• OVC Scholar-Athlete Award History
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The Ohio Valley Conference has selected six individuals to receive its prestigious Scholar-Athlete Award for 2019-20. The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes and is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
The six winners were selected from a group of 19 finalists by a vote of OVC Faculty Athletics Representatives. Honorees must have performed athletically with distinction, earned at least a 3.5 grade-point average and conducted themselves in a manner which has brought credit to the student-athlete, his or her institution, intercollegiate athletics and the OVC. The award is based on academic and athletic criteria/accomplishments achieved during the 2018-19 school year.
The 2019-20 Ohio Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete winners are:
Joe Caputo of Eastern Illinois (football),
Meike Drewell of Murray State (rifle),
Nick Howie of Eastern Kentucky (baseball),
Alexa Potts of Morehead State (rifle),
James Sappington of Murray State (football) and
Kaitie Shipley of Tennessee Tech (soccer).
Joe Caputo – Caputo serves as a team captain for the Eastern Illinois football team where he plays linebacker and has been a four-year starter. As a junior he led the Panthers in tackles and ranked ninth in the OVC. In the classroom he has a 3.89 grade point average in as a double major in accounting and finance with minors in data analytics and supply chain management. In the summer of 2019 he completed a prestigious accounting internship with Price Waterhouse Coopers. That followed internships with Crowe Horwath (2018) and the Rural King corporate headquarters (2017). Caputo has been named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team, won the OVC Academic Medal of Honor and been named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and EIU Dean’s List. On campus is a member of the Student Accounting Society, the National Society of Leadership & Success and been involved in various community service activities including the Charleston Mobile Food Pantry, Illinois Special Olympics and working with local elementary schools.
Meike Drewell – Drewell is in her fourth season with the Murray State rifle team, having been a key contributor and now team captain for a program that has won three OVC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of her first three years with the program. She was named OVC Freshman of the Year and a NRA Smallbore All-American in 2017. In 2019 she placed sixth in individual aggregate score at the NCAA Championships, helping the Racers to a fourth-place team finish. At the 2019 NCAA Championship she also earned the prestigious Elite 90 award, which goes to the individual competing at the championship with the highest GPA. In the classroom she has a perfect 4.0 grade point average in business administration with a minor in non-profit leadership studies. Drewell has also been named a CoSIDA Academic All-District and a Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Scholastic All-American selection in addition to earning multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honors, OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and MSU Dean’s List selections. She is also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma and Chi Alpha Sigma honor societies. She is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Women in Business Club and active with a student-athlete Bible Study.
Nick Howie – Howie is in his fourth year with the Eastern Kentucky baseball team where he has played in 137 career games. Over his first three seasons he has been named to the OVC All-Rookie Team (2017), the All-OVC second-team (2018) and All-OVC first-team (2019). In the classroom he has a 4.0 grade point average in financial planning with a minor in personal finance. He has earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor and been named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and EKU’s Dean's List multiple times in addition to being named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2018 (third-team) and 2019 (first-team). Howie is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and works as a tutor for pre-core business classes. Away from school he is activity with Samaritan’s Feet, Habitat for Humanity, Richmond Little League, the Richmond YMCA and Richmond Kids’ Fest.
Alexa Potts – Potts serves as a team captain for the Morehead State rifle team. She has earned five All-OVC awards, including first-team honors in both smallbore and air rifle in 2018-19. In addition to establishing several school records, she has qualified for the Junior Olympics as well as the 2019 NCAA Rifle Championship in air rifle. Potts was also selected as a NRA All-American in Air Rifle as a junior. In the classroom she has a 4.0 grade point average in a double major of legal studies and history with a minor in Spanish. She has earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor and been named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and MSU Dean’s List multiple times in addition to being named a Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Scholastic All-American three times. On campus she has been the recipient of the George M. Luckey Jr. Academic Honors Scholarship, which is the highest honor a Morehead State student can achieve. The past two summers she has been an intern at Cipriani and Werner, PVC, an employment law firm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Potts is a member of the Morehead State Student Government Association (SGA), where she serves as the Attorney General. She is a member of several honor societies, has been active in various community service projects and performed in concerts with the flute ensemble at MSU.
James Sappington – Sappington began his career as a kicker before switching to tight end for Murray State. After the switch in 2018, he led the team in yards per catch (18.3) and was second on the Racers squad in total receiving yards (439) and third in receptions (24). Sappington has already completed his undergraduate degree, earning a 3.88 grade point average in business administration with a minor in public and community health. Now in graduate school, he has earned all A’s while at Murray State, as his only lower grades came while completing college credit while still in high school. Sappington earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2018 and has earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor in addition to being named to the MSU Dean’s List and President’s List multiple times. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma and Chi Alpha Sigma honors societies and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) where he has served as the Vice-President (2017-18) and President (2018-present). Sappington has taken mission trips to New York City and the Dominican Republic in addition to volunteering at a local food pantry and a nursing home while leading weekly Bible study.
Kaitie Shipley – Shipley recently concluded her final season with the Tennessee Tech soccer program, where she had been a multi-year starter and team captain in playing first the forward position followed by a move to center back. A year ago she was named a first-team All-OVC selection in adding to being voted TTU’s Team MVP by her teammates and coaching staff. Shipley has a 4.0 grade point average in exercise science and physical education with a minor in science. A year ago she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and she has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honors awards in addition to being named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She earned the 2019 President’s Award and has been a Gold Club Award recipient four times. Shipley is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Tennessee Tech University Advisory Council for Education. Over the past three years she has accumulated more than 60 hours of volunteer work including working with the Cookeville Shelter, Next Step Mission, Great Move-In Day and the Cookeville Rescue Mission as well as serving as a tutor.
Other nominees for the Scholar-Athlete Award were:
Rachel Anderson of Southeast Missouri (softball),
Sadie Anderson of Jacksonville State (volleyball),
Michael Busse of Austin Peay (golf),
Lindsey Carlson of Eastern Illinois (soccer),
Ellie Harmeyer of Belmont (basketball),
Seth Huner of Tennessee Tech (football),
Laura Heslop of Eastern Kentucky (soccer),
Hendrik Inno of Belmont (tennis),
Kaitlin Korinek of UT Martin (rifle),
Emily Moore of Austin Peay (softball),
Julia Pierson of Tennessee State (volleyball),
Ross Redmont of UT Martin (golf),
Landon Rice of Jacksonville State (football).