CLARKSVILLE—Friday, 75 Austin Peay State University athletics alumni and staff would have walked across the Dunn Center stage to participate in the May 2020 commencement exercises.
COVID-19 has cost our student-athletes many things this spring, with the culmination of the hard work put forth by these young men and women just the latest. Austin Peay athletics still honors them on this day, which is the culmination of their commitment to themselves, their families and their programs. This is not what they envisioned, but we admire their perseverance and ability to rise above all obstacles in their way. COVID-19 is the latest, it won't be the last and they've proven themselves above and beyond in their capabilities to overcome anything in their paths. We hope to have them back in August to take big walk across the stage and receive the adulation they deserve.
The following student-athletes, athletics alumni and departmental employees were Master's degree candidates for May 2020 Commencement:
- Kyle Anderton, Football
- Falon Baker, Women's Basketball
- Darion DeBrossard, Football
- Jacob Freeze, Men's Basketball
- Reginald Gee II, Men's Basketball
- Kadeem Goulbourne, Football
- Addison Hollin, Men's Basketball
- Ciera Koons, Beach Volleyball
- Danielle Liermann, Softball
- Zavion Williams, Men's Basketball
The following student-athletes, athletics alumni and departmental employees were bachelor's degree candidates for May 2020 Commencement:
- Eli Abaev, Men's Basketball
- Andrew Abel, Men's Cross Country
- Ana Albertson, Women's Tennis
- Josh Alexander, Football
- Samantha Anderson, Cheer
- MiMi Arrington, Volleyball
- Diamond Battle, Track and Field
- Kaitlyn Black, Track and Field
- Juantarius Bryant, Football
- Michael Busse, Men's Golf
- Alexis Butler, Cheer
- JaVaughn Craig, Football
- Nieja Crawford, Women's Basketball
- Megan Cundiff, Dance
- Kimberly Cunningham, Dance
- Daniel Davis, Men's Cross Country
- Meghan Dees, Women's Soccer
- Drew Dudley, Softball
- Victoria Eccleston, Softball
- Caleb Edwards, Cheer
- Andrew Flaherty, Baseball
- Matthew Gayle, Football
- Ginny Gerig Busse, Volleyball
- Arielle Gonzalez-Varner, Women's Basketball
- Kelsey Gray, Softball
- Gabby Gregory, Women's Basketball
- Kelsey Gross, Softball
- Justin Harrah, Cheer
- Drew Harris, Football
- Evan Hinson, Men's Basketball
- Chris Hopkins, Football
- Tyler Hubbard, Baseball
- Reagan Hyde, Football
- Brett Jackson, Softball
- Allana Johnson, Track and Field
- Ryan Kouba, Baseball
- Garrett Kueber, Baseball
- Austin Lancaster, Men's Golf
- Tatiana Lopez, Women's Tennis
- Jequaries Martin, Football
- Bryan McCann, Football
- Prince Momodu, Football
- Nolan Monaghan, Baseball
- Emily Moore, Softball
- Jaylen Moore, Football
- Garielle Netter, Track and Field
- Jenna Panning, Volleyball
- John Austin Peay, Athletics
- Maya Perry-Grimes, Track and Field
- Cole Phillips, Football
- Mary Parker Powell, Women's Soccer
- Griffin Rivers, Baseball
- Rodney Saulsberry Jr., Football
- Zachary Schilling, Baseball
- Renee Semaan, Women's Soccer
- Elijah Shepard, Football
- Kylie Simerly, Cheer
- Gorel Soumare, Football
- Meghann Stamps, Women's Golf
- Giulia Terry, Dance
- Tyler Thompson, Baseball
- Alex Vegh, Men's Golf
- Kentel Williams, Football
- Ken Wilson, Football
- Nash Young, Men's Cross Country
These athletes weren't just names on a roster or numbers on a field. They also represent…
- 37 Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships.
- 14 All-OVC seasons
- The 2019 OVC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year
- Three football All-Americans
- The only All-American in softball history
- The only player in Austin Peay women's basketball history with a 30-point, 20-rebound game
- A member of the men's basketball gold-medalist Team USA at the 2019 Maccabi Games
- Two members of the 2020-21 SAAC Executive Team
- 67 members of the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll
- 10 offensive players who combined to help set or tie 18 school records on the gridiron
- The softball program's career leader in hits, home runs, doubles and RBI
- One CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree
- Nine medals in Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championship competition, including four golds
- Six members of the 2019-20 SAAC Executive Team
- The only player in APSU softball history to earn four career OVC Player of the Week honors
- Nine Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medal of Honor recipients
- The all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns by a quarterback
- The 2016 OVC Softball Freshman of the Year
- The 2017 OVC Indoor Track and Field Female Freshman of the Year
- The best individual 18-hole round in APSU women's golf history
- Five All-Newcomer honorees
- One Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar
- One Arthur Ashe Junior Sports Scholar
And so much more that made Austin Peay a unique, wonderful place. Thank you for your contributions to the program and the university. We wish you well in the future and as always… LET'S GO PEAY!
