Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll - Fall 2012 (PDF)

FRISCO, Texas – A total of 697 student-athletes have been named to the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Fall Academic Honor Roll, the league office announced Wednesday.

This year’s list boasts four student-athletes of the year, five players of the year and a total of 133 student-athletes with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages during the fall semester. The honor roll includes student-athletes who took part in men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s soccer and volleyball.

Central Arkansas led all Southland institutions with 112 honorees and with a total of 18 student-athletes who recorded a 4.0 GPA. Leading the Bears to their second consecutive NCAA Division I football playoff berth was graduate student Seth Allison. Allison, who is working on his master’s in business administration with a 3.0 GPA, helped the Southland Champion Bears to one of the league’s top scoring defenses while earning all-conference honors at the linebacker position. Jessica Hays, a graduate student on the volleyball team, helped the Sugar Bears to its first NCAA tournament appearance after winning the conference tournament. Hays, who posted a 4.0 while pursuing her master’s in family and consumer science/nutrition,  is a two-time first-team all-conference selection for the Sugar Bears.

McNeese State had 84 selections on the commissioner’s list, including 10 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA. Sophomore Sarah LaLanne was one of four Cowgirls on the soccer team to post a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester. The accounting major from Cypress, Texas, earned second-team all-conference honors as she led McNeese to a berth in the conference tournament.

Northwestern State placed 78 members on the commissioner’s honor roll with 15 of those student-athletes earning a 4.0 GPA in the fall. Senior kicker John Shaughnessy posted a 3.78 in biology. The Shreveport, La., native was named the Southland’s football student-athlete of the year after earning a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District Team, the Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Director’s Association Academic All-Star Team and being voted one of eight finalists for the three Academic All-America kicker positions. The Lady Demons were headlined by three members of their volleyball team who posted a perfect GPA last semester. Juniors Jessica Guittierrez and Mackenzie Neely and sophomore Tamara Hanna led the Lady Demons in the classroom as Northwestern State had its best season ever with 20 wins and a third-place finish in the Southland.

Southeastern Louisiana had 74 members on the honor roll while Nicholls State ans Sam Houston State had 73 members. Among Southeastern’s honorees are 11 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.  Of the 11 student-athletes with a 4.0, four of them came from the Lady Lion soccer team, which finished third in the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the conference tournament.  Karly Dagys and Lauren Stillians, both of whom received all-conference honorable mention, earned a 4.0 in biology and criminal justice, respectively.

Of the 73 Colonels to appear on the honor roll, 13 had a 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.  Two-time all-conference tight end Nick Scelfo led the way for the Colonels football team, posting a 3.25 GPA in mass communications. The junior from Baton Rouge, La., was one of 34 members of the football team to be named to the honor roll.  Twelve members of the Nicholls volleyball team earned a spot on the honor roll, including all-conference selection Jennifer Brandt. The senior from Wallis, Texas, earned a 3.25 GPA in accounting while leading the Colonels to one of their best seasons on the court, earning a No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.

Sam Houston State posted a league-high 21 members with a perfect 4.0 GPA for the fall semester. The national runner-up Bearkat football team had nine student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA and featured Timothy Flanders, two-time conference player of the year, on the commissioner’s honor roll. Flanders earned a 3.16 GPA in information systems while leading one of the nation’s most prolific offenses on the football field. The Bearkats also dominated on the volleyball court this season, winning the regular season conference title while placing 13 members on the honor roll, including four student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA.  Player of the Year Deveney Well-Gibson earned a spot on the honor roll after recording a 3.65 GPA in general business.

Lamar placed 67 student-athletes on the honor roll with 16 earning a 4.0 GPA. The Lady Cardinals’ soccer team had five members with a perfect fall semester GPA after posting its best season in school history with a second-place finish in the conference tournament. All-conference selections Kristin Bos and Jannet Hernandez both earned a spot on the honor roll with a 3.83 and 3.35 GPA, respectively. Bos, a sophomore from Valencia, Calif., is majoring in fashion retailing, while Hernandez, a freshman from Houston, Texas, is an electrical engineering major.

Stephen F. Austin landed 66 members on the honor roll, including 12 with a 4.0 GPA. SFA is headlined by Kylie Louw, the three-time conference player of the year in soccer. Louw, who played a major role in guiding the Ladyjacks to Southland regular-season and tournament titles, set the all-time conference record with 42 career assists while also setting the all-time SFA points record with 96. Louw finished the year third in the nation in both total assists (13) and assists per game (0.65). Louw was named to 2012 National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Women’s All-America Second Team and the 2012 Capital One Academic All-American Women’s Soccer Second Team. Also for the Ladyjacks, cross country members Lauren Smith and Randi Plentl earned a spot on the honor roll after leading SFA to the Southland title. Smith, the sport’s athlete of the year, posted a 3.36 GPA in kinesiology while Plentl, the cross country student-athlete of the year, earned a 4.0 in biology.

Oral Roberts placed 40 student-athletes on the fall honor roll, including 11 with a 4.0 GPA. Highlighting the Golden Eagles’ honor roll is Bruna Silva, the libero of the year in volleyball. Silva is one of 11 members of the volleyball team to earn a spot on the honor roll and one of three members on the team to earn a 4.0. The junior from Niteroi, Brazil, posted the 4.0 in computer information and technology. Silva helped lead ORU to the championship match of the Southland tournament in its first season in the conference.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had six of its 30 student-athletes on the honor roll earn a 4.0 GPA. Highlighting the Islanders on the honor roll is the women’s cross country team, which finished fourth in the conference meet and competed in the regional meet. The Islanders placed 11 members of the squad on the honor roll, including four runners with a 4.0. Senior Brianna Briggs, who finished fourth overall at the conference championship, earned a 3.77 in kinesiology last fall semester.

The Southland Conference Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll acknowledges participants in all sports sponsored by the league and its member institutions. The honor roll is released within 30 days at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, recognizing student-athletes who maintained a minimum 3.00 GPA. Student-athletes, nominated by their respective academic advisors, must have been eligible to compete in a conference sport during the academic year in which the nomination occurs.