Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Blacksburg High School announces its varsity girls soccer team has been named a recipient of the 2024‑25 United Soccer Coaches High School Team Ethics & Sportsmanship Award – Spring Season, recognizing outstanding fair play, sportsmanship, and adherence to the laws of the game throughout the season.
The award is part of United Soccer Coaches’ national honors for spring soccer programs across the U.S. and honors seven teams this year who demonstrated exemplary conduct on the field. The prestigious recognition reflects the team’s unwavering commitment to ethical behavior and respect—not only toward opponents and officials, but across the entire experience of competition and team culture.
“We’re extremely proud of our players and coaches for earning this honor,” said head coach Travis Bishop. “Their focus on respect, discipline, and integrity—on and off the field—has been a constant throughout the season.”
The United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics & Sportsmanship Award is granted each spring to high school teams demonstrating fair play and minimal disciplinary infractions. Awards are tiered—Platinum (no cards), Gold (1–10%), Silver (11–30%), and Bronze (31–50%)—based on the percentage of court-issued yellow and red cards relative to games played.
Big Dawg back as podcast
Rick Watson and his long-running sports talk show is back as of this week and will now turn to a podcast form.
Tune in to Big Dawg Sports Talk with Rick Watson weekdays from 6-8:30 a.m. live on YouTube and podcasting on Spotify and Apple.
Greene added to RU staff
The Radford University softball program and Head Coach Kevin Fagan announced Thursday morning Addy Greene has joined the program as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2026 season.
The Suffolk, Va. native joins the Highlanders after spending four seasons as a standout student-athlete with Virginia Tech’s softball program. Graduating with her degree in human nutrition, foods and exercise in 2024, Greene was an All-American outfielder with the Hokies earning honors such as NFCA First-Team All-American, All-ACC First-Team, All-ACC Tournament Team and VaSID All-State First-Team. Greene was also a standout in the classroom, earning AD honor roll honors in every semester while also being named to the ACC’s all-academic squad in 2023 and 2024.
On the stat sheet, Greene finished her career with multiple program top-10 career records. Her .341 batting average, .631 slugging percentage, 33 home runs and 131 runs scored all stand in the program record book. By the end of her collegiate career, Greene accumulated a wealth of postseason experience making appearances in 15 NCAA Regional games and 6 NCAA Super Regional games with the Hokies.
RU golf national award
The 2024-25 Platform Golf Team Academic awards for NCAA Division I were announced recently with the Highlanders’ men’s golf program among the programs honored with the award.
Not just earning the team academic award, the Highlanders also achieved President’s Special Recognition for achieving a team GPA over 3.50.
A GCAA-record 292 schools across six divisions earned a Platform Golf Team Academic Award. 129 schools received Presidents Special Recognition for having an average team GPA of 3.5 or above.
Allstate NACDA Good Works Team
Allstate and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced Tuesday morning 129 student-athlete nominees for the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team which included Radford volleyball student-athlete Sara Johnson.
The award nomination, which celebrates a student-athlete’s leadership beyond sports, is the second for a Highlander in a program that was expanded to honor both male and female student-athletes from all sports and divisions for their commitment to community service, academic excellence and athletics achievement.
During the 2024-25 season, Johnson showcased her leadership in the community by helping organize a blanket drive with Project Linus where the blankets were then distributed to children in need. She currently works with a professor within her department to organize a food pantry (Food for Thought) which will be run by the volleyball program on rotating shifts to make sure that students on campus have a place to grab free food in case there are any going without. Johnson also volunteered in the BACoN (Behavior and Cognivite Neuroscience Lab) and has been there for three semesters working towards her capstone.
Working towards her double major in Biology and Psychology, Johnson recently presented in front of the faculty senate at Radford to help propose the addition of a new Clinical Psychology Master’s program with licensure. She has been a Dean’s list recipient for both colleges for six consecutive semesters and is working towards graduating the highest honors. This past summer, Johnson was also invited to personally shadow neuropsychologists at the University of Virginia.
Johnson is entering her senior season with the Highlanders as a defensive specialist/libero. Johnson has been a constant force on the defensive end for Radford during her four-year career appearing in 39 matches playing in 79 sets with 70 dig, 58 kills and 11 aces. During the most recent 2024 campaign, Johnson set career-high totals for digs, aces and matches appeared in.
Gosnell Mackney award
Virginia Tech tight end Benji Gosnell has been named to the watch list for the Mackey Award, presented annually to the best tight end in college football, honoring the legacy of NFL Hall of Fame Tight End, John Mackey. The John Mackey Award was established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission. The recipient of the award will be celebrated at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, Friday, Dec. 12th at 7pm on ESPN.
The John Mackey Award Selection Committee is comprised of sportswriters, college football analysts, and former John Mackey Award winners.
Gosnell (6-5, 254) started all 13 games at tight end last season, recording 32 receptions for 341 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10.7 yards per reception.
Hokie on watch list
Hokie senior Natalie Mitchell has been tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches Midfielders to Watch List.
Mitchell has been a consistent starter for the Hokies the past three seasons and was crucial in Tech’s run to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2024. Last season, Mitchell led the Hokies in points (16) and tallied five goals and six assists.
Her 67 shots led the Hokies, and she also recorded three game-winning goals. She also earned 2024 All-Atlantic Region Fourth Team honors.
The Temecula, Calif., native has started all 60 games she has played in her career. Mitchell has 17 career goals and 15 career assists with six game-winning goals and over 4,000 minutes played over three seasons.
