Men's Cross Country

ASC Announces 2024-25 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams

DALLAS, Texas – Seventeen student-athletes from six different member universities in the American Southwest Conference highlight the 2024-25 ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams, the league office announced Thursday.
 
Sixteen sponsored sports by the ASC have nominations by member schools and affiliates that sponsor a sport with the conference. The Distinguished Scholar-Athletes of the Year for their respective sport are listed first. 
 
Student-athletes that were nominated by their institution are listed as part of the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete team for each sport. 
 
ASC 2024-25 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Teams
* Designates the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each sport
2 Two-time Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Distinguished Scholar-Athletes of the Year
 
Baseball
Shane Melick Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Mathematics & Chemistry Oro Valley, AZ

Men's Basketball
Austin Brewer 2 Hardin-Simmons Gr. Math Stamford, TX

Women's Basketball
Payton Hicks East Texas Baptist Gr. MBA (Entrepreneurship) Plano, TX

Men's Cross Country
Andrew Young Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Pre-Med Woodbridge, CA

Women's Cross Country
Kylah Holland 2 Hardin-Simmons Gr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Clyde, TX

Football
Mason Cravens Hardin-Simmons Sr. Economics Iowa Park, TX

Men's Golf
Kaiden Schneider 2 LeTourneau Jr. Business Accounting Bullard, TX
Parker McCurdy UT Dallas Gr. Biomedical Engineering Seguin, TX

Women's Golf
Avery Hill Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Marketing Keller, TX

Men's Soccer
Bruno Palmieri East Texas Baptist Sr.  Biology Shreveport, LA

Women's Soccer
Kelsey White 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr.  Pre-Dental Keller, TX

Softball
Mary Francis Ellis 2 East Texas Baptist Sr. Finance/Accounting Elysian Fields, TX

Men's Tennis
Austin Slade East Texas Baptist Gr. MBA Arlington, TX

Women's Tennis
Erin Kittredge Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr.  Business McKinney, TX

Men's Track & Field
Landon Morris East Texas Baptist Jr. Visual Communications Shreveport, LA

Women's Track & Field
Katie Baller Hardin-Simmons Gr. Criminal Justice Lone Tree, CO

Volleyball
Graycee Mosely East Texas Baptist Jr. Biochemistry Troy, TX
 

Distinguished Scholar Athlete Teams

Baseball
Jagger Neely East Texas Baptist Sr. Finance/Accounting Montgomery, TX
Carson Leatherwood Hardin-Simmons Jr. Business Lubbock, TX
Seth Bowman Howard Payne Sr. Psychology Fort Worth, TX
Aman Patel LeTourneau Sr. Business Accounting Missouri City, TX
Shane Melick * Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Mathematics & Chemistry Oro Valley, AZ
Dylan Collins UT Dallas Sr. Healthcare Studies Fairview, TX
 

Men's Basketball
Michael Roberts East Texas Baptist Sr. Sports Management Denton, TX
Austin Brewer* Hardin-Simmons Gr. Math Stamford, TX
Carter Eddy Howard Payne Fr. Liberal Arts Denton, TX
Caedmon Liebengood LeTourneau Sr. Scripture & Theology Longview, TX
Maurice Pinnock Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Computer Science League City, TX
Nick Donnelly UT Dallas Sr. Finance Flower Mound, TX
 
Women's Basketball
Payton Hicks* East Texas Baptist Gr. MBA (Entrepreneurship) Plano, TX
Jacqueline Berry Hardin-Simmons Fr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Texhoma, OK
Caitlyn Panuco Howard Payne Sr. Marketing Hillsboro, TX
Kylie Weeks LeTourneau Jr. Business Marketing Houston, TX
Josie Bruder Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Sports Management Plano, TX
Anna Yellen UT Dallas Gr. MBA El Paso, TX
 
Men's Cross Country
Noah Mink East Texas Baptist Sr. Digital Arts Angleton, TX
Aiden Seekins Hardin-Simmons Fr. Business Abilene, TX
Hudson McGuire LeTourneau Sr. Mechanical Engineering Cibolo, TX
Andrew Young* Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Pre-Med Woodbridge, CA
Matthew Chimitt UT Dallas Sr. Computer Science Round Rock, TX
 
Women's Cross Country
Phoebe Dunham East Texas Baptist Jr. Kinesiology Prairieville, LA
Kylah Holland* Hardin-Simmons Gr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Clyde, TX
Hope Greenwald LeTourneau Jr. Mechanical Engineering Tucson, AZ
Presley Wall Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Clinical Psychology Decatur, TX
Bharvi Varu UT Dallas Fr. Computer Information Systems and Technology Austin, TX
 
Football
Connor Jones East Texas Baptist Gr. Accounting Magnolia, TX
Mason Cravens * Hardin-Simmons Sr. Economics Iowa Park, TX
Jackson Coulson Howard Payne Gr. Business Administration Georgetown, TX
Ethan Rayfield Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Pre-Med San Antonio, TX

Men's Golf
Tanner Story East Texas Baptist Sr. University Studies Blossom, TX
Luke Jun Hardin-Simmons Sr. Business Dallas, TX
Jaxon Hermesmeyer Howard Payne Sr. Finance Goldthwaite, TX
Kaiden Schneider* LeTourneau So. Business Accounting Bullard, TX
Cole MacMillan Mary Hardin-Baylor Fr. Supply Chain Management Round Rock, TX
Parker McCurdy* UT Dallas Gr. Biomedical Engineering Seguin, TX
 
Women's Golf
Kirsten Bridges East Texas Baptist Sr. Biology Blossom, TX
Shay West Hardin-Simmons So. Engineering San Angelo, TX
Amada Menchaca Howard Payne Sr. Kinesiology Blanket, TX
Isabella Ferreira LeTourneau Jr. Business Management Plano, TX
Avery Hill* Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Marketing Keller, TX
Sofia Trevino UT Dallas Sr. Computer Science The Woodlands, TX
Olivia Lew UC Santa Cruz Fr. Psychology Fresno, CA
 
Men's Soccer
Bruno Palmieri* East Texas Baptist Sr. Biology Shreveport, LA
James Webb Hardin-Simmons Fr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Waco, TX
Deaven Connelly Howard Payne Jr. Mathematics Burleson, TX
Bridger Roberdeau LeTourneau Sr. Mechanical Engineering Spearfish, SD
Peyton Hoyt Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Biology Fort Collins, CO
Kalem Shabout UT Dallas Sr.  Marketing Irving, TX
 
Women's Soccer
Sarah Ramos East Texas Baptist Sr. Biology Midland, TX
Belle Floyd Hardin-Simmons Jr. Social Work Linfield Park, AZ
Brenna Douthit Howard Payne Jr. Nursing Waxahachie, TX
Chanel Kemball-Cook LeTourneau So. Aviation Management Prosper, TX
Kelsey White* Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr.  Pre-Dental Keller, TX
Jade Press UT Dallas Sr. Computer Information Technology & Systems Lago Vista, TX

Softball
Mary Francis Ellis* East Texas Baptist Sr. Finance/Accounting Elysian Fields, TX
Grace Thompson Hardin-Simmons Jr. Nursing Weatherford, TX
Elise Munoz Howard Payne Sr. Kinesiology Tucson, AZ
Kylie Grisham LeTourneau Sr. General Business, Aviation Management Huntsville, TX
Bailey Frenzel Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. General Studies Orange, TX
Claire Pollack UT Dallas Jr. Biology League City, TX

Men's Tennis
Slade Austin* East Texas Baptist Gr. MBA Arlington, TX
Jordan Oberbillig Hardin-Simmons Sr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Lucas, TX
Parker Hoel Howard Payne So. Accounting Gunter, TX
Zach Farris LeTourneau Jr. Business Finance Lucas, TX
Eli Sam Mary Hardin-Baylor Fr. Biochemistry The Woodlands, TX
Benjamin Dubois UT Dallas Jr. Psychology Bromont, Quebec
 
Women's Tennis
Bailey Smith East Texas Baptist Gr. MBA Cypress, TX
Addyson Tylaska Hardin-Simmons Jr. General Education Fort Worth, TX
Victoria Ramos Howard Payne Jr. Biomedical Studies Brownwood, TX
Elizabeth Moreau LeTourneau Jr. Business Accounting Nacogdoches, TX
Erin Kittredge* Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Business McKinney, TX
Kendall Curley UT Dallas So.  Marketing Keller, TX
 
Men's Track and Field
Landon Morris*  East Texas Baptist Jr. Visual Communications Shreveport, LA
Kennan Dowling Hardin-Simmons Jr. Strategic Communication Weatherford, TX
Zachary Carroll UT Dallas So. Business Administration Wichita Falls, TX
 
Women's Track and Field
Hannah Willis East Texas Baptist Fr. Elementary Education Whitehouse, TX
Kaite Baller* Hardin-Simmons Gr. Criminal Justice Lone Tree, CO
Chisom Mbah UT Dallas Jr. Healthcare Studies Frisco, TX
 
Volleyball
Graycee Mosley* East Texas Baptist Jr. Biochemistry Troy, TX
Liz Underwood Hardin-Simmons Jr. Fitness, Rec. & Sports Management Clyde, TX
Brylee Awbrey Howard Payne Sr. Kinesiology Midland, TX
Kaci Monk LeTourneau Sr. Biomedical  Engineering Euless, TX
Kendall Harrington Mary Hardin-Baylor So. Nursing Midland, TX
Sydney Sabin UT Dallas So. Business Administration Frisco, TX
 

Mary Hardin-Baylor senior baseball player Shane Melick has a 4.00 GPA and is a Mathematics and Chemistry major. He started in 36 games adding 51 hits in 141 at-bats for a season total batting average of .362. Melick recorded 10 doubles and 11 homeruns on the year, with a .989 fielding percentage. He was named First Team All-ASC as a first baseman. Melick began his career at UMHB during the 2023 season, playing in nine games with two starts. He played in two games in 2024, but due to injury he missed most of the season. Melick holds a career batting average of .375 with a .641 slugging percentage. In 51 games he has totaled 53 hits with 51 runs driven in.
 
Hardin-Simmons graduate student men's basketball forward Austin Brewer has a 4.00 GPA and is a Math major. Brewer was named D3hoops.com all-region after leading the ASC champion Cowboys in scoring with 15.6 points a game and 7.9 rebounds a game. He was named first-team all-ASC and helped the Cowboys finish the season in the NCAA Sweet 16 round. 
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor junior men's cross country runner Andrew Young has a 4.00 GPA and is a Pre-Med major. He competed in four races this season, highlighted by a 9th place finish in the ASC Championship, recording an 8K time of 26:12.1. Young also earned Second Team All-ASC honors. He began his career with the Cru in the 2022 season. He earned an 8K personal recorded in 2024 with a time of 27:02.9 at the Watson Collegiate. Formerly his best 8K time was 27:30.4 from the 2023 DBU Old Glory Gallop.
 
Hardin-Simmons senior football player Mason Cravens has a 4.00 GPA and is an Economics major. He earned Second Team All-ASC honors and was a CSC Academic All-American Second Team selection. Cravens was the top male student at December graduation and received the Academic Foundation Medal. He was also recognized in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society and was the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Tri-City Huddle Athlete of the Year.
 
LeTourneau junior men's golfer Kaiden Schneider has a 3.73 GPA and is a Business Accounting major. He earned All-ASC first team honors, becoming a three-time All-ASC selection. Was also named the ASC Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year for the sport. Came off an injury to shoot a 74.85 with one individual title and three top-10 finishes in the spring. Had a low round of 67 and had five rounds at or better than par. Majoring in business accounting, will be a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree and was the ASC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete of the Year for golf in 2024. Earned GCAA All-America Scholar last season and will become a three-time ASC Academic All-Conference selection.

UT Dallas graduate student men’s golfer Parker McCurdy has a 3.64 GPA and is a Biomedical Engineering major. McCurdy was a four-time ASC Golfer of the Week during 2024-25 and earned CSC Academic All-District for the second time. He broke the school scoring average record with 72.09 shots per round and made 82 birdies and three eagles. McCurdy won two tournaments and had four top five finishes. He tied for school-record 54-hole score at 203, tying for second at the Chicken Express Classic in October.
 
East Texas Baptist senior men's soccer player Bruno Palmieri has a 4.00 GPA and is a Bioloy major. He is an ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor recipient, 4-time ASC All-Academic, CSC Academic All-District. Palmieri is also a member of several honor societies – Alpha Chi, National Collegiate Athlete, Chi Alpha Sigma, The Chemistry  Honor Society, Gamma Sigma Epsilon. He received the Academic Excellence Award for ETBU Biology Department and in freshman year was the Biology and Chemistry Freshman of the Year. He is a member of on-campus Welch Foundation Chemistry research team and graduated in December Summa Cum Laude, was a Presidential Scholar, and on President’s List. He is a two-time All-ASC selection and a ASC All-Tournament (’24) honoree. Palmieri had four goals, five assists, and 13 points this year and finished career with 27 points, nine goals, and nine assists in 68 games played. He was captain on the team, served as a ACE Biology tutor, Student Government Ambassador Senator and Secretary in 2024, Thrive Peer Mentor, member of FCA and helped with Fields of Faith, volunteering at Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine in Marshall and Mission Marshall Food Pantry. Palmieri went on a Mission Trip with ETBU to Spain/Portugal in 2023 and in Shreveport, La., volunteered as a Hispanic translator at a free healthcare clinic.
 
East Texas Baptist graduate student men's tennis player Slade Austin boasts a 4.00 GPA and is completing his MBA. He is a 4-time ASC All-Academic selection, 2-time ITA Team Academic Award honoree and ’25 All-ASC First Team Doubles Flight 3 selection. Slade helped the Tigers to a ASC Tournament Championship and a NCAA Tournament berth, both are first for ETBU program. He went 14-2 in doubles play in the spring with a 13-match winning streak and went 8-8 in singles. He had doubles wins vs. UMHB and HSU in ASC Tournaments. He was also a ASC All-Tournament (’24) selection, a 3-time All-ASC selection,  2-time All-ASC First Team Doubles selection and All-ASC Second Team Singles Flight 5 honoree . Austin helped with Operation Christmas Child and put on a tennis clinic at Wills Point HS.
 
East Texas Baptist junior men's track and field athlete Landon Morris has a 3.76 GPA and is a Visual Communications major. He is a 2-time ASC Distinguished Award Winner and earned 2-time CSC Academic All-District, 3-time ASC All-Academic honors and multiple times on President's List and Dean's List. He is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma Award, and has highest GPA on the team for the past 3 years. Morris is a 3-time NCAA Qualifier in 3 events for 3 straight (1st for ETBU) and was an All-American 2nd team in ’24 in 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays. He is an 11-time ASC champion in 6 events over 3 years, 3-time ASC champion in high jump, 4x100 & 4x400 meter relay, 2-time Indoor/3-time Outdoor All-Region. In 2023  he was ASC Most Outstanding Athlete and All-ASC in six events in career. He holds 3 ETBU records, was a 7-time ASC Athlete of Week. In ’24 was All-Region in 4x400 meter, long jump and high jump and participated at NCAA Nationals in high jump, 100-meter dash, 4x100 meter relay, and 4x400 meter relay. Morris Participated in Operation Christmas Child, is a FCA leader on campus and worked at a conference at the Ministry GFA World.
 
East Texas Baptist graduate student women's basketball guard Payton Hicks has a 4.00 GPA and is working on her MBA (Entrepreneurship). She is a 2-time ASC All-Academic selection, on the Dean’s List, a 2-time All-ASC selection and was the ’25 ASC Player of the Year. Hicks also earned the following honors: All-ASC First Team (’25), D3hoops.com All-Region First Team, ASC Tournament Most Outstanding Player andASC All-Tournament. She led the ASC in free throws made (136), total assists (113), assist/TO ratio (1.2), and assists per game (3.9) and third in scoring (13.4 ppg). Hicks Scored 10+ points in 22 games with one double-double as she helped ETBU to ASC Tournament Regular Season and Tournament Championships and berth in NCAA Tournament. ETBU ranked in four national polls reaching as high as 19th and NPI ranking was 12th in the nation. In her career she was All-ASC Third Team (’24) and in two  years, helped ETBU to 37 wins. Hicks also helped with Operation Christmas Child, Mission Marshall, trash pick up on streets around ETBU, Cypress Valley Bible Church Fall Festival, and Sam Houston (MISD) Elementary car line volunteer.
 
Hardin-Simmons graduate student women's cross country runner Kylah Holland has a 3.90 GPA and is a Fitness, Rec. and Sports Management major. Holland was the ASC individual champion with an ASC championship 6k record time of 22:50 and advanced to the NCAA Regional race for the third time in her career.
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior women's golfer Avery Hill has a 3.97 GPA and is a Marketing major. Hill competed in eight tournaments this season tallying three third place finishes, helping her team to an ASC Championship win. She recorded her best score at the Legends Cup with a 147 (+3) mark and made the cut as an individual for the final two rounds at the NCAA Championship. Hill was named ASC Co-Freshman of the Year for the 2021-22 season, along with one Second Team and two First Team All-ASC honors throughout her career. She earned three WGCA All-American Scholar Team awards along with three Academic All-ASC honors.
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior women's soccer forward Kelsey White holds a 4.00 and is studying pre-dental. White, a First Team All-ASC and CSC Academic All-District honoree, started in all 19 games for the Cru this season. She added two goals along with two assists, playing for a total of 1515 minutes. White played in 82 games with 72 starts since her career began in 2020 with the Cru, tallying a plethora of accolades. She is a three-time First Team All-ASC selection, and has earned Academic All-ASC every year, along with CSC and CoSIDA academic honors. She was named to the USC All-Region X Second Team in 2022, USC All-Region First Team in 2023, and earned the ASC Scholar Athlete Medal of Honor in 2023.
 
East Texas Baptist senior softball outfielder Mary Frances Ellis has a 4.00 GPA and is a Finance/Accounting major. She is a three-time CSC Academic All-American, 4-time ASC All-Academic selection, 3-time CSC Academic All-District and will be 4-time NFCA Scholar-Athlete. She was awarded highest award at ETBU Graduation with the President’s Award, given ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor Award, is a ’24 ASC Softball Distinguished Scholar-Athlete winner and a 4-time ETBU President’s List. Ellis is a member of ETBU Presidential Honor Society with the highest GPA in ETBU School of Business and School of Accounting/Finance and a member of 2 honor societies in Alpha Lambda Delta and Chi Alpah Sigma while being the treasurer of Alpha Lambda Delta (’22-23). In ’25 she was an All-ASC Third Team selection and helped ETBU to no. 1 national ranking all season and no. 1 NPI ranking, an ASC Regular Season and Tournament Championship, NCAA Marshall, Texas Regional Champions and Super Regional runners-up. She finished fifth in ASC in steals, batted .341 with 31 hits and 22 stolen bases. Ellis in her was a 4-time All-ASC selection, two-time NFCA All-Regions honoree and on the NFCA National Players to Watch List. She is a 3-time ASC Tournament Champion, 4-time NCAA Tournament participant, 2024 National Champion, the ‘24 Super Regional Most Outstanding Player, ’24 NCAA Regional All-Tournament team. Ellis served at Marshall and Hallsville ISD, Mission Marshall, The Starr Family Home, Operation Christmas Child, and a Pen Pal to children in India, went on a Mission Trip to Australia and logged 24 hours of community service this year. At home, she volunteers to help with VBS and youth group. On the team, has held several leadership positions from servant-leadership group, Key Holder Group, Spiritual Group, and Organizational Group.
 
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior tennis player Erin Kittredge has a 3.97 GPA and is a Business major. Erin was named the Most Valuable Player, First Team All-Conference in singles, and First Team All-Conference in doubles for the ASC this year. She tallied 10 wins in the first flight of singles this season, going 4-0 in conference action. She also added 10 wins in doubles with partners Emily Higgs and Kaylee Jo Alexander to help her team become the ASC regular season champions for the first time in program history. Erin earned First Team All-ASC in doubles two times in her career. She has also been named to the Academic All-ASC team every year of her career. She has tallied 30 wins in singles play, along with 30 in doubles play as well. 
 
Hardin-Simmons graduate student women's track and field athlete Katie Baller has a 4.00 GPA and is a Criminal Justice major. Baller led the Cowgirl track team in the high jump all season and finished the 2025 spring ranked No. 32 in Division III with a clear of 5-5 ft. in outdoor track, leading the ASC in the event.
 
East Texas Baptist junior volleyball outside hitter Graycee Mosely has a 4.00 GPA and is a Biochemistry major. She is a 2-time CSC Academic All-American (’24 – 1st Team; ’23 – 2nd Team), 3-time ASC All-Academic honoree, 2-time CSC Academic All-District selection, first ETBU VB player to earn back-to-back CSC Academic AA awards and 3-time AVCA All-American (’24-2nd; ‘’23 & ’22 – HM), ASC MVP, and All-ASC First Team Selection. She was the ASC Freshman of the Year (’22), 12-time ASC Player of the Week selection and ’23 ASC T&F Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award winner. She helped the Tigers to be 2-time ASC Tournament Champions and NCAA Tournament appearance. This season she was ASC MVP, All-ASC 1st Team, ASC All-Tournament, AVCA All-American Second Team, CSC Academic All-American First Team, NCAA Regional All-Tournament team and a 5-time ASC Player of the Week. She led the ASC in kills (529), points (5.13 ps), and kills per set (4.60) and had 22 double-doubles. In NCAA she was 4th in kills, 7th in kills per set, and 8th in total attacks (1,359). She volunteered at Fall Festival at Marshall ISD, the Back-to-School Bash at New Beginnings Church, Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine, Operation Christmas Child, Mission Trip to Chile with VB team, and Mission Marshall’s Grocery Night. Mosely is on the President’s List and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.