The Radford University athletics department came together to celebrate the accomplishments of its student-athletes at the annual RUBY’s awards banquet on Monday night.
In the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s 12th year organizing the event, the evening inside Preston Hall was all about honoring programs and individuals who have made contributions to the Highlanders’ great success during the 2023-24 campaign in the classroom, in competition and in the community.
Strength & Conditioning Award – Olivia Hunter, Lacrosse and William Flanagan, Baseball
“This year’s female strength & conditioning award goes to someone that is a strong leader for her team on the field and in the weight room. With a tremendous amount of success at her position since she’s been here, a squat max of 335, a bench press max of 175, and a power clean max of 160, this year’s female strength & conditioning award goes to Olivia Hunter.” –Sam Pyles
“This year’s male strength & conditioning award goes to someone who possesses a tremendous amount of strength, confidence, and leadership in the weight room. He has led his team since the day he began his career at Radford, and has been an extension of our staff during the most vigorous strength, speed, and conditioning sessions. With a back squat max of 465lb and a deadlift max of 500lbs, this year’s Male strength & Conditioning award goes to Will Flanagan.” -Jen Norton
Transfer of the Year – Olivia Flanagan, Volleyball and Chandler Turner, Men’s Basketball
Flanagan made her presence known on the court this year by leading the Highlanders in kills and points with 140 kills and 170.0 points across 66 sets in 19 matches. Finished the season with a .160 hitting percentage on 387 total attacks and contributed 35.0 blocks, 31 digs, 11 service aces and three assists. She would record two career highs during a monster performance to secure the win over Presbyterian and would lead her to receiving the Big South Player of the Week honor the first time the program has received the award since Samantha Reitz garnered the award on Oct. 18, 2021.
Turner used his final year of eligibility with the Highlanders as he signed in May to join the team for his graduate season. The powerful forward played in 31 of 33 games this season, averaging 9.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and .6 steals per game. He shined in Radford’s triple overtime game against Winthrop, earning a single game-career high of 33 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the 2023-24 season. Turner also earned academic accolades being named to Big South’s Men’s Basketball All-Academic team.
Scholar Athlete of the Year – Emily Brandow, Women’s Tennis and Nick McCumsey, Men’s Cross Country
Battling on the top flights every season, Brandow began her career in 2021 clinching a 4-3 semifinals victory in the Big South Tournament to push Radford to the Championship for the second time ever. Since then, she has accumulated 32 singles wins and 32 doubles wins which both rank within the top-15 in program history while earning a 3.97 GPA in Biology. Brandow also most recently won the Big South’s all-academic award in back-to-back seasons.
A scholar off the course and a fantastic runner on it, this year’s male scholar-athlete of the year Nick McCumsey carries a 3.94 GPA as a Sociology major. McCumsey earned his 6k personal best right out of the gate during the first meet of the 2023 season. Additionally, he came in 34 place at the 2023 Big South Cross Country Championships.
Coach of the Year – Ben Sohrabi, Women’s Soccer
Women’s Soccer Head Coach Ben Sohrabi earned this year’s inaugural Coach of the Year award after another historic season in his 28th year at the helm of the program. At the conclusion of the 2023 Fall season, Sohrabi was named Big South Coach of the Year, the sixth overall in women’s soccer’s history. Sohrabi led the Highlanders to their sixth regular season championship in program history last Fall posting a 10-5-2 overall and 6-1-1 Big South record.
Last season marked the 16th time Sohrabi has led a Highlander team to 10 or more wins. Radford as a team ranked top-two in shots, shots on goal, points, goals and assists in the Big South. Sohrabi’s five conference coach of the year awards are now two more than the next closest coach in Big South history.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP AWARD – Tori Boyd, Softball and Noah Haddad, Men’s Soccer
This award recognizes a senior student-athlete who has excelled in academics and athletics, has made significant contributions to the community by demonstrating leadership and a commitment to service. This award recognizes an individual who promotes the university and athletics departments’ missions, goals, and values through their actions; demonstrates exceptional leadership ability; and fosters a positive and motivating environment for their team. Boyd, from the softball program, and Haddad, from the men’s soccer program, met every requirement and then some to earn this year’s award.
Alliance of Athletes Award – Baseball
The Alliance of Athletes Award was first awarded last year under the title “Highlanders for Highlanders”. Team support is vital to the success of any athletics program. Radford Student-Athletes consistently support each other’s programs by displaying spirit during competition and this award recognizes a team who has exhibited what being a Highlander is all about, by showing up and cheering on each of our programs. This year’s recipient of the award is the baseball program.
The Ruby Cup – Women’s Soccer
The RUBY CUP recognizes a team that achieved over a 3.0 GPA, displays team spirit at competitions, and is active in the community throughout the year. Not only is this team high achieving on the field of play, but also consistently shows support to other programs by displaying spirit during competition and are very giving of their time and service to the community.
The women’s soccer program not only pushed themselves to a successful season on the pitch last Fall, but pushed off the field to an incredible team GPA while also supporting their local community at multiple charity events. The women’s soccer program was also a common sight at Radford home and away events throughout the academic season.
Academic Excellence Team Award – Softball
The Academic Excellence Award is another new award to the Ruby’s this year. This award is to recognize the team who embodies what it means to be a student-athlete. This year’s recipient of the award is the Highlanders’ softball program.
Support Staff of the Year – Abby Federici, Jennifer Norton, and Allison McCoy
The Support Staff of the Year Award is new to the RUBY’s this year. This award is to acknowledge the staff who work behind the scenes to support our student athletes’ successes on and off the field. It was voted on by our student-athletes to recognize three individuals who have had a positive impact on their time here at Radford. This year’s award winners were athletics trainer Abby Federici, associate athletics director for sports performance Jennifer Norton and associate athletics director for student-athlete support services Allison McCoy.
Comeback Athlete of the Year – Jillian Silverstone, Women’s Soccer and Scott Rouse, Baseball
In October of 2022, Silverstone fell during a tackle and tore her shoulder labrum. She was taped up, won her first Big South Championship, and was eventually named to the all-tournament team. During the spring of 2023, Silverstone worked harder than anyone to get her shoulder stronger and get back on the soccer field. Then, in preseason 2023, she took another fall on that same shoulder right after getting cleared to return to full soccer participation. As the 2023 season continued, Silverstone continued to work on her shoulder and helped guide the team to back-to-back Big South women’s soccer championships.
Last season, Rouse was struck with a line drive and suffered a subdural hematoma which is when blood pools between the brain and its outermost covering and can be life threatening. Despite the injury, Rouse earned the academic achievement of being on the Dean’s list for each of the last two semesters. His return to the field is only possible by encouraging CT scans, protective equipment and by playing specific sports like baseball.
Freshman of the Year – Eileen Albers, Women’s Soccer and Tom Saporta, Men’s Tennis
Albers was named Freshman of the year after an incredible debut campaign with women’s soccer last Fall. At the season’s end of year postseason awards, Albers became the sixth Highlander to ever earn Freshman of the Year in program history and the second in the last three seasons to do so. The Melsungen, Germany native was electric leading the team in goals (6) and points (15). Her six goals ranked third-most overall in the conference and most among Big South freshman.
Saporta was named Freshman of the Year after bursting onto the scene with the men’s tennis program this Spring. The newcomer played on court two singles and split time on court two and three doubles facing tough competition all season. Despite that, Saporta was able to claim victories over opponents from schools such as ETSU, BYU, and Campbell. His total singles victories also led the men’s tennis program overall.
Athlete of the Year – Chloe Wellings, Women’s Cross Country/Track and Field and Cameron Pittman, Baseball
Riding her high from last season’s Big South podium finishes, Wellings wasn’t done yet as she has broken nearly all her own personal bests during the 2024 season. At the 2023 Big South Cross Country Championships, she earned fifth place in the 5k to run her personal best and placing second in Radford’s record book. Wellings took over the top spot in the record book to earn a school record of the 3k. At the Big South Indoor Track and Field Championships, she proved her speed taking not gold in not one, but two events.
A true lead off hitter and the definition of consistency are just a few ways to describe Pittman. He averages a .348 batting average, the highest of all Highlanders and 6th highest in the Big South. Pittman so far has 25 runs, 21 RBI, a career high slugging percentage of .485 and stolen bases. He also leads the Highlanders in hits and has two home runs on the season as well.
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