• All-Time OVC Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award Winners
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Western Illinois basketball player
Addison "Addi" Brownfield has been selected as the female recipient of the 2025-26 Ohio Valley Conference Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award.
The award is given annually to one male and one female Ohio Valley Conference student-athlete of junior or senior standing who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator Steve Hamilton. Criteria include significant athletics performance along with good sportsmanship and citizenship. The award is voted on by the Conference's athletics directors and sports information directors.
The male winner will be announced on Friday (prior to this year the award was given to just one winner but expanded in order to honor more deserving individuals).
Hamilton competed on OVC Championship teams in each baseball, basketball and track while at Morehead State. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1958 and a master's degree also from Morehead State in 1963. He went on to have an 11-year major-league pitching career and coached in the minor leagues before returning to MSU in 1976 to become head baseball coach. He held that position for 13 years and compiled a 305-275 record while leading the Eagles to five divisional championships and two OVC titles. He was named Morehead State's Director of Athletics in July 1988 and served in that position until his death in 1997. As the A.D., Hamilton led the program to success on the field, in facilities and in the classroom. During his tenure, a weight room was built, an academic counselor for athletes was added, graduation rates of student-athletes improved, and the University won the OVC Academic Achievement Banner four times. Hamilton is the only individual to play in the NCAA Basketball Championship, a Major League Baseball World Series (New York Yankees) and a National Basketball Association Championship Series (Minnesota Lakers).
On the court Brownfield helped Western Illinois to both the OVC regular season and tournament championships this season, a the Leathernecks finished 26-6 overall and 16-4 in the OVC. A four-year starter, she reached the 1,000-point career scoring plateau this season while earning All-OVC first-team honors and being named OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Overall during the year, the team captain averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.2 steals/game over 32 contests while hitting 43.8 percent from the field.
In the classroom she has earned a 3.99 GPA as a pre-med student and earned the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She was part of a WIU squad that combined for a 3.86 team GPA, the second-highest in NCAA women's basketball. She has also earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor and been named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Off the court, the native of Boonville, Missouri has served as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), organizing mental health initiatives and representing student-athletes through times of significant changes in the NCAA and at WIU. She is an active mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, building a meaningful relationship that has helped her mentee grow in confidence and connection. In addition, she volunteers with youth basketball camps, school visits, retirement home outreach and helped with Special Olympics programming in Costa Rica.
The Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award is being awarded for the 27th time in 2026. Brownfield is the first WIU student-athlete to earn the honor.
Other OVC female student-athletes nominated for the award included Eastern Illinois'
Liz Galvin (soccer), Lindenwood
Kadence Berry (track & field), Little Rock's
Kaylee Smith (volleyball), Morehead State's
M.E. Hargan (volleyball) and Tennessee State's
Sagaia Reilly (volleyball).