Tag: player of the year

Nichols: Lydia Ko’s Olympic gold should count toward LPGA Player of the Year race

If a gold medal is worth an LPGA Hall of Fame point, surely it’s also worth some Player of the Year points.

Lydia Ko’s magical run of late has been so dominant, one can’t help but wonder if she could possibly edge Nelly Korda for LPGA Rolex Player of the Year honors.

Korda won six of seven starts in the first half of the season and looked like a runaway for POY honors. But shouldn’t three LPGA titles, including a major, and an Olympic gold medal put Ko somewhere close?

Well, not really.

Ko actually trails Korda by 100 points in the POY race with a limited number of starts left to the season. (This week she’s competing on the KLPGA, which doesn’t count toward the race.)

Points are given for top-10 finishes only and are doubled at the majors. A victory at a regular event is worth 30 points, while it’s 60 points for a major.

Ko would have to win three more times this season plus post an additional second-place finish to have a chance. That’s if Korda fails to earn more points.

The Olympics isn’t factored into the POY race but given that Ko’s gold medal-winning performance in Paris is what got her into the LPGA Hall of Fame, that’s a bit of a headscratcher.

If a gold medal is worth an LPGA Hall of Fame point, surely it’s also worth some Player of the Year points.

2021 Olympics
Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

In 2021, Nelly Korda won four times on the LPGA, including the KPMG Women’s PGA, as well as Olympic gold in Toyko but was edged out in the POY race by Jin Young Ko.

South Korea’s Ko won five times on the LPGA that season (no majors) and took the POY based on the strength of 13 top 10s. She beat Korda by 14 points. Had Korda earned 30 points for her gold-medal performance though, she would’ve taken the honor.

Now that Ko is already in the LPGA Hall of Fame, which requires 27 points, it’s not likely that she’ll be too worried about the POY this year. But going forward, the Olympics should absolutely factor into the totality of an LPGA season.

The points system is designed to take emotion and bias out of the equation, and that’s fine. It’s hard to argue with math. But if it’s going to come down to numbers, then it’s imperative that the points structure reflects the current landscape.

There’s plenty of time to get this fixed before 2028.

Texas catcher Reese Atwood takes home Player of the Year honors

Reese Atwood is racking up the awards.

It shouldn’t be a shock to see star Texas Longhorns softball catcher Reese Atwood earn some national recognition after the season she has had.

This season for the No. 1 Longhorns, Atwood has an impressive slash line of .435 (batting average)/.505 (on base percentage)/.904 (slugging). She has set Texas single-season records with her 23 home runs and 90 RBIs, which also led the country this season. She was recently named Big 12 Play of the Year and national Player of the Year by Softball America. Now D1 Softball has also named her as their national Player of the Year.

Last season Atwood played in 58 games with 56 starts slashing .291/.313/.529. She doubled her home run and rbi output while also showing more patience at the plate with 23 walks as opposed to her three walks last season with 12 more strikeouts.

Here is what D1 Softball had to say about Atwood:

One of 2024’s best breakout stars, Atwood earns National Player of the Year honors after a stellar season. Establishing herself as one of the nation’s most feared hitters, Atwood owns a .435 batting average and a 1.409 OPS. She led top-seeded Texas with 23 home runs, nearly doubling the total of her next-closest teammate. Atwood leads the nation with 90 RBIs and has earned 33 free passes, including 23 walks and 10 hit-by-pitches. Defensively, she owns a .972 fielding percentage and has been a rock behind the plate for the Longhorns.

Texas will face off with Stanford in their first matchup of the Women’s College World Series, where they will see the D1 Softball national Pitcher of the Year, NiJaree Canady who holds an ERA of 0.65 with 310 strikeouts.

You can catch Atwood and the Longhorns in Game 3 on ESPN2. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.

Johni Broome cracks top five of On3’s SEC Player of the Year power rankings

Auburn can rely on Broome game in and game out, which is why he is considered to be one of the nation’s best players.

Auburn basketball has a reliable weapon in [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag].

Broome is a player who, no matter how well or how poorly the team plays, will lead the charge for the Tigers. He has posted nine double-doubles this season and has reached double figures in all but three of Auburn’s 22 games played to this point in the season. Defensively, he has led the team in rebounding 14 times, which includes an active stretch of seven straight games.

He is no doubt Auburn’s most valuable player, but where does he rank among the best in the SEC? On3’s Jamie Shaw considers him to be in the top five.

Shaw released his updated SEC Player of the Year power rankings, and he placed Broome in the No. 4 slot this week behind Kentucky‘s Antonio Reeves, Alabama‘s Mark Sears, and Tennessee‘s Dalton Knecht.

Night in and night out, Johni Broome pads the stat book for his Auburn team. If he is not leading the Tigers in scoring, he is leading them in rebounds or blocked shots. He leads the No. 3 team in the SEC in all three categories. In fact, his 8.8 rebounds per game leads the entire SEC, and his 2.3 blocks are second. Auburn is sitting at 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC right now, and Broome has been a constant factor all season long.

Broome is one of the top defensive players in the SEC. He leads the SEC in rebounds per game with 8.8 and is No. 2 in the SEC with 2.3 blocks per game. Offensively, his 56.3% field goal percentage is No. 2 in the conference behind Florida‘s Tyrese Samuel.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Florida baseball projected to win SEC East, Caglianone Preseason POTY

The Florida Gators are coming off a second-place finish at the College World Series in 2023, and D1Baseball expects the Gators to have another strong year.

There’s a lot to be excited about for fans of Florida Gators baseball, and the folks at D1Baseball.com are expecting another big year from the Orange and Blue.

While previewing the entire Southeastern Conference, D1Baseball managing editor Aaron Fitt picked Florida to win the SEC East ahead of Vanderbilt, Tennessee and South Carolina, in that order. Arkansas is the favorite to win the SEC West, but LSU is always in that conversation too.

Ten teams from the conference are projected to make it to regionals. In addition to the six teams listed above, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky and Texas A&M are expected to make it to the postseason.

Florida two-way star [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] is the projected Player of the Year. Caglianone set the BBCOR-era record for home runs with 33 a season ago while slashing .322/.388/.735 and driving in 90 runs. On the mound, he had his ups and downs, finishing the season 7-4 with a 4.34 earned run average.

If Caglianone can command his fastball at maximum velocity (100-plus miles per hour) and come close to the same numbers at the plate, then he’ll be the unquestioned Player of the Year in all of college baseball — not just the SEC.

Florida has a few other top draft prospects on the team. Shortstop Colby Shelton and closer Brandon Neely cracked the top-25 among 2024 draft prospects from the SEC.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Four champs crowned at breezy Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

The Forest Golf & Country Club in Ft. Meyers, Florida, hosted the event.

Three days of battling wind gusts north of 30 miles per hour and wet conditions at The Forest Golf & Country Club in Ft. Meyers, Florida, took its toll on much of the 96-man field, but four golfers were able to survive the rest to lay claim on the final Golfweek senior amateur tournament of the year.

Seniors (55-64)

Going into Thursday’s final round, Vance Welch held a two-stroke advantage over the field, sitting at 1 over for the championship.

Through 15, Welch needed to play the final three holes even par or better to close out the championship. A double bogey on No. 16 and a closing bogey on 18 saw Welch slip from the top of the leaderboard.

With the costly stumble, Ft. Meyers native Patrick Stayer slid past Welch thanks to a bogey-free final-round 71. Stayer’s final round was the only bogey-free round of the week and was also the lowest round of the tournament in the senior age division.

2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions
Patrick Stayer of Ft. Meyers, Florida, won the 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions. (Photo: Golfweek(

Golfweek No. 3 ranked, Kevin VandenBerg, was able to draw himself closer to the No. 1 spot in the Player of the Year rankings with a t-10 finish. Next week’s Society of Seniors Ralph Bogart Tournament will determine the Golfweek Senior Player of the Year as both VandenBerg and No. 2 Jon Lindstrom will be in the field. With No. 1 ranked Bob Royak not playing, Lindstrom and Vandenberg will have an opportunity to take the top spot right at the buzzer.

Super Seniors (65-69)

Steve Humphrey went into Thursday’s final round five shots back of 36-hole leader Greg Goode. Needing at least a runner-up finish to move ahead of No. 1 ranked Marcus Beck, Humphrey knew he had to play some of his best golf.

Carding an even par 72 to finish the event at 8 over par, Humphrey anxiously waited for the rest of the field to come in. Coming off of a birdie on No. 17, Goode bogeyed the 54th hole of the tournament, making way for a three-man playoff between himself, Humphrey and Mike Arter.

Knowing what was at stake, Humphrey took full advantage of the situation, winning the tournament on the second playoff hole. He not only goes home with the Tournament of Champions trophy but now sits atop the 2023 Player of the Year Super Senior rankings.

The playoff win also counts as a title defense for Humphrey who won the TOC super senior division in 2022 at PGA National.

Legends (70-74)

North Carolina’s Pete Allen goes wire-to-wire at The Forest, being one of two Legends to break 80 all three days en route to the championship win.

Nursing a four-stroke lead heading into the day, Allen coasted with a final round 79 to maintain his lead, closing the event out with a 13 over, 229 total. Vince Scarpetta and Bob Casamento tied for second place at 17 over.

Super Legends (75+)

After shooting his age or better the first two days, Gary Hardin (11 over) was able to battle the tough conditions just enough to take a wire-to-wire victory in his age bracket.

With scoring hard to come by, Hardin’s birdie-free 80 was enough to stave off Jack Marin, who finishes in second place at 14 over. John Blank (15 over), Gil Stenholm (16 over) and Henry Cole (16 over) round out the top five.

Alabama safety Caleb Downs named SEC Freshman of the Year

Safety Caleb Downs named as the SEC Freshman of the Year

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide knew that Caleb Downs was a really special player when they recruited him out of high school. Downs was the No. 1 safety in the 2023 class and the No. 8 player overall out of Mill Creek High School in Georgia.

As a true freshman this year, Downs earned a starting job in the very first game and was sensational the whole way through. He was a key contributor in a very strong Alabama secondary as he posted 99 tackles, one forced fumbles, three passes defended and two interceptions.

Downs was named to the All-SEC First-Team yesterday and today was announced as the SEC Freshman of the Year. Downs looks to be the next great DB in a program that has been littered with them.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV named preseason SEC Player of the Year as all-conference teams released

The results of the preseason media vote are in for the 2023-24 SEC men’s basketball season, and the projected all-conference teams are out.

Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV was voted the preseason choice for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year by media members ahead of the 2023-24 season, the conference announced.

The Aggies junior averaged 16.3 points and 3.9 assists in 28.7 minutes per game last season. He scored 25 or more points four times last season, including two of his final five games as Texas A&M reached the conference tournament final. He shot 39.6% from the floor and 35.6% from behind the arc.

The voters also assembled the projected all-conference teams ahead of the season. Seven players were named to the first team, including Taylor IV,

Eight of the 14 teams in the conference had at least one representative among the 12 honorees. Four SEC teams had multiple players selected for one of the two teams: Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas.

Here’s who the voters think will be the best players in the conference this season.

Preseason All-SEC First-Team

Position Player Team
G Wade Taylor IV Texas A&M
G Santiago Vescovi Tennessee
G Justin Edwards Kentucky
F Tolu Smith Mississippi State
F Johni Broom Auburn
F Trevon Brazile Arkansas
F Grant Nelson Alabama

Preseason All-SEC Second Team

Position Player Team
G Mark Sears Alabama
G Davonte Davis Arkansas
G Riley Kugel Florida
G Antonio Reeves Kentucky
G Zakai Zeigler Tennessee

Stanford’s Rose Zhang, Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent win Golfweek’s 2022-23 Player of the Year honors

Check out Golfweek’s college golf Players of the Year.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”b5b22055-8c69-4186-8375-d8426b37ec56″ cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

The 2022-23 college golf season is complete, which means it’s time to continue handing out postseason awards.

A pair of veteran teams took home the trophies from Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the championships were contested for a third and final time of a three-year deal. In the individual competitions, there were big come-from-behind victories on both sides, as well, including from one of the best college golfers in history.

However, when it comes to the Player of the Year conversation, there are two who played their way to the top, and they’ve been selected as the Golfweek 2022-23 Players of the Year.

Golfweek selects men’s and women’s All-America teams and honorable mention selections, as well as Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year.

College: Golfweek’s 2022-23 Coaches of the Year

Here’s a look at Golfweek‘s 2022-23 Players of the Year and a look at past winners.

Alabama’s Brandon Miller named SEC Player and Freshman of the Year

SEC coaches vote Brandon Miller as the SEC’s 2022-2023 Player and Freshman of the year

No player in the Southeastern Conference had a better season in 2022-2023 than the Alabama Crimson Tide’s Brandon Miller. For his outstanding efforts, Miller has been named the SEC men’s basketball Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by the coaches in the conference.

From start to finish, Miller has been the best player in the conference so it is awesome to see him rewarded as such. The Tide will need him to have an outstanding couple of days this weekend if they want to claim the SEC Tournament championship and a one-seed in March Madness.

In 31 games this season, Miller averaged 33.5 minutes, 19.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists and shot 45.3% from the field. He will certainly be a lottery pick and is on his way to being a superstar in the NBA. Alabama has been fortunate to have him so fans should enjoy what are expected to be his last few games in Crimson and hope for a deep run in March.

[mm-video type=video id=01gtasrz3wh414aj7t5d playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gtasrz3wh414aj7t5d/01gtasrz3wh414aj7t5d-7547a119b8728d1ffbf5b69d9e788849.jpg]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

2023 Senior Amateur season tees off in Tampa at Golfweek Senior Player of the Year Classic

The quest for Player of the Year honors commenced Monday at Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club in Florida.

The 2023 Golfweek senior amateur season is officially underway. 

The quest for Player of the Year honors commenced Monday at Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Florida. But first, let’s take a moment to honor the four men who earned Player of the Year honors in 2022.

Senior division player of the year Rusty Strawn had a fantastic 2022. The Georgia native began his year with a win at the Florida Senior Azalea in March. Picking up another win at the Senior Trans-Miss, Strawn took down fellow Georgian Doug Hanzel in the U.S. Senior Amateur.

Not done yet, Strawn followed the USGA major victory with a win North of the border, winning the Canadian Senior Amateur a week later. Capping off his 2022 season with a winning captaincy at the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup, Strawn ran away with Player of the Year in the senior division.

Super Senior Marc Fried, like Strawn, had a dominant 2022. Starting his season with three straight top-five finishes, Fried built momentum towards a winning effort at the U.S. Super Senior National Championship. Per AmateurGolf.com, Fried’s worst finish on the year was T-18 in 17 starts.

Pennsylvania native Don Donatoni nabbed Legend player of the year honors thanks in part to a win at the Super-Senior Amateur. Playing strongly throughout the year at Golfweek events, the 74 -year-old was able to secure the top spot at year’s end.

After a season that included a win at the Golfweek Senior National Invitational, John Blank earned the Super Legend player of the year honor.

With all four age division winners and 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner Joe Pavoni, all honored on Monday, the 2023 race for Player of the Year is officially underway.

Mike Finster leads the senior division through round 1. The Florida native carded the lone under-par score of the day with a 1 under 71. Georgia’s Danny Nelson lurks two shots back at 1 over while Rusty Strawn is in a two-way tie for third after posting an opening 74.

In the Super Senior division, it’s Marcus Beck holding a two-shot lead at 3 over. An even par front nine was marred by a lone double bogey on the par-5 15th. Mike Poe and Steve Humphrey matched each other with 77s to finish the day two back of Beck.

Arkansas’s Bev Hargraves impresses with an opening 4 over 76. With 36 holes left to play, Hargreaves will have to be weary as Don Donatoni trails by just one shot.

In the 75+ age bracket, Gene Bingman commands an early lead. The super legend carded an 8 over 80 to take a one shot lead over Gil Stenholm.

Round two of the Golfweek Senior Player of the Year Classic continues on Tuesday. For more information on how to play Golfweek events, click here.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01f5k5vfbhv59szck1 image=]