MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State University athletics turned in a tremendous year on the field and in the classroom that ascended the program back atop the SWAC by the end of the 2022-23 academic year.
 
The year resulted in winning the James Frank Commissioners Cup as the top overall Athletic program in the SWAC for the seventh time in nine years. The Women's athletic programs also captured the Sadie Magee/Barbara Jacket Award as the top women's athletic program for the ninth time in 10 years. The men's athletic program finished second in the C.D. Henry Award standings for the top men's athletic program.
 
"Our student-athletes work hard on and off the field and represent what Alabama State University Athletics is all about, Alabama State University Athletic Director Dr. Jason Cable said. "Our student-athletes and coaches are the core of what we accomplished in 2022-23. I am extremely proud of our student-athletes, coaches, and administration for all their hard work."
 
Below is a year in review for the 2022-23 Alabama State University Athletic season!
 
ATHLETICS OVERVIEW

• Won Southwestern Athletic Conference James Frank Commissioner's Cup award. Alabama State University's seventh cup in the last nine years and the first since 2018
• The women's athletic programs won the Sadie Magee/Barbara Jacket Award as the conference's top women's athletics program for the ninth time in 10 years.
• The men's athletic programs finished 2nd in the SWAC for the C.D. Henry Award for men's athletic programs. 
• Alabama State captured six (6) conference titles and now owns 121 SWAC Championships. SWAC Championships were won in volleyball (regular season), men's indoor and outdoor track, women's indoor track, and men's tennis (regular season and tournament).
• Nationally, the men's tennis team captured the HBCU National Championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Men's D1 Starkville Regional in Starkville, MS.
• Men's track's 4x100 and 4x400 qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Austin, Texas.
• The men's track 4x100 advanced to the national finals and finished 5th nationally.
• 10 Student-Athletes Earned SWAC Player of the Year Honors.
• One hundred one (101) student-athletes earned All-SWAC first or second-team honors.
• Four (4) student-athletes earned All-American honors: football (1), women's basketball (2), and baseball (1) earned All-American Honors
• 3 Student-Athletes earned All-Region honors in baseball (1) and softball (2)
• Ayana Emmanuel was named the HBCU National Player of the Year.
• Student-athletes Damien Madison, Tyree Saunders, and Nazareth Bryant were selected to attend the NCAA Career in Sports Forum. 
• Colton Adams earned All-American Honors and led the nation with 11.7 tackles per game.
• Baseball Led the NCAA in Batting Average
• Softball Led the NCAA in Stolen Bases
• Football ranked 7th in the FCS, averaging 17,394 fans per game and totaling 104,347 fans for the year.
• Three coaches earned SWAC Coach of the Year honors: Jose Vazquez (baseball), Ritchie Beene (men's and women's track and field) and Anuk Christiansz (men's tennis).

FACILITIES UPGRADES

• A new state-of-the-art turf field was installed at the New ASU Stadium
• A new ribbon board, a new video board, and an east end zone video board were installed at the New ASU Stadium.
• A new sound system was installed at the New ASU Stadium.
• A new state-of-the-art volleyball court was installed in Lockhart Gym.
• A new state-of-the-art turf field was installed at Hornet Stadium/ Houston Markham Complex.
• A new track was installed (Horace Crump Track).
• A new basketball court was installed in the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

BAMASTATESPORTS.COM AND SOCIAL MEDIA

• New BamaStateSports.com website to debut in Fall 2023.
• Website traffic averages 40K visitors per month with 66K organic searches.
• The average visitor spent 4 minutes per session on bamastatesports.com.
• Reactivated the BamaStateSports Instagram account
• Top Twitter Account followers: @BamaStateSports 19.6K, @BamaStateBB Baseball 20.5K, BamaStateFB 31K. 

ACADEMICS

• 67% Student-Athletes with 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 205 Student-Athletes finished with a 3.0 GPA.
• 15 Student-Athletes finished with a 4.0 GPA.
• Won SWAC academic award for the second straight year.
• 59 Student-Athletes participated in Fall and Spring Commencement.
• Second Class of Chi Alpha Sigma Honors 63 Student-Athletes.
• 53 student-athletes recognized by Diverse Magazine as the 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. 

REVENUE GENERATION

• 500% increase in the total number of corporate partnerships within athletics.
• 7.77% increase in total season ticket sales
• 3.83% increase in total season ticket holders.
• 13% in the overall total number of donors to athletics.
• 300% increase in the overall total amount of dollars donated to athletics.

FOOTBALL

• ASU Alum, ASU Sports Hall of Famer, and NFL Great Eddie Robinson, Jr., completed his first year at the helm of the Hornets.
• Set single-game attendance record of 31,334 on October 8, 2022.
• The Hornets finished 6-5 for the most wins since 2015.
• Alabama State defeated Howard University to win the MEAC-SWAC Challenge for the SWAC since 2017.
• Alabama State defeated Alabama A&M to win the Magic City Classic for the first time since 2018.
• Colton Adams earned All-American Honors and led the nation with 11.7 tackles per game.
• 2 Hornets earned All-SWAC Honors: Colton Adams (1st team) and Irshaad Davis (2nd team).
• 8 Hornets earned Phil Steele All-SWAC Honors: Colton Adams, Jeremiah Hixon, Andrew Ogletree, Nelson Jordan, Brandon Gaddy, Irshaad Davis, Keenan Isaac, and Santo Dunn.
• Freshman Adrian Maddox was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award and became the youngest player to intercept a pass in an NCAA game.
• Ranked 7th in the FCS, averaging 17,394 fans per game and totaling 104,347 fans for the year.
• Brandon Gaddy signed NFL free-agent contract with Pittsburgh Steelers
• Kennan Issac signed NFL free-agent contract with Tamp Bay Buccaneers

VOLLEYBALL

• Won the SWAC Regular Season Championship.
• SWAC Tournament Runner-Up.
• Participated in the NIVC Volleyball Tournament.
• 5 Alabama State women's volleyball players were selected for All-SWAC first and second teams. Kalysia Bates (1st team); Jada Rhodes, A'Nylah Cobb, Emily Brooks, and Temperance Chatman (2nd team).
• Ended the regular season on a 14-match winning streak.
• 16-match winning streak heading into the SWAC Championship match.
• Finished the year 20-15 overall and 15-1 in the SWAC. 

WOMEN'S BOWLING

• SWAC Regular season and Tournament runner-up.
• Savannah Razor SWAC Bowler of the Year and First-Team All-SWAC.
• Lyric O'Steen First-Team All-SWAC.
• Savannah Razor's 214.33 average was the highest season average in SWAC and ASU history.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

• Overall, 56 men and women student-athletes (22 indoor and 34 outdoor) earned All-SWAC honors during the Indoor and Outdoor seasons.
• The men's track 4x100 advanced to the NCAA finals and finished 5th nationally.
• Men's track's 4x100 and 4x400 qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Austin, Texas.
• Hornets won the SWAC Outdoor Track and Field title for the 3rd time under Head Coach Ritchie Beene.
• Head Coach Ritchie Beene named Men's & Women's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.
• Head Coach Ritchie Beene named Men's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.
• The Hornets and Lady Hornets broke 30 records during the SWAC Outdoor championships, including three SWAC records, two school records, 23 Personal Records (PR), and two season bests.
• The Hornets and Lady Hornets had 34 medalists - 13 gold, eight (8) silver medals, and 13 bronze.
• Taranique Alexander was named the SWAC Women's Most Outstanding Indoor Track Performer.
• Shamia Jones was named the SWAC Women's Most Outstanding Indoor Field Performer.
• The Hornets and Lady Hornets had 22 medalists during the SWAC Indoor championships, which included seven gold (first place) medals, seven silver medals (second place), and eight bronze medals (third place).
• Hornets and Lady Hornets captured the SWAC Indoor Track and Field titles.
• The men's team won their 8th SWAC Indoor, and the women's team captured their 17th SWAC Indoor title.
• Victor Smith and Vaughn DeVaughn III represented Alabama State University at the 2023 Toyota USA Track and Field Championships in the U20 division.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

• Ayana Emmanuel earned SWAC Player of the Year and BOXTOROW National Player of the Year.
• Ayana Emmanuel and Jayla Crawford were selected All-SWAC and BOXTOROW All-American honors.
• Ayana Emmanuel finished her career with 2,000 points.
• Jayla Crawford finished her ASU career with 1,744 points.
• Shmya Ward joined the ASU 1,000-point club.
• Alabama State went 16-15 and 12-6 in the SWAC and advanced to the SWAC Tournament Semifinals.
• 71.9 Free Throw Percentage ranked 1st in the SWAC
• Ayana Emmanuel ranked first in the SWAC in five categories: Free Throw Percentage, Free Throw Attempts, free throws made, total points scored, and points per game average. 

BASEBALL

• Won school record 41 games and won the SWAC East Division for the 6th time in 8 seasons.
• Became the 5th team and the first since 2002-03 to win 40-plus games in a season.
• Head Coach Jose Vazquez named SWAC Coach of the Year
• Head Coach Jose Vazquez earned his 200th win in the first round of the SWAC Baseball Tournament.
• Head Coach Jose Vazquez was selected to the coaching staff of the USA Collegiate National Team and was named the SWAC Coach of the Year.
• Led the NCAA with 332 team batting average.
• Alabama State ranked 1st or 2nd in the SWAC in 18 statistical categories.
• Omar Melendez was the first-ever player from Alabama State to play for the USA Collegiate National Team.
• Omar Melendez was named SWAC Pitcher of the Year and was named to 3 All-American Teams.
• Jamal George was the SWAC Freshman of the Year, earning Freshman All-American honors.
• Omar Melendez, Jamal George, Randy Flores, Ian Matos, Luis Rodriguez, Ali Lapread, and Corey King represented Alabama State University at the inaugural HBCU Swingman Classic in July.
• Randy Flores was honored as the first-ever MVP for the HBCU Swingman Classic.
• Randy Flores, Omar Melendez, Ian Matos, Kyler McIntosh, and Jamal George earned All-SWAC honors.

SOFTBALL

• Won school record 30 games, including an ASU record 28 regular season victories.
• Beat ACC opponent Georgia Tech on April 19, 2023.
• Led the NCAA with 3.4 stolen bases per game.
• Kindall DeRamus was named the SWAC Player and Hitter of the Year.
• Kindall DeRamus led the SWAC in home runs.
• Kindall Deramus finished in the top ten for NCAA stolen bases.
• Bailey Greenlee was named the SWAC Pitcher of the Year.
• Kindall DeRamus and Bailey Greenlee earned NFCA All-Region honors.
• 5 Lady Hornets earned All-SWAC honors, including Kindall DeRamus and Bailey Greenlee, Jaeda Gardner (2B), Madison Myers (DP), and Alexia Denby.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

• TJ Madlock was named SWAC Newcomer of the Year.
• Led the SWAC with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game (20th NCAA) and ranked 3rd with 36 rebounds per game.
• 13.4 turnovers per game, 3rd fewest in the SWAC.

MEN'S TENNIS

• Won HBCU National Championship.
• Won the SWAC Regular Season for the sixth straight year.
• Won the SWAC Tournament title for the second straight year.
• Head Coach Anuk Christiansz named the SWAC Coach of the Year.
• Juan Rodriguez was named the SWAC Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.
• Advanced to the NCAA D1 Starkville Regional in Starkville, Miss.
• David Jeanne Grandinot was named the SWAC Player of the Year
• Six (6) student-athletes earned All-SWAC honors: Ruan Du Preez, Matis Amier, Kristofer Johnson and Juan Rodriguez, and Samrakshyak Bajracharya. 

WOMEN'S TENNIS

• Posted a 7-2 SWAC Record and made the SWAC Tournament Semifinals.
• Six (6) student-athletes earned All-SWAC honors: Sahra Bouchaala, Bea Acena and Francesca Duca, Lizaveta Demchenko, Urska Velec and Timothee Legaud. 

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

• Women's Cross Country finished 4th at the SWAC Championships.
• Men's Cross Country finished 7th at the SWAC Championships.
• Shamia Jones earned All-SWAC (2nd-Team) honors.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

• Elli Higashi earned All-SWAC (2nd-Team) honors.
• Finished the season 4-2-3 SWAC record and earned a berth in the SWAC Quarterfinals.

MEN'S GOLF

• Alabama State finished 2nd at the 2023 SWAC Golf Championships.
• Alabama State finished 2nd at the 2023 SWAC Golf Championships.

WOMEN'S GOLF

• Thayika Kittiyanaruewat and Teresas Diez Dorta earned All-SWAC Women's Golf honors at the 2023 SWAC Women's Golf Championships.
• Katie Robinson recently won low medalist at the Women in Golf Foundation Collegiate Championship earning an exemption into the Ladies Professional Golf Association PAT.
• 2 Lady Hornets earned All-SWAC honors: Teresa Diez Dorta and Thayika Kittiyanaruewat.