BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the second annual TOPSY Awards, the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers shined on the red carpet as WKU Athletics honored its best and brightest during the yearly awards dinner and celebration ceremony.
Back for his second year at the microphone, former WKU letterman Doug Gorman helped hand out 24 awards ranging from Scholar-Athlete of the Year to Rookie of the Year to Team of the Year. The night began with a dinner on the floor of E.A. Diddle Arena and concluded across the Avenue of Champions in the Downing Student Union.
New for 2019 were three awards including the Phillip Hatchett Hilltopper Spirit Award, named in honor of the former men's golf coach and given to a student-athlete who best exemplified everything Coach Hatchett stood for: class, character, and a commitment to their teammates in everything they do. The first-ever winner of the award was senior men's golfer, Billy Tom Sargent. The Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year were also honored at the event for the first time.
WKU recognized the best hitter in all of Division 1 baseball as the John O. Oldham Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Jake Sanford leads all of Conference USA in batting average (.419), hits (70), home runs (19), RBI (56), and total bases (146), and all of those marks rank in the top 10 nationally. On the women's side, junior guard Dee Givens became the first Lady Topper basketballer to shoot 45 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, and 85 percent from the line in a single season, and she eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this past season.
AWARD WINNER'S PHOTO GALLERY
A complete list of the winners is below:
- Male Community Outreach Award – Moustapha Diagne, Men's Basketball
- Female Community Outreach Award – Kaylyn Bryant, Soccer
- Team Community Outreach Award - Volleyball
- Male Rookie of the Year—Charles Bassey, Men's Basketball
- Female Rookie of the Year – Kennedy Sullivan, Softball
- Men's Scholar Team of the Year – Men's Cross Country
- Men's Scholar Team of the Year (Runner-Up) - Men's Golf
- Women's Scholar Team of the Year – Women's Golf
- Women's Scholar Team of the Year (Runner-Up) - Soccer
- Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Blake Smith, Men's Golf
- Female Scholar Athlete of the Year- Megan Morris, Soccer
- Best Male Record-Breaking Performance – Jake Sanford, Baseball
- Best Female Record-Breaking Performance – Katie Isenbarger, Volleyball/Track & Field
- Head Coach of the Year – Amy Tudor, Softball
- Support Staff of the Year – Sarah Hurdish, Athletic Training
- Administrator of the Year – Debbie Carroll, Business Administration
- Phillip Hatchett Hilltopper Spirit Award - Billy Tom Sargent, Men's Golf
- Best Comeback Award – Men's Golf
- Best Upset Award - Men's Basketball
- Mr. Hilltopper Award – Julien Lewis, Football
- Ms. Hilltopper Award – Mary Joiner, Women's Golf
- Overall Team Performance – Softball
- John O. Oldham Male Student-Athlete of the Year - Jake Sanford, Baseball
- John O. Oldham Female Student-Athlete of the Year - Dee Givens, Women's Basketball
