BATON ROUGE – The 2019-20 season for LSU’s student-athletes kicked off on Sunday evening with The Mikey Awards sponsored by LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation (TAF), Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes (CCACSA) and the LSU Athletics Department. The celebration at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center recognized the academic accomplishments and athletic achievements of LSU student-athletes during the 2018-19 season.
The evening began with 217 student-athletes being honored with the LSU Scholar-Athlete Medallion. Medallions were presented to student-athletes who were a member of the SEC Honor Roll, an LSU Director’s Cup Award for Academic Excellence winner, or a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society during the 2018-19 season.
Throughout the evening a variety of awards were presented with TAF honors being selected by the TAF Board of Directors, while the Mikey Awards were selected by the LSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members who represent LSU’s 21 athletics teams.
The 2018-19 Tiger Cup was awarded to the Beach Volleyball team for the most production in the areas of competitive success, academic accomplishment and community service participation. The No. 3 team in the nation also earned the Community Service Cup for dedicating the most hours in service of the local community with 660 hours and claimed the highest team grade point average with a 3.532 for a women’s program. Overall, LSU student-athletes contributed 4,573 hours of community service during the 2018-19 academic year.
The Men’s Golf team recorded the top team GPA among the men’s programs at 3.485. Thirteen student-athletes were presented with the Wally Pontiff Jr. Academic Excellence Honor, while nine graduate students received the Bengal Belles Academic Achievement Honor.
The TAF Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to gymnast Sarah Finnegan and sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson.
Finnegan was crowned the National Champion on Uneven Bars and earned the coveted AAI Award as the top senior gymnast in the nation. She is a 2019 Honda Award Finalist and LSU’s nominee for NCAA Women of the Year. She was a five-time All-American and the second gymnast in LSU history to earn a perfect 10 in three different events.
Richardson was the top scorer at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a gold medal in the 100-meter race, silver in the 200-meter and anchored the 4×100 relay team that earned silver. At the NCAA meet, she set the collegiate record in the 100 meters, set two U20 world records (100 meter dash & 200 meter dash), and finished the meet with 20 points scoring in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meter relay. Richardson is the second woman in LSU history to be a finalist for the prestigious The Bowerman Award.
The TAF Male Athlete of the Year Mikey was awarded to linebacker Devin White and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis.
White was a 2018 Consensus All-American and was named a Permanent Team Captain for the LSU Football Team. He led the SEC in tackles and became LSU’s first recipient of the Butkus Award, which is an award given to the best linebacker in college football. White was drafted fifth overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Duplantis re-wrote the NCAA and LSU Record Books in pole vault. He set the collegiate records in both the indoor and outdoor seasons on his way to earning the NCAA gold in indoors and silver in outdoors. He became the World Junior Record Holder in the pole vault, ranking number four in the world overall. Duplantis became the first man in LSU track and field history to be named a finalist for The Bowerman Award. He swept the indoor and outdoor pole vault titles at the SEC Championships, and set both the indoor and outdoor collegiate records in the pole vault.
Richardson and Duplantis also took home the Mikey Awards for Female and Male Rookie of the Year in 2018-19.
Finnegan also captured the Mikey Award for Female Record-Breaking Performance. Finnegan had no shortage of record-breaking performances throughout her amazing gymnastics career. As a senior, Finnegan shattered the school record with 14 wins and set the LSU single-season beam records with 11 crowns. She then went on to earn her second National Title on bars with a score of 9.95, becoming the fourth gymnast in school history to win multiple championships. She also won four SEC Titles to set the LSU record for most wins at a meet.
On the men’s side, LSU Baseball legend Antoine Duplantis took home the Mikey for Male Record-Breaking Performance. Duplantis set the LSU career hits record during the 2019 NCAA Regionals. Over a 269-game career, Duplantis notched 359 hits for the Purple and Gold.
The Eye of the Tiger Award was presented to a team for the first time in the history of the award. The award is presented to a current or former LSU student-athlete(s) who has overcome great adversity to accomplish their academic and/or athletic goals with perseverance, dedication and determination. The Men’s Basketball team faced adversity of the toughest kind in 2018-19 with the loss of teammate Wayde Sims last September. In the end, the Tigers persevered by winning the SEC Regular Season Championship and making a run all the way to the Sweet 16 with Number 44 by their side the whole way.
Men’s basketball player Skylar Mays took home the TAF Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Mays carries a 3.966 grade point average in kinesiology. He has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times and was a 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team selection. He is also a two-time Jesse Owens Student-Athlete Award winner and was an All-SEC Second Team selection in 2018-19.
The TAF Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year was indoor and beach volleyball player Olivia Beyer. Beyer had a 4.115 grade point average while majoring in nutrition and food sciences. She was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times and was a 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team honoree.
The CCACSA recognized several student-athletes for their volunteerism and leadership during their time as a Tiger.
Gymnast Lexie Priessmann and snapper Blake Ferguson earned the Female and Male Leadership Awards. The award is presented to student-athletes who exemplify leadership through every facet of the student-athlete experience and have shown a commitment to not only inspire and motivate their teammates and other student-athletes, as well as other people on campus and in the community.
Swimmers Kate Zimmer and Keagan Finley were named the Volunteers of the Year by the CCACSA staff. Zimmer spent over two hundred hours doing a variety of community service throughout the season. She spent the majority of her time in the fall as a volunteer at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, while the spring saw a large commitment of time fostering at the Companion Animal Alliance. She also worked as a childcare volunteer at Progression Church. Zimmer also helped out at Art in the Park at City Park in Baton Rouge and the annual Halloween Boozar. Finley works with the Cannonballs for Kayne Foundation, a foundation started by his brother Kayne, a former LSU swim team manager, and was instrumental in the foundations newest initiative, The Cannonballs Across America Campaign, a 40-day, 4,000-mile cross country bike ride that brought awareness to a need for more research funding to find a cure for childhood brain cancer. He also spent time volunteering at the Louisiana School for the Blind and with the Tigers Aquatic Program.
The Mikey Award for Female Play of the Year paved the way for the LSU Soccer team to win its first ever SEC Championship. Shannon Cooke scored the game-tying goal against Arkansas in the Championship game from 40-yards out. The goal pushed the game to penalty-kicks, which LSU won 4-1 to capture the conference tournament crown.
The Male Play of the Year was hard to ignore as it resulted in a dramatic last second victory for the LSU Football team against Auburn. The Mikey was awarded to Cole Tracy for his last-second, game-winning field goal from 42-yards out to secure at 22-21 victory at Auburn.
With the addition of a gold-carpet entrance to the evening’s festivities, the crowd and fans had the opportunity to vote on Twitter for the Best-Dressed Male and Female Student-Athletes. The 2019 Mikey Awards Best Dressed winners were Sarah Edwards from the gymnastics team and Dylan Peebles from the men’s track & field team.
Classes for the 2019 Fall semester at LSU begin on Monday, August 26.
2019 The Mikey Awards Winners
Female Athletes of the Year – Sarah Finnegan, gymnastics; Sha’Carri Richardson, track & field
Male Athletes of the Year – Mondo Duplantis, track & field; Devin White, football
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Olivia Beyer, volleyball and beach volleyball
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Skylar Mays, men’s basketball
Female Rookie of the Year – Sha’Carri Richardson, track & field
Male Rookie of the Year – Mondo Duplantis, track & field
Female Record-Breaking Performance of the Year – Sarah Finnegan, gymnastics
Male Record-Breaking Performance of the Year – Antoine Duplantis, baseball
Female Play of the Year – Shannon Cooke, soccer
Male Play of the Year – Cole Tracy, football
Female Volunteer of the Year – Kate Zimmer, swimming & diving
Male Volunteer of the Year – Keagan Finley, swimming & diving
Female Leadership Award – Lexie Priessman, gymnastics
Male Leadership Award – Blake Ferguson, football
Female Best-Dressed Award – Sarah Edwards, gymnastics
Male Best-Dressed Award – Dylan Peebles, men’s track & field
Female Top Team Grade Point Average – 3.532, Beach Volleyball
Male Top Team Grade Point Average – 3.485, Men’s Golf
Community Service Cup – Beach Volleyball
Eye of the Tiger Award – Men’s Basketball
Tiger Cup – Beach Volleyball
Wally Pontiff, Jr. Academic Excellence Award
The Pontiff Award, established in 2003, is given each year to undergraduate student-athletes who have completed a minimum of 54 credit hours and are carrying at least a 3.90 grade point average.
Ashley Allmer, beach volleyball
Olivia Beyer, volleyball and beach volleyball
Jeni Clark, beach volleyball
Nicole Decker, beach volleyball
Emma Grace Goldman, soccer
Alarii Levreault-Lopez, men’s swimming & diving
Erika Lewis, women’s track & field
Skylar Mays, men’s basketball
Mitchell Petras, men’s swimming & diving
Sven Saemundsson, men’s swimming & diving
Ellie Weber, soccer
Kate Zimmer, women’s swimming & diving
Anna Zwiebel, volleyball
Bengal Belle Academic Achievement Award
The Bengal Belle Award was created to recognize the achievement of student-athletes who completed their undergraduate degrees and are currently pursuing or have completed their master’s degrees while representing LSU as a student-athlete on their respective fields of competition and are maintaining at least a 3.0 grade point average.
Caitlin Broadwell, beach volleyball
Caroline Brockmeier, soccer
Joe Burrow, football
Blake Ferguson, football
Lindsay Flory, volleyball
Taryn Kloth, beach volleyball
Toni Rodriguez, beach volleyball
Amanda Sanchez, softball
Cole Tracy, football
Scholar-Athlete Medallions (217 total)
Medallion honorees must meet one of the following criteria:
* SEC Academic Honor Roll (189)
# LSU Director’s Cup Award for Academic Excellence (192)
! Chi Alpha Sigma induction – National College Athlete Honor Society (71)
Matthew Beck, baseball *#
Cade Beloso, baseball *#
Brandt Broussard, baseball *
Giovanni DiGiacomo, baseball *#
Antoine Duplantis, baseball *
Saul Garza, baseball *#
Caleb Gilbert, baseball *#!
Rye Gunter, baseball *#
Cole Henry, baseball *#
Zack Hess, baseball *#
Hal Hughes, baseball *#
Easton McMurray, baseball *#
Josh Smith, baseball *#
Ashley Allmer, beach volleyball *#!
Tatum Ballard, beach volleyball *#!
Caitlin Broadwell, beach volleyball #!
Jeni Clark, beach volleyball *#!
Allison Coens, beach volleyball *#
Claire Coppola, beach volleyball *#!
Megan Davenport, beach volleyball *#!
Nicole Decker, beach volleyball *#!
Hunter Domanski, beach volleyball *#
Melia Lindner, beach volleyball #!
Kristen Nuss, beach volleyball *#!
Olivia Powers, beach volleyball *#!
Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope, beach volleyball *
Alexis Toney, beach volleyball #
Savannah Wininger, beach volleyball *#!
Kahlee York, beach volleyball *#
Avery Atkins, football *#
AJ Aycock, football #
Myles Brennan, football #
Colby Brunet, football *#
Joe Burrow, football *#
K’Lavon Chaisson, football *#
Lloyd Cole, football #
Breiden Fehoko, football *#
Blake Ferguson, football *#!
Jack Gonsoulin, football *#!
Josh Growden, football *#!
Todd Harris Jr., football *
Kenan Jones, football *#
Rashard Lawrence, football *
Michael Martin, football #
Andre Sale, football *
Tiger Scheyd, football *#
Turner Simmers, football *#
Cole Tracy, football *#
Zach Von Rosenberg, football *
Julianna Cannamela, gymnastics *#
Rebecca D’Antonio, gymnastics #!
Christina Desiderio, gymnastics *#
Sami Durante, gymnastics *#
Sarah Finnegan, gymnastics *#
Olivia Gunter, gymnastics *#!
Ruby Harrold, gymnastics *#!
McKenna Kelley, gymnastics *#
Ashlyn Kirby, gymnastics *#!
Gracey Standley, gymnastics #!
Marshall Graves, men’s basketball #
Skylar Mays, men’s basketball *#!
Will Reese, men’s basketball *#
Philip Barbaree, men’s golf *#!
Garrett Barber, men’s golf *#
Luis Gagne, men’s golf *#
Drew Gonzales, men’s golf *#!
Nathan Jeansonne, men’s golf *#
Michael Sanders, men’s golf *#
Carter Toms, men’s golf *#!
Hayden White, men’s golf *#
Trey Winstead, men’s golf *#
Chris Woollam, men’s golf *#
Juan Celaya-Hernandez, men’s swimming & diving *#
Dakota Hurbis, men’s swimming & diving *#
Jack Jannasch, men’s swimming & diving *#
Harrison Jones, men’s swimming & diving *#
Cameron Karkoska, men’s swimming & diving *#
Alarii Levreault-Lopez, men’s swimming & diving *#!
Karl Luht, men’s swimming & diving *
Matt McClellan, men’s swimming & diving #
Braden Nyboer, men’s swimming & diving *#!
Mitchell Petras, men’s swimming & diving *#!
Michael Petro, men’s swimming & diving *#
Luca Pfyffer, men’s swimming & diving *#
Sven Saemundsson, men’s swimming & diving *#!
Thomas Smith, men’s swimming & diving *#!
Miguel Velasquez, men’s swimming & diving *#
Malik Bhatnagar, men’s tennis *#
Boris Kozlov, men’s tennis *#
Shane Monroe, men’s tennis *#
Agie Moreno, men’s tennis #
Nikola Samardzic, men’s tennis *#
Ruy Teixeira, men’s tennis *#
Joey Thomas, men’s tennis *#
Rafael Wagner, men’s tennis *
Nick Watson, men’s tennis *#
Garrett Hamilton, men’s cross country *
Kyle Montgomery, men’s cross country *#
Jace Attuso, men’s track & field *#!
Jared Cyprian, men’s track & field #
Mondo Duplantis, men’s track & field *#
Andre Girouard, men’s track & field *#
Charles Klous, men’s track & field #
Patrick Klous, men’s track & field #
Thomas Laville Jr., men’s track & field #
Harrison Martingayle, men’s track & field *!
Josef Schuster, men’s track & field *#!
Adam Wise, men’s track & field *#
Gabbie Angelle, soccer *
Caroline Brockmeier, soccer *!
Tiana Caffey, soccer *
Shannon Cooke, soccer *
Hannah Cuneo, soccer *#!
Marlena Cutura, soccer *
Lindsey Eaton, soccer *#
Haley Garrett, soccer *#!
Emma Grace Goldman, soccer *#!
Raven Guerrero, soccer *
Courtney Henderson, soccer *#
Meghan Johnson, soccer *#
Afrah Khan, soccer #
Sydney Lau, soccer *#
Makenzie Maher, soccer *#
Maddison Martin, soccer *#
Lucy Parker, soccer *#!
Chiara Ritchie-Williams, soccer *#!
Alex Thomas, soccer *
Molly Thompson, soccer *#
Aliyah Andrews, softball *#
Sydney Bourg, softball *#!
Georgia Clark, softball *#
Morgan Cummins, softball *#
Amanda Doyle, softball *#!
Ali Kilponen, softball *#
Amanda Sanchez, softball *#
Michaela Schlattman, softball *#
Becca Schulte, softball *#!
Amber Serrett, softball *#!
Savannah Stewart, softball *#
Elyse Thornhill, softball *#!
Claire Weinberger, softball *#
Shelby Wickersham, softball *#
Olivia Beyer, volleyball *#!
Raigen Cianciulli, volleyball *#!
Lindsay Flory, volleyball *#!
Whitney Foreman, volleyball *
Katie Kampen, volleyball *#!
Leigh Maher, volleyball *
Sydney Mukes, volleyball *#!
Toni Rodriguez, volleyball *#!
Milan Stokes, volleyball *#
Anna Zwiebel, volleyball *#!
Faustine Aifuwa, women’s basketball #
LaToya Ashman, women’s basketball *
Jailin Cherry, women’s basketball *
Khayla Pointer, women’s basketball *#
Rakell Spencer, women’s basketball *
Mary Frances Chauvin, women’s golf *#
Monica Dibildox, women’s golf *#
Kathleen Gallagher, women’s golf *#!
Kendall Griffin, women’s golf *#!
Marina Hedlund, women’s golf *#!
Page Morehead, women’s golf *#
Alden Wallace, women’s golf *#
Raleigh Bentz, women’s swimming & diving #
Sophia Bisch, women’s swimming & diving #!
Clayton Black, women’s swimming & diving #!
Jolie Blodgett, women’s swimming & diving *#
Lizzie Cui, women’s swimming & diving #
Helen Grossman, women’s swimming & diving *#!
Alexandria Ham, women’s swimming & diving *#!
Kit Hanley, women’s swimming & diving *#!
Alyssa Helak, women’s swimming & diving *#!
Lia Joslin, women’s swimming & diving *
Cassie Kalisz, women’s swimming & diving *#
Rileigh Knox, women’s swimming & diving *#
Natalie Kucsan, women’s swimming & diving *#
Allie McDaid, women’s swimming & diving *#
Olivia Paskulin, women’s swimming & diving #
Gabrielle Pick, women’s swimming & diving *#
Nicole Rozier, women’s swimming & diving *
Summer Spradley, women’s swimming & diving *#
Brittany Thompson, women’s swimming & diving *#
Lauren Thompson, women’s swimming & diving *#
Anne Tuxen, women’s swimming & diving *#
Aimee Wilson, women’s swimming & diving *#
Kate Zimmer, women’s swimming & diving *#!
Paris Corley, women’s tennis *#
Anna Loughlan, women’s tennis *#
Ashton Rabalais, women’s tennis #!
Eden Richardson, women’s tennis *#
Luba Vasilyuk, women’s tennis *#
Monica Guillot, women’s cross country *#
Caroline Saucier, women’s cross country *#!
Jennifer Bennett, women’s track & field #
Hannah Bourque, women’s track & field *#!
Heather Cizek, women’s track & field *#!
Kristin Delgado, women’s track & field *#!
Amber Desselle, women’s track & field *#
Sara Funderburk, women’s track & field *#!
Lisa Gunnarsson, women’s track & field *#
Kortnei Johnson, women’s track & field *#
Annie Jung, women’s track & field *#!
Molly McHale, women’s track & field *#
Rachel Misher, women’s track & field *#
Cori Mitchell, women’s track & field *#!
Caroline Odinet, women’s track & field #
Abby O’Donoghue, women’s track & field *#
Julia Palin, women’s track & field *#
Angelle Primeaux, women’s track & field *#
Allyson Seals, women’s track & field *#!
Savannah Sledd, women’s track& field #
Alicia Stamey, women’s track & field *#!
Amy Stelly, women’s track & field *#!
Kaitlyn Walker, women’s track & field *#
Amelie Whitehurst, women’s track & field *#
Jurnee Woodward, women’s track & field *#