UAPB Athletics Highlight Student-Athletes in Historic Athletic Choice Awards
Pine Bluff, AR – It was a night for the student-athletes at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Monday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Several major awards were presented as UAPB honored its best in athletics and recognized its spring 2022 graduates at the annual UAPB Athletics Choice Awards.
Over 300 student-athletes, coaches, staff, and Letter-A Club members attended the annual year-end banquet for the first time in three years, as the last two events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The celebration, as always, was organized by UAPB’s Student-Athletes Academic Services along with the Strategic Communication Department.
Football standout Mark Evans II was named UAPB’s Gatorade Male Player of the Year, and Women’s Track and Field, Safiya John was named UAPB’s Gatorade Female Player of the Year.
In the second major award of the night, men’s basketball Shawn Williams was named Trotter Ford Male Athlete of the Year, and John took home her second major award of the night, winning the Trotter Ford Female Athlete of the Year.
The full list of the winners and honorees can be found below.
UAPB Athletics Choice Awards Recipients:
| Sports | Unsung Hero | Lion Club | Heart of a Lion | MVP |
| Baseball | Aiden Martinez | Carlos Rodriguez Velez | Peyton Niemann | Kacy Higgins |
| Football | Skyler Perry | Daemon Dawkins | Paul Reeves | Mark Evans II |
| Golf | Justin Lee | Patrick Mwendapole | Nikolas Pitiris | Joshua McCray |
| Men’s Basketball | Dequan Morris | Kylen Milton | Brahm Harris | Joyce Kennerson |
| Men’s Track and Field Outdoor | Stephen Lane | Che Rochford | Caleb Snowden | Deandre Fyffe |
| Men’s Cross Country | Rio Williams | Genesis Joseph | Terrance Johnson | Baron Freeman |
| Soccer | Kimberly Moss | Erin Fite | Kaitlyn Hapke | Natalie Freeman |
| Softball | Layla Stouder | Marissa Bracey | Alaina Fletcher | Sydney Green |
| Volleyball | Kaila Robinson | Zykia Jones | Kori Diego | Nikole Akamine |
| Women’s Track and Field Outdoor | Deonmonique Granville | Jaylynn Hampton | N/A | Safiya John |
| Women’s Cross Country | Sarah Medcalf | Shaunia Mcfarlane | N/A | Joanna Rogers |
| Women’s Basketball | Maya Peat | Stephanie Okowi | Takaylan Busby | Joyce Kennerson |
UAPB Gatorade Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Safiya John – Women’s Track and Field
UAPB Gatorade Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Mark Evans II – Football
Trotter Ford Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Safiya John – Women’s Track and Field
Trotter Ford Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Shawn Williams – Men’s Basketball
UAPB Athletics Female Newcomer of the Year: Zaay Green – Women’s Basketball
UAPB Athletics Male Newcomer of the Year: Shawn Williams – Men’s Basketball
Biggest Upset Award – Women’s Basketball
Teams with the Highest GPA
- Women’s Cross Country – 3.905
- Golf – 3.582
