BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is proud to announce its 2019-20 Yellow Jacket Awards.
12 Yellow Jacket Awards are given annually to a deserving student-athlete, coach or professor. Each award is voted on by the student-athletes from the 23 intercollegiate teams.
The Yellow Jacket Awards that are voted on each year are:
Campus and Community Service Award - This award is presented to the student-athlete who exhibits a high level of involvement in the Baldwin Wallace University community and/or local community.
Sportsmanship Award - The winner of this award displays great character both on and off the field, especially while interacting with student-athletes from opposing schools. This individual exhibits a strong sense of morality, fairness, and ethical behavior – representing a model of behavior that all student-athletes should aspire to emulate.
Jerry Zemelka Yellow Jacket Male & Female Award - These award is presented to a male and female-student athlete who has acted as an inspiration to their teammates and to the athletic department as a whole. This inspiration may come in the form of unwavering sense of school spirit, the student-athlete's ability to overcome adversity, and it can be representative of this student-athlete's loyal commitment to their team. The recipient of this award exemplifies the ideals of hard work, respect, and goodwill. They are student-athlete who embraces the virtues of diversity and is involved with activities that promote harmony within their team and the Baldwin Wallace University community.
The Alan Kolp Excellence in Teaching Award - This award is presented to a full or part-time faculty member who encourages and challenges student-athletes in the classroom and also supports their athletic endeavors.
Excellence in Coaching Award - This award is presented to the coach who embodies leadership and sportsmanship and is a positive role model for student-athletes. The recipient of this award challenges and motivates his/her team to improve and strive for excellence.
Social Media All-Star - This is an award for a male or female student-athlete that shows their support and used social media to support other sports teams.
Male & Female Most Likely to Coach at BW – This award is given to the male and female student-athlete that that is most likely to become a coach at Baldwin Wallace. They show intense love for the school and show leadership that could lead to coaching at the colligate level at BW. They are true YJ4L
BW Superfan - This award is given to a male or female student-athlete that is at most events and never fails to show support to fellow athletes. They are very positive and love to attend games and cheer loud and proud. They love their brown and yellow and wear it with pride!
Rookie of the Yearc- This award is presented to a male or female first-year student-athlete that is the Most Valued First-Year Player from the athlete's perspective. They show tremendous work ethic, positive attitude, is driven to succeed and contributed greatly to the overall success of their program. Their teammates see this student-athlete as an integral member of their team.
Most Memorable Moment by a team or individual – This award is given to a team or an individual that had a moment in a game, match or meet that will go down as one of the best moments of 2019-20.
Best Dressed Coach/Staff - This award is given to the men's or women's coach or staff that is dressed to impress. Whether in athletic gear or dressed-up for game day, they show up the opponent's coaches on a regular basis!
This year's winners are senior baseball pitcher Michael Hubert (Cincinnati/Oak Hills), senior swimmer Erika Nockengost (Cuyahoga Falls), senior men's soccer forward Danny Ruple (Berea/Berea-Midpark), senior women's basketball point guard Riley Schill (Sheffield Village/Elyria Catholic), junior women's lacrosse defender Britt Bash (New Richmond /Cincinnati Country Day), junior women's basketball forward Sydney Deidrich (Chardon/Gilmour Academy), junior softball outfielder Hailey Owens (Lakewood), junior baseball infielder Luke Razzante (Highland Heights/Mayfield), sophomore women's basketball forward Megan Scheibelhut (Avon Lake/Elyria Catholic),freshman wrestler Jack Stanley (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights), men's and women's swimming and diving head coach Laura Demaline and finance professor Dr. Xudong Chen.
Hubert was named the Men's Most Likely to Coach at BW Award recipient. He made five appearances this season on the mound before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Hubert recorded 11 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. For his career, Hubert appeared in 51 games with four starts. He recorded 96 strikeouts in 109.2 innings. Off the field, he is a two-time Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection, a Dean's List Student and a Jacket Scholar.
Nockengost was selected as the Jerry Zemelka Yellow Jacket Female Award winner. She is a five-time All-OAC performer and two-time OAC Champion that earned her fourth varsity letter this winter. This season, Nockengost set three career-bests and earned two All-OAC honors. She is a member of the school-record 200-yard freestyle, the 400-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay teams. Out of the pool, the music education major is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, a Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar.
Ruple was named the Jerry Zemelka Yellow Jacket Male Award winner. He was also selected as the Male Outstanding Senior Athlete this spring. Ruple is a four-time All-OAC selection, four-time United Soccer Coaches Association All-Region selection, two-time OAC Forward of the Year award recipient and was the OAC Freshman of the Year award winner that earned his fourth varsity letter this fall. Off the pitch, he is the 2019 CoSIDA Men's Soccer Academic All-American of the Year, a four-time Academic All-Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OCSA) selection, three-time Academic All-OAC selection, three-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 first-team selection, two-time United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America selection, Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar and a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.
Schill was selected as the Sportsmanship Award recipient. She is a four-year letterwinner, three-time All-OAC selection and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American. This season, Schill was the team leader in scoring with 11.7 points per-game. She led the OAC and was ninth in Division III with .883 free throw percentage. Schill led the team and was second in the conference with 59 steals. For her career, Schill appeared in 109 games and recorded 989 points289 rebounds. She ranks tied for fifth in school-history with 325 assists and eighth in steals with 166. Off the court, Schill is a three-time Academic All-OAC selection, Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar and a member of the BW Honors Program and the Chi Alpha Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honoraries.
Bash was named the Campus and Community Service Award winner. This season, she appeared in one game and notched her first career ground ball before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. Bash has appeared in seven career games. Off the field, the neuroscience, psychology and French triple major is Dean's List student and has launched the Phycological Skills Train Program (PST) for student-athletes on campus.
Diedrich was voted as the Most Memorable Moment Award winner. She earns the award for her game-winning three-point shot to send the women's basketball team to NCAA Division III "Sweet 16". It was the only lead of the game for the Yellow Jackets. Diedrich earned her third varsity letter this winter. This season, she appeared in all 30 games and averaged 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds as a key reserve. For her career, Diedrich has appeared in 83 games and has recorded 496 points and 350 rebounds. Off the court, she is a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, Dean's List student, Jacket Scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.
Owens was named the Social Media All-Star recipient. She was the social media contributor for the women's basketball and soccer teams while also providing content for other sports and the Office of Athletic Communications. Owens appeared in eight games and tallied one hit and one run scored before the season was cut short due to COVID-19. For her career, she has appeared in 58 games and has recorded 15 hits, 11 putouts, five walks, four stolen bases three doubles and one homerun.
Razzante was tabbed as the BW Superfan Award winner. He appeared in four games before and tallied one hit, one run batted-in (RBI) and one stole base before the season was cut short due COVID 19. Razzante has appeared in 52 career games and has recorded 63 assists, 27 putouts, 19 hits, nine walks, seven RBIs, five stolen bases and one double. Off the field, he is an Academic All-OAC selection and a Dean's List student.
Scheibelhut was named the Women's Most Likely to Coach at BW Award recipient. She earned her second varsity letter this winter. This season, Scheibelhut appeared in all 30 games and recorded career-highs in rebounds with 95, points with 79, blocks 18 and steals with six. She also tied her career-best with seven assists. For her career, Scheilbelhut has appeared in 56 games and has recorded 138 rebounds, 127 points, 20 blocks, 14 assists and 11 steals. Off the court, she is an Academic All-OAC selection, Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar.
Stanley was selected as the Rookie of the Year. He is a National Wrestling Coaches Association All-American, NCAA Division III national qualifier, All-Central Region performer and an All-OAC selection that earned his first varsity letter this winter. Stanley had a 28-11 record with seven pins, one technical fall and five major decisions in his first season. He also was second on the team with 60 takedowns.
Demaline was named as the Excellence in Coaching Award winner and shared the Best Dressed Coach Award with her staff. She just completed her ninth season this winter and led the women's team to a third place finish and the men's team to a fourth place standing at the 2020 OAC Championships in which BW was the host. In her career, Demaline has as coached 28 Ohio Athletic Conference champions, five OAC Divers of the Year, 78 All-OAC performers, seven All-OAC relay teams, four national qualifiers, three NCAA Division III All-Americans, 27 OAC Swimmers/Divers of the Week, 29 Academic All-OAC student-athletes and two Academic All-Americans. In addition, 51 school-records and four OAC records have been established in her nine seasons.
Dr. Chen was selected as the Alan Kolp Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. He is completing his 13th year in the School of Business. Dr. Chen was recognized by the student-athletes for this award because he always was interested in upcoming events or past events that each of the students competed in. He has also been recognized as the BW Bechberger Award for Human Development, the BW Exemplary Teacher Award and the BW Strosacker Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Excellent Educator Award by Ohio Magazine.
