now volunteer at Crossroads Church in Marshall. This past Spring Break, he traveled to San Antonio with Mobberly Church in Marshall for a mission trip and routinely volunteers as a youth coach for Jr High/High School quarterbacks in the Marshall/Shreveport area.
Dylan Marburger | Hardin-Simmons | Junior | Men’s Soccer
Marburger helped lead the Cowboy team serving at a free soccer clinic for over 150 Abilene children, joined the team to visit the University Place Independent Living center on five separate occasions to play games and eat dinner with the residents, and participated in Serve Like Simmons with landscaping help at Disability Resources Inc.
Cruz Cox | LeTourneau | Junior | Baseball
Cox was a leader in service hours for the LeTourneau baseball team during the 2024-25 academic year. The junior logged over 60 hours, mostly with a local Longview chapter of YoungLife. His efforts helped the YellowJacket baseball team to nearly 700 hours of community service during the year. LeTourneau received the Heart of Community Service Award from the Greater Longview United Way. The team also received Greater Longview United Way's Hand Raiser Award as the volunteer of the year.
Peyton Hoyt | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Junior | Men’s Soccer
Peyton Hoyt actively volunteers with Feed My Sheep, often taking his teammates and fellow SAAC members along. He has also helped with #GOALS and Champs, both events hosted by UMHB that serve the local special needs communities. Peyton also helps with the free community kids camp and served with the Crush Cancer game this season, an event hosted by the baseball team that raises funds for pediatric cancer. Peyton also assisted in the Toy Toss organization and clean up, then delivered toys McLane Children's Hospital. He has also visited and read to students at local elementary schools and helped with UMHB's D3 week initiatives.
WOMEN'S NOMINEES
McKenzie Mansell | East Texas Baptist | Senior | Volleyball
McKenzie Mansell has been an integral part of the Tiger Volleyball program at ETBU. She has served her community by routinely volunteering to pick up trash in the neighborhoods around the ETBU Campus and greeting elementary school children in the mornings in the bus and car drop-off line. She has also is involved in writing letters to orphans across the world as a part of Compassion. McKensie has volunteered over 12 hours this year at the Marshall elementary schools and helps with the PE classes. She helped plan a Special Needs game night at ETBU and volunteered at Night to Shine for the past three years. McKenzie is a regular at helping at Mission Marshall, a food bank in Marshall, as well as the Boys and Girls Club in Marshall. She traveled with her team to Chile over Spring Break 2025 for a mission trip, where they worked in schools and spent time with children of all ages. She was also instrumental in collecting books for the team to leave with the schools in Chile. This past year, she volunteered at ETBU Serve Day, where she helped a local church with painting, cleaning, and organizing. In the past, she has served at her church, New Beginnings, where she worked the Back to School Bash, assisted with paining a house, and gave her time to feed and clothe homeless people in the area. McKenzie also has volunteered at Read Across America, where she read to elementary school children, participated on a mission trip to Houston and helped a local business move buildings.
Mercy Mummert | Hardin-Simmons | Graduate Student | Women’s Soccer
Mummert led the Cowgirl soccer program efforts and raised $1440 in direct donations to Love and Care Ministries organization's Carepacks for Kids initiative, which helps more than 2000 families in the surrounding Abilene area struggling with food insecurity. The donations fund school kids receiving snack packs every Friday, and the team volunteered on site in the spring.
Emily Higgs | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Junior | Women’s Tennis
Emily Higgs planned, organized and executed a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness called Kids Rally for a Cure. The event was designed to honor breast cancer after Emily's teammate lost her mother to her own battle with the disease. After walking that teammate, friend and roommate through her grief, Emily decided to execute a fundraise in her honor. The event raised almost $1,000 with 25 participants. All proceeds went directly to Susan G. Komen. Emily coordinated with vendors, participants and university staff to make the fundraiser possible and served as the key point person for the event. Participants played fun matches on UMHB's court and watch the Cru teams play silly tennis games. In addition, Emily also volunteers with UMHB's SAAC at Feed My Sheep, an organization that feeds people physically and spiritually. Emily worked on the farm and planted flowers during her volunteer hours. She also worked with SAAC to read and play with elementary school students for Dr. Seuss Day and serves with the Vista Community Church as a small group leader for first graders. Emily has also volunteered with Victory Lap the last two seasons, which is a fun run in Houston led by Push Up Foundation Houston. The foundation spreads awareness for colorectal cancer. Emily is part of the execution committee, helping with set up, merchandise sales, water and snacks during the race and tear down of the event. Emily also coaches junior tennis and volunteers to help the UMHB event management and sports information staffs when they are short-handed. She also serves as captain of the UMHB Tennis team, is involved in FCA and was voted into a leadership position with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for the 2025-26 school year.
Mary Hernandez | Sophomore | UT Dallas | Volleyball
Sophomore Mari Hernandez is the Community Outreach liaison for the UT Dallas Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Her community service projects include - Dallas Diversion Back to School Event, operated and organized NMDP Booth, Fundraiser Booth for ALPFA and organized and operated Angel Tree Donation.