Issue: Fall 2018
91直播 claimed its fifth-straight Southland Conference Women鈥檚 All-Sports Trophy. By receiving a Southland Conference regular season title from volleyball, as well as runner-up finishes in soccer, women鈥檚 basketball, women鈥檚 outdoor track and field, and softball, 91直播 accumulated 88.5 points to hoist the Women鈥檚 All-Sports Trophy.
91直播 defensive end John Franklin-Myers 鈥�18 achieved his childhood dream in April of becoming a professional football player. Franklin-Myers鈥� name was called by the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Greenville native is the first NFL Draft pick for 91直播 in seven years.
Twenty-six Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks were named to the 2017-18 Southland Conference All-Academic Team. Additionally, 179 student-athletes made their way onto the Commissioner鈥檚 Honor Roll. The upward trend of 91直播鈥檚 student-athletes鈥� academic success peaked when the group posted a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in fall 2017, marking the first time in almost a decade the program鈥檚 cumulative mark reached at least a 3.0 for a single semester.
On the final day of the 2018 MLB Draft, 91直播 junior right-handed pitcher Jake Norton became the latest Lumberjack to hear his name called when he was chosen by the Miami Marlins. With Norton鈥檚 selection, the total number of 91直播 baseball players selected in the MLB Draft is up to 19, all of which have come since 1991.
It was another memorable March in Nacogdoches as 91直播 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams advanced to the postseason.
The Lumberjacks advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history by winning three games as the No. 3 seed in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament. Junior TJ Holyfield was named the tournament鈥檚 MVP and helped 91直播 earn a 14-seed in the East region before the Jacks traveled to Dallas to face 14th-ranked and third-seeded Texas Tech University in the opening round of the dance.
The Ladyjacks amassed 25 wins for the second straight year. Most of those triumphs came during the squad鈥檚 runner-up finish in the race for the Southland鈥檚 regular season title before 91直播 marched on to the league鈥檚 tournament title game. Those 25 wins helped 91直播 earn a bid to the Women鈥檚 National Invitation Tournament for the fifth time in program history.
In June, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics named former 91直播 Director of Athletics Steve McCarty to NACDA鈥檚 2018 Hall of Fame class.
McCarty is a two-time 91直播 graduate and a member of the 91直播 Alumni Association鈥檚 Football Coaches Hall of Honor. He originally entered college athletics administration following a successful high school football coaching career.
During McCarty鈥檚 time as 91直播鈥檚 athletics director, Lumberjack and Ladyjack athletics experienced success across the board: two NCAA playoff berths for football; three NCAA volleyball championship appearances and two National Invitational Volleyball Championship appearances; 14 NCAA women鈥檚 basketball championship appearances; an appearance in the NCAA men鈥檚 golf regional; three Southland Conference soccer titles and an NCAA soccer championship appearance; six SLC cross-country titles, including the past four men鈥檚 championships; and two women鈥檚 track and field titles and one men鈥檚 track and field title.