OKLAHOMA CITY – Harding junior baseball player Davis Richardson earned the 2014-15 Great American Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year, announced Monday at the fourth annual GAC Night of Champions from the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
The league's faculty athletic representatives or designees voted on the Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. They were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Richardson became the first baseball student-athlete to take home the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. This year, he earned first-team All-GAC honors for his performance on the diamond and Capital One first-team Academic All-America accolades for his work in classroom.For the Bisons, Richardson led the team in most statistical categories, including batting average (.325), home runs (8), RBI (37), slugging percentage (.552) and on-base percentage (.460). At the GAC Championships, he secured his place on the all-tournament team when he hit two home runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning, against eventual champion Southern Arkansas.
With his Academic All-America selection, Richardson made Harding history by becoming the first Bison baseball student-athlete to land on the first team and just the third Academic All-American in program history. He completed his junior year with a 4.00 GPA in Interior Design. He won the HU Interior Design Student Lounge Design Competition.
Away from the classroom and the ballpark, he held a membership in the Harding's chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers for four years and served as its Branding Officer in 2015. He earned admittance into Harding's chapters of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and the Alpha Chi Honor Society.
Other nominees for the 2014-15 GAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award included Arkansas-Monticello senior Sharif Hudson (basketball), Arkansas Tech senior Jason Purdy (golf), East Central senior Nick Spini (baseball), Henderson State junior Tadarious Hawkins (baseball), Northwestern Oklahoma State senior Jeff Martin (baseball) Ouachita Baptist senior Kyle Lamothe (football), Southeastern Oklahoma State junior Nick Sioson (golf), Southern Arkansas junior John Miller (football), Southern Nazarene senior Blake Rodgers (soccer) and Southwestern Oklahoma State senior Dalton Daniels (baseball).
Great American Conference Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year |
Year | Scholar-Athlete of the Year | School | Sport |
2014-15 | Davis Richardson | Harding | Baseball |
2013-14 | Kevin Rodgers | Henderson State | Football |
2012-13 | Mickey Hammer | Southern Arkansas | Cross Country |
2011-12 | Travis Kincheloe | Southeastern Oklahoma State | Football |
