LeTourneau Announces Award Winners

LONGVIEW, Texas – With the athletics season starting to wind down, the LeTourneau University Athletics Department announced its annual award winners on Monday, April 24.

Five individuals were awarded honors as some of the top student-athletes in a department that spans 15 programs. 

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: BRYSON THURSTON, MEN'S GOLF

The top player on one of the top men's golf teams in the country, senior Bryson Thurston was named the LeTourneau Male Athlete of the Year.

Thurston won two tournaments during the season, coming in back-to-back weeks during the spring season as he captured the top spot at the Pinecrest Invitational and then tied atop the leaderboard at the Texas Cup. The senior claimed four ASC Golfer of the Week honors during the year, becoming the first YellowJacket golfer to earn four ASC weekly awards in one season.

Thurston shot up the national rankings as well. He moved into the top-30 nationally in the Golfstat.com rankings and sits No. 26 currently. Thurston leads LeTourneau in scoring average and is fifth in the ASC in the category at 73.74. 

The senior has been a key member of the YellowJacket team that had its highest ranking in program history earlier this year. LeTourneau climbed to No. 9 in the Golfstat.com rankings and has been in the top-20 all season.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: MORGAN NIX, VOLLEYBALL

After producing a record-breaking season in her first year back at LeTourneau, volleyball junior Morgan Nix was named the LeTourneau Female Athlete of the Year.

The ASC Libero of the Year and first team All-ASC selection, Nix broke the program record with 693 digs for the season and had two single-match records for digs during the year. She led the ASC in digs and digs per set (6.36), while ranking in the top-five nationally in both categories. Nix was a three-time ASC Defensive Player of the Week award winner.

Her 46 digs in a four-set win over Concordia on Oct. 21 set an all-time program single-match record, while her 40 digs in a win at ETBU on Sept. 27 set the team's record in a five-set match. On the year, Nix had nine matches of 30-plus digs and had a streak of double-digit digs in 26 straight matches. 

MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: JULIAN LEE, MEN'S TENNIS

One of the top men's tennis players during his career and an outstanding student in the classroom, senior Julian Lee earns the LeTourneau Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.

Majoring in mechanical engineering, Lee holds a 3.79 GPA and is a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree while earning ASC Academic All-Conference once during his time at LeTourneau.

On the tennis court, Lee was a top player for the YellowJackets throughout his career. He was a three-time All-ASC East Division selection between singles and doubles and earned the 2022 ASC East Division Most Valuable Player award. A six-time ASC East Division Player of the Week, Lee was also the ASC East Division Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year in 2021 for men's tennis.

Lee went 44-11 in doubles, mostly at the top of the lineup, during his career at LeTourneau and had 66 total wins between singles and doubles.

FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: NATALIE DAVENPORT, VOLLEYBALL

A standout on the court and in the classroom throughout her career, senior Natalie Davenport earns the LeTourneau Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.

Now pursuing her MBA at LeTourneau, Davenport had a 3.97 GPA in business as an undergraduate student. She was a two-time ASC Academic All-Conference honoree and earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District this season.

On the court, Davenport ranks second all-time in program history in career assists with 2,254. Davenport was a two-time ASC All-East Division selection and was named the ASC East Division co-Freshman of the Year in 2019. 

R.G. LETOURNEAU LEGACY AWARD: KIERSTEN REESER, WOMEN'S SOCCER

The R.G. LeTourneau Legacy Award is given to a junior or senior student-athlete who displays Christian attitude and leadership in the classroom, on campus, in the community, and in their sport. All traits that were shown by the founder of the University, R.G. LeTourneau.

This year's honoree is women's soccer senior Kiersten Reeser.

Reeser holds a 3.76 GPA in biomedical engineering and was a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree this season and a two-time ASC Academic All-Conference selection.

She was the 2022 ASC Goalkeeper of the Year and first team All-ASC. Reeser was a three-time All-ASC selection and finished her career as the program's record holder for career shutouts and saves.

A two-time team captain for women's soccer, Reeser led team devotionals and bible studies while also being a mentor to younger players. She served the community being a part of 'GoWeek' as a Community Service Leader, Car Show Fundraiser for missions trips, ministry trip participant to Utah to minister the LDS community, and many more. Additionally, Reeser served the women's soccer team as she did laundry throughout the season.