JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The finalists for all 14 categories have been released for the Eighth Annual Frosty Awards Ceremony, which will take place Tuesday night at 6 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse.
The event is not open to the public this year. Only finalists and the production crew will be in attendance for this year's ceremony. However, fans can watch the proceedings at cneagles.com/live.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Brayden Coe: The first-team All-SAC performer produced one of the best seasons in school history. Coe reset the program's NCAA-era record for ERA in a season with a 2.23 margin. He finished the year top 15 in the country in wins while finishing top 10 in the league in six categories. Coe notched three outings of eight-plus innings allowing one run including a complete-game shutout in the SAC tournament
Raphael Lima: Lima set a total of 13 top-five program times, including two school records, across four different events. A two-time All-American, Lima also competed as part of two program-record relay teams for the men's 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle. His bronze medal finish at the NCAA Championship Meet in the 100 free is the highest finish by a men's swimmer in program history.
Bram Kaarsgaren: A back-to-back All-SAC first team goalkeeper, Bram Kaarsgaren anchored a Carson-Newman defensive unit that allowed a league-low four goals this season. In net, he went 7-2-1 and tallied seven shutouts on the year, marking the most in both the conference and all of Division II. His three conference Defensive Player of the Week honors this season moved him to a program-high five in his two-year career.
Devon Moore: One of the most decorated track & field athletes in the history of the program, Moore made history during the 2021 Indoor Track & Field season, becoming an eight-time All-American with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Indoor National Championships in both the 60 meter and 200 meter runs. Moore's dominance continued during the outdoor season, placing third in the SAC as a member of the 4x100 relay team, second in the 100 meter run and first in the 200 meters.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
CJ Jensen: CJ Jensen capped a historic 2021 NCAA championship meet with six All-America swims. She holds four of the five fastest times in program history in the 200 butterfly. She saved her best performance in the 200 fly for nationals where her school record two minute, point 5-6 second time helped her to the finals and a fourth place finish in the event.
Ana Carla Resende: Resende was named as an All-SAC first-team singles selection for the second time in her career while helping the women's tennis program to its first SAC semifinal appearance since 2009. She went went 12-1 in SAC singles action while defeating two ranked opponents on the year. Resnede rose as high as 42nd in the ITA individual rankings on the year.
Shannon Smith: A hit machine for the Carson-Newman softball program. Shannon Smith tallied a .405 batting average for the year with 15 doubles, 45 runs batted in and 95 total bases. Her 16-game hitting streak tied for the fifth-longest in program history and she concluded the regular season in the top 25 nationally in six offensive categories. Additionally, she is the first third baseman in the history of the program to play error free for an entire season.
Braelyn Wykle: After an historic sophomore season, Braelyn Wykle became the program's first underclassmen to be an All-American since 1982. The SAC Player of the Year is one of two Lady Eagles to win the league's top honor outright after producing the top single-season scoring average in school history with 22.7 points per game, good for fifth in the nation.
MALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Denilson Cyprianos: Denilson Cyprianos joined Carson-Newman Swimming after Christmas and made an immediate impact. Most notably, he won five different events against Lees-McRae. The rookie was also one of three men's swimmers to qualify for the 2021 NCAA Division II Nationals. Cyprianos claimed an Honorable Mention All-American accolade with a 13th place finish in the men's 200-yard backstroke.
Isaiah Kyle: Isaiah Kyle had waited two years to compete again in the high jump, and he did not disappoint. The Wingate transfer won the event at the 2021 LR Bears Open with a clearance of 2.11 meters, qualifying for the NCAA Nationals. Kyle dominated at the SAC Outdoor Championships, winning gold in the high jump.
Joseph Oreva: Joseph Oreva wasted little time in etching his name in the history books for Carson-Newman Track & Field. The freshman out of Port Harcourt, Nigeria shattered a 44 year old school record in the men's indoor long jump with a jump of 7.75 meters at the ETSU Invitational. Just eight minutes later, Oreva broke his own record again with a jump of 7.84 meters, a mark that was number one in all of Division-II for the entire indoor track season and earned him SAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week honors. Despite battling a heel injury, Oreva finished with All-American honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships with a fourth place finish.
Matt Parkinson: After hitting a home run in his first-career start in an Eagle uniform, Matt Parkinson made his first game at Mossy Creek more memorable going 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored while hitting two bombs in a 12-6 win over 20th-ranked Lee. He produced a hit in each of his first 12 games blasting homers in six of those outings. One of the top power hitters in the league, he finished in the top 10 with eight long balls.
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Skylar Boshears: Joining the program from Furman in mid-December, Boshears earned honorable mention All-SAC honors for the regular-season SAC champions. The sophomore registered 10 games in double figures including a 26-point outburst in a win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Jan. 16. It was one of the four nights where she crested 20 points.
Katie Eakes: A run-producing first baseman for Carson-Newman softball, Eakes transferred to Mossy Creek from North Alabama. Eakes led the team and ranked 16th nationally with 42 RBI on the year. She clobbered eight home runs on the year including C-N's first grand slam in two seasons. Eakes wrapped up the year hitting .347.
Lindsey Taylor: In her debut campaign at Mossy Creek, Taylor earned first-team all-conference laurels. The post player posted double digits a dozen times. She shot 62 percent from the field to rank sixth in Division II. Her seven double-doubles were top 25 in America. Her best game of the year came at Mars Hill in January as she scored 33 points and chipped in 10 boards.
Kate Zander: In her debut season as an Eagle, Zander started in six out of the seven games for Carson-Newman's back line. Zander was part of a C-N defense which held two opponents scoreless and to an overall .121 shot percentage. She helped C-N limit opponents to eight goals on 66 shot attempts.
MALE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Tyler Bowens: Bowens scored in double digits in eight games on the year and reset his career high with 13 points in Carson-Newman's SAC title game win over Queens. The Wade Hampton High School product was fifth on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounding. His 10 dunks were the most on the team for the year.
Ren Dyer: Dyer has done things no other freshman has done in Carson-Newman basketball history. The programs's first SAC Freshman of the Year. Dyer became the first Eagle freshman with seven straight double-digit scoring efforts and the only freshman with three double-doubles in his first season at Mossy Creek. He dropped 20 in the SAC title win over Queens and was second on the team in steals and blocks.
Sterling Melancon: Melancon began his freshman season with a bang, placing in the top-10 in 22 of the 23 races he competed in. He took bronze in the 200 meter run at the SAC Championships. Melancon was recognized for his achievements by the conference, being named the 2021 SAC Outdoor Male Track Freshman of the Year.
Theo Hardenby Öhrwall: An All-SAC first team midfielder and the program's second-ever SAC Freshman of the Year, Theo Hardenby Öhrwall scored a team-leading 13 points on four goals and five assists. He started in each of the 10 matches played during the season and was the first C-N freshman to receive a SAC Player of the Week honor in program history. He notched three assists in the win at Mars Hill on April 1, becoming the fifth-player to do so in team history.
FEMALE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Hayden Barton: After redshirting in 2019, Barton became one of the top liberos in the SAC earning a slot on the all-freshman team, the ninth rookie to earn the honor in school history. With 4.81 digs per set, she ranked fourth in the league tallying nine outings with at least 10 scoops.
Lilly Ebner: Ebner was named as the All-SAC honorable mention goalkeeper following the spring 2021 campaign. The German collected the sixth-most saves in the league with 28 to go along with seven goals allowed all season. Her .800 save percentage ranks her seventh in Carson-Newman history for single-season save percentage.
Macey Hughes: Macey Hughes became the first C-N freshman to receive all-league laurels since the 2018 season. Hughes hit .367 this year with eight doubles, two triples and four home runs while driving in 26. The freshman has peaked at the right time heading into conference tournament play. She tallied hits in nine of her last 11 games, including a seven-game hitting streak from March 27 – April 12. A frequent clutch hitter, Hughes tallied a walk-off RBI single against King in her second career game and a top of the seventh go-ahead home run against Wingate
Sierra Still - Sierra Still started off her career for Carson-Newman Beach Volleyball with a bang. The freshman earned the start at the number two position and has already moved into the top-three all-time for most individual wins in a season. Still along with her partner Abby Struewing, compiled a 4-1 record at the 2021 AVCA Small College National Championships, including earning a win at the number two position against eventual national champion Tampa that was the Spartan pairs only loss until the national championship match.
COACH OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Chuck Benson: Chuck Benson was the South Atlantic Conference's Coach of the Year. The Eagles were coming off a 10-18 season a year ago and missed the South Atlantic Conference tournament for the first time in program history. The Eagles were picked ninth in the league';s preseason poll. But Carson-Newman exceeded expectations, winning the SAC tournament and making the NCAA Tournament as a four seed with a 16-6 record. The .727 win percentage is the second-best of Benson's career.
Jim Frederick: Jim Frederick led the Carson-Newman women's tennis team to its first SAC Tournament semifinal appearance more than a decade. Along the way, the Eagles collected their first ever win over a nationally-ranked Queens team ever and their first win at Tusculum since 2001. He had three athletes awarded All-SAC accolades
Tom Griffin: Leading the Eagles to final day of the SAC Baseball Tournament for the second time in four years, Griffin led a team that spent two weeks in the top 25. Carson-Newman finished with its best conference winning percentage since 2008 finishing eight games above .500 for the first time since 2002. The team's pitching staff threw six shutouts, tying the program record for a single season. Griffin's group won five games against top 25 clubs, the second-most in a year during the NCAA era.
Jordan Taylor: Jordan Taylor led the Carson-Newman women's swim program to a program-best ninth place finish at nationals. Along the way, the women's team produced nine All-America swims at the 2021 DII Nationals. Senior CJ Jensen secure dsix All-American honors herself while the program collected bronze for a fifth straight year at the Bluegrass Mountain Championship Meet.
TEAM OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Men's Basketball: Buoyed by the program's fourth South Atlantic Conference tournament title, and a fourth trip to the NCAA tournament in the last eight years, Carson-Newman finished the year ranked 23rd in the NABC Coaches Poll. The men's basketball program won 11 straight, the second double-digit win streak since the program moved to Division II and boasted one of the nation's top defenses. Carson-Newman had the country's 10th best scoring defense, and the nation's fifth-best field goal percentage defense. Opponent's shot 39.3 percent on the Eagles for the year.
Women's Basketball: Securing its sixth SAC regular-season title in program history, the Lady Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. Led by SAC Player of the Year Braelyn Wykle, the program placed four players on All-SAC teams for the second time in four years. Coach Mike Mincey's team won the league's scoring title for the sixth straight season.
Women's Swimming: The women's swimming program tied the best overall team performance in school history with a ninth place finish at the NCAA national championship meet. The team finished with 186 team points and nine different All-American swims. n regular season action, the Eagles only suffered one defeat at home all season, to Wingate, while outscoring opponents 926-418 over the course of all five home meets.
Men's Track - The men's track and field team continued etching their names into the history books with a phenomenal 2021 season. The squad finished the indoor season ranked 16th in the nation as Devon Moore and Joseph Oreva both earned All-America honors at indoor nationals. During the outdoor season, the squad has already had three members of the team qualify for four different events in the Outdoor National Championships. The team racked up 130.5 points at the SAC Outdoor Championships, finishing third.
MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Brayden Coe v Mars Hill SAC Tourney: With Carson-Newman needing a win to avoid elimination, Brayden Coe threw a complete game shutout striking out nine while allowing just five base runners. He became the first C-N hurler since 2015 to fire a complete game, nine-inning shutout. Coe needed 110 pitches to jumpstart the Eagles run in the postseason producing his fourth complete game of the year.
Tripp Davis v. Benedict: Tripp Davis became the sixth player in Carson-Newman men's basketball history to score more than 40 points in a game and tied Chris Jones and Mike Ogan for the third most points in a game in school history. He dropped 44 points in a key in-region win over Benedict. The senior also knocked down 18-of-19 free throws to finish behind Chris Jones for the second most free throws taken and made in school history.
Raphael Lima at NCAA Meet: In the men's 200-yard freestyle, Lima was able to gain an All-American honor with his time of 1:36.11, the second fastest time in C-N Swimming history and the first time a men's swimmer has earned a bronze medal at nationals. He also grabbed All-America honors and set a new school record in the men's 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.27.
Jake Wright v. Queens: In a one-hit complete game shutout of the Royals, the rookie became the fourth C-N player in the last two decades to toss a complete game with one hit or fewer allowed and first since 2011. It was the first time in 1,817 days that a hurler had thrown a complete-game shutout. In his first career start, Wright struck out six and faced the minimum six times going to either a two- or three-ball count to six of the 21 batters he faced.
FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Hayden Barton at Mars Hill: The rookie needed six career matches to produce her first career double-double of 22 digs and 10 assists in a five-set match at Mars Hill on March 20. She is the first libero since at least 2010 in program history to produce a double-double of any kind.
CJ Jensen at NCAA Meet: Jensen broke the school record in the women's 200-yard butterfly and gathered six All-American honors over the three-day event. She won individual All-American honors in the women's 200-yard butterfly, women's 200-yard individual medley, and the women's 400-yard individual medley. She was also part of the All-American women's 200 and 400-yard medley relays along with the women's 800-yard freestyle relay team.
Kailee Morgan at NCAA Meet: Finished runner-up in the women's 100-yard breaststroke with the second-fastest event time in Carson-Newman Swimming history. Morgan is the first Eagle swimmer of either gender to grab a silver medal at the national championship meet.
Braelyn Wykle at Tusculum: The sophomore guard led the Lady Eagles to a 69-66 double overtime win at seventh-ranked Tusculum. In the program's first road win over a top 10 team since 2008, Wykle led the way with a game-high 30 points making 10 of 23 from the field and 10 of 11 at the free-throw line. She chipped in five boards, two assists and two steals.
UPSET OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Women's basketball at #7 Tusculum: After watching seventh-ranked Tusculum tie the game at the buzzer at the end of regulation and lead most of the first overtime, No. 20 Carson-Newman mustered enough plays to beat the previously unbeaten Pioneers 69-66 in double overtime. The Lady Eagles secure their first road win over a top 10 team since Dec. 8, 2008 earning its first victory over a top 10 club overall since Nov. 21, 2015 over No. 6 Columbus State, a span of 155 games and 1,890 days.
Women's tennis v. #18 Queens: For the first time in program history, Carson-Newman defeated the Queens Royals. Queens entered the contest ranked 18th in the ITA poll. C-N was anchored by senior Abby Reis who claimed the final match point for the Eagles from number six singles by a 6-3, 6-4 result, giving C-N the overall 4-3 win. The loss was just one of two for the Royals on the year. It marked C-N's first win over a ranked team in more than a decade.
Baseball at #7 Catawba: Trailing 4-1 going into the fifth inning, Carson-Newman exploded for seven runs to beat the Indians and secure a split in the four-game series. Harrison Travis punctuated the stanza with a three-run bomb to left field. The Eagles held the highest scoring lineup in the league to five runs as Corey Wilson picked up the first win of his career.
Baseball v #11 Tusculum SAC Tourney: Behind 4-1 after four frames against the 11th-ranked team in the nation, the Eagles rattled off seven unanswered to take charge cranking out 14 hits in an 8-6 win. Carson-Newman's pitching staff held the SAC's top offensive lineup to 1-for-10 hitting with runners in scoring position. Five Eagles finished with multi-hit days led by three from Tyler Thompson while Matt Bradley and Tyler Shaver combined on the mound to lock down the win.
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Baseball v. Newberry: Trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, it was an ominous start to a comeback bid with a ground out and punch out getting the Eagles down to their final out. Following two walks, Brendan Krob pinch hit and slammed a game-tying triple to the fence in center field. He scored a few pitches later on a wild pitch. It was one of the six times in 87 tries since 2015 that C-N overcame a deficit going into the ninth inning.
Softball v. King: Carson-Newman scored five times in the bottom of the seventh to win in walk off fashion on opening day over King. The Eagles started the rally by sending three straight pinch hitters to the plate, all three proded hits with Maddie Gillett getting the club one run closer on a base hit to right field. Katie Eakes banged a two-run single to right-center field on a 1-1 offering to knot the tally up at seven with no one out. Then, Macey Hughes dug in and slashed a base hit through the left side of the infield to score the winning and complete the frantic rally.
Football at Wise: Christian Erwin drilled a game-tying 49-yard field goal attempt with a half minute to play in regulation to force overtime and won the game with a 44-yard kick to win the game as Carson-Newman prevailed 40-37 in four overtimes over UVA Wise. Carson-Newman trailed by 10 with 13:28 to play in the fourth quarter. Rhe Cavaliers were moving down the field when a fumble recovered by Frank Lee gave the Eagles some life. On the very next play, Trey Mitchell linked up with DeQuan Dudley for an 89-yard passing strike, the third-longest completion in school history. That play and a 57-yard TD pass to JJ Lewis set the stage for Erwin's late-game theatrics.
Women's Basketball at Coker: Facing its largest deficit of the year of 14 points, the Lady Eagles used a 15-0 scoring sequence to flip a 12-point shortage into a three-point lead with 9:18 to go. Skylar Boshears and Braelyn Wykle combined to score 12 of the club's final 16 points to give the Lady Eagles a 71-66 road win. Wykle finished with the first double-double of her career with 25 points and 10 boards in her seventh straight game of at least 20 points, a program record.
TEAM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Men's basketball v. Queens: Carson-Newman used an 11-0 second half run to outpace top-seeded and 17th-ranked Queens and lay claim to its fourth SAC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship 88-79. Carson-Newman scorched the nets to the tune of 56.1 shooting – the second-best shooting performance in SAC title game history – while limiting Queens to 35.1 percent shooting after halftime. The Eagles turned a one-point halftime deficit into the nine-point win.
Baseball v. Lee: Against a team that reached No. 2 in the country, Matt Parkinson hit two home runs and Carson-Newman scored nine runs with two outs to take down the 20th-ranked Flames 12-6. The Eagles failed to score in the frame but proceeded to score in each of the next seven innings. Lee's pitching staff ranked in the top 15 nationally in team ERA as coach Tom Griffin's group tallied the second-most runs allowed by the team.
Men's Soccer v. LMU: Carson-Newman used a sixth consecutive clean sheet to punch its ticket to the SAC Tournament semifinal for the first time since 2018, taking down Lincoln Memorial 4-0 on April 5. The four goals scored were the most by the Eagles in a SAC Tournament match since 2015. Thaylan Silva played a hand in three of the four goals scored, netting one and assisting with the following two. He joined Theo Hardenby Öhrwall, Harry Whitehead and Benjamin Stein in the scoring effort that night with Stein's empty-net goal sealing the deal in the 89th minute. The clean sheet was the seventh of the season for C-N and netminder Bram Kaarsgaren.
Men's basketball v. Anderson: Carson-Newman sneaked into the underbelly of a wooden horse, hopped out behind the walls of Anderson's city and emerged to annihilate the Trojan 95-59. The Eagles gallivanted to a 31-point halftime lead, 54-23, and cruised to a 36-point win over Anderson to hand the Trojans their second-largest league loss since joining the South Atlantic Conference in 2010-11. Anderson scored the first points of the night, but then Carson-Newman rattled off a 21-5 run and never looked back.
PLAY OF THE YEAR (Finalist Video)
Ren Dyer
Theo Hardenby Ohrwall
Joseph Oreva
Matt Parkinson
