BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tiger softball player Kristen Hobbs has been named the recipient of a 2006-07 Brad Davis Southeastern Conference Community Service Postgraduate Scholarship from LSU, it was announced by the league office.
Two $5,000 scholarships were awarded to Tennessee swimmer Brad Boswell and Florida softball pitcher Stacey Stevens. In addition, nine other male and 11 other female recipients of the Award, including Hobbs, will receive $2,000 scholarships, all provided by the SEC.
A senior from Royal Palm Beach, Fla., Hobbs has earned letters in each of her previous three seasons at LSU. After spending three years as a catcher, Hobbs has started in 21 of the Tigers’ 48 games at first base, while also earning 10 starts behind the plate and a pair of starts as the designated player this year.
Forced to miss most of the 2006 season after offseason Tommy John surgery limited her to just seven games played without a start, Hobbs is having her best year in 2007. A career .242 hitter, she is batting .312 this year with a team-best seven home runs, after having hit only two in her previous three seasons at LSU. One of three Tiger softball team captains, she has also surpassed her season-bests with 28 hits, 18 runs scored and 20 RBIs and was named the 2007 Easton Tiger Classic Most Valuable Player and the LSU Female Student-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 13.
The mass communications major is the LSU career fielding percentage record holder, having committed just four errors in over 600 chances for a .993 mark in four years. A two-time member of the SEC Good Works Team in 2005 and 2006, Hobbs has also been a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the last two seasons.
In the community, Hobbs has been active in the LSU Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills Program (Challenging Athletic Minds for Personal Success) and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This spring, she participated in the Big Buddy “Day of a Mentor” event, where she welcomed an elementary school student to campus to accompany her around for the day.
The daughter of Steve and Sue Hobbs, she joined other LSU student-athletes at River Oaks Elementary’s “Literacy Night” where she went to the school dressed in her pajamas to read Dr. Seuss stories to the children and their parents. As part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s “Strides and Rides” event, she painted her face and helped the participants and children with face painting throughout the day.
Hobbs has also been a driving force behind annual LSU community service events, including the Halloween BOOzar, the Christmas Toy Drive and visits to Our Lady of the Lake’s children’s ward. During the BOOzar, she handed out candy, signed autographs and played softball toss with the local children who came to the event. She spearheaded the softball team’s efforts for the Toy Drive, where she and her teammates raised money for toys and clothes for an underprivileged girl for Christmas.
The SEC Community Service Postgraduate Scholarship was named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner.
In addition to Boswell, the nine other male recipients are: James Gilbert, Baseball, Arkansas; Kody Bliss, Football, Auburn; Matt LaPorta, Baseball, Florida; Adam McDaniel, Baseball, Georgia; Turner Harris, Rifle, Kentucky; Tommy Baumgardner, Baseball, Ole Miss; Brad Horton, Football, Mississippi State; Thomas Hilliard, Track & Field, South Carolina; Adrian Reif, Football, Vanderbilt.
In addition to Stevens, the 11 other female recipients are: Karissa Tuthill, Diving, Alabama; Kristen Thibodeaux, Swimming, Arkansas; Lynnsey Segraves, Diving, Auburn; Claire Maust, Swimming, Georgia; Ashley Fertic, Softball, Kentucky; Kristen Hobbs, Softball, LSU; Jaclyn Toohey, Volleyball, Ole Miss; Ashleigh Korzack, Golf, Mississippi State; Kendel Fiorentino, Swimming, South Carolina; Felicia Guliford, Track & Field, Tennessee; Shannon Capps, Track & Field/Cross Country, Vanderbilt.
The SEC Community Service Postgraduate Scholarship was first presented in 1996. Past recipients include: 2006 ? Antoine Huffman, Kentucky (football) and Hannah McLeod, Arkansas (gymnastics); 2005 ? Jordan Fairclotch, LSU (baseball) and Holly Hodges, South Carolina (diving); 2004 ? Michael Boynton, South Carolina (basketball) and Virginia Pate, Georgia (swimming & diving); 2003 – Brett Kirouac, Georgia (football) and Kara Lawson, Tennessee (basketball); 2002 – Eric vanGoethem, Auburn (swimming) and Andree’ Pickens, Alabama (gymnastics); 2001 – Lance Jones, Ole Miss (baseball) and Gabby Fuchs, Florida (gymnastics); 2000 – Brett Millican, Georgia (football) and Brooke Riley, Ole Miss (soccer); 1999 – BJ McKie, South Carolina (basketball) and Carrie Kuhnell, Kentucky (soccer); 1998 – Walker Jones, Ole Miss (football) and Nicole Lees, Alabama (soccer); 1997 – Tim Lanier, LSU (baseball) and Andrea Bullock, Vanderbilt (golf); 1996 – Tony Johnson, Alabama (football) and Erin Tenbrunsel, Alabama (volleyball).