CSU athletes making headlines

Kaden Smith Officially Named NCAA Statistical Champion for RBIs per Game

Kaden Smith officially was named the NCAA statistical champion in Runs Batted In (RBIs) per game July 21. He finished the year with an average of 1.58 per game to lead all of NCAA Division 1 to become the first-ever statistical champion in the history of the Charleston Southern baseball program.

In Smith’s 50 games played and started during the 2025 season, he collected 79 RBIs to lead the team. He was named Second-Team All-Conference along with earned ABCA Second-Team All-Region.

Beginning in April, Smith’s offensive production reached a new level across the final seven weeks of the season as he raised his batting average by .075. Also, during this stretch of 27 contests, he batted in 52 runs for an average of nearly two per game to catapult himself onto the national leaderboards.

Along with receiving the honor, the NCAA is providing Smith and the program with a pair of plaques to commemorate the honor.

Calhoun Named Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Michael Calhoun was named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient by the Big South Conference July 21. The annual Scholar-Athletes of the Year are voted on by the Big South Sports Information Directors from a pool of each sport’s Scholar-Athlete winner during the past season. Calhoun becomes the first-ever Charleston Southern male student-athlete to receive the award in the conference’s history.

Calhoun holds a 4.0 GPA and is working on his Master of Science in biology. He recorded some of the top marks in league history in the shot put during the indoor season, as he broke and re-broke the school record in the event four times. His longest mark of 18.17m claimed him a Runner-up finish at the Big South Championships which ranks sixth all-time in the league record book. 

Calhoun was a member of the Big South’s Men’s Outdoor Track & Field All-Academic Team as well and earned a second-place finish in the shot put at the Outdoor Conference Championship. He set the CSU outdoor record in the Shot put with a mark of 17.88m at the Weems Baskin Invitational and had a PR-mark of 45.75 in the discus at the CSU Buc Open. Calhoun claimed five different podium finishes during the outdoor campaign and qualified for the NCAA East First Round in the shot put to finish his career as one of the best throwing careers in CSU track & field history.   

The Big South Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year are selected from a pool of each sport’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners announced during the regular season. On the men’s side, Calhoun finished with 33 points (three first-place votes), ahead of UNC Asheville tennis player Tarek Erlewein (24 points) and High Point track & field runner Graham Ferguson (22 points).

The annual Big South Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recipients are listed below.

MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

1995-96             Tomas Malik, Coastal Carolina (tennis)

1996-97             Tomas Malik, Coastal Carolina (tennis)

1997-98             Corey Reed, Radford (basketball)

1998-99             David Steffler, Winthrop (baseball)

1999-00             Chris Malinky, Coastal Carolina (soccer)

2000-01             Bruce Kite, Liberty (cross country)

2001-02             Mike Roach, UNC Asheville (soccer)

2002-03             Jeremy Plexico, Winthrop (baseball)

2004-05             Kevin Slowey, Winthrop (baseball)

2005-06             Patrick Colas, Radford (soccer)

2006-07             Josh Hoke, Coastal Carolina (football)

2007-08             Jack Leasure, Coastal Carolina (basketball)

2008-09             Aaron Linn, Gardner-Webb (basketball)

2009-10             Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina (baseball)

2010-11             Dusty Quattlebaum, Gardner-Webb (baseball)

2011-12             Tucker Frawley, Coastal Carolina (baseball)

2012-13             Pat Kelly, Liberty (football)

2013-14             Trey Lambert, Liberty (baseball)

2014-15             Stephen Hudgens, Radford (soccer)

2015-16             Paul O’Donoghue, High Point (track & field)

2016-17             Fraser Colmer, Radford (soccer)

2017-18             Kevin Vannatta, UNC Asheville (basketball)

2018-19             Blanton Gillespie, UNC Asheville (track & field/cross country)

2019-20             K.J. Smith, North Alabama (football)

2020-21             K.J. Smith, North Alabama (football)

2021-22             K.J. Smith, North Alabama (football)

2022-23             Victor Putter, Gardner-Webb (tennis)

2023-24             Brann Reid, UNC Asheville (tennis)

2024-25             Michael Calhoun, Charleston Southern (track & field)

FEMALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

1995-96             Angela Murphy, Coastal Carolina (cross country)

1996-97             Angela Murphy, Coastal Carolina (cross country)

1997-98             Jolene Williams, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

1998-99             Jolene Williams, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

1999-00             Jolene Williams, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

2000-01             Jeanne Lambert, Coastal Carolina (volleyball)

2001-02             Kara Koppel, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

2002-03             Kara Koppel, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

2004-05             Danielle McNaney, Liberty (track & field)

2005-06             Leslie Cook, High Point (basketball)

2006-07             Leslie Cook, High Point (basketball)

2007-08             Felicitas Mensing, Coastal Carolina (track & field)

2008-09             Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)

2009-10             Jill Nyhof, Coastal Carolina (volleyball)

2010-11             Chelsea Kelley, Radford (softball)

2011-12             Jane Savage, Gardner-Webb (softball)

2012-13             Megan Rhodes, Radford (soccer)

2013-14             Shaela Churchill, Campbell (softball)

2014-15             Teresa Williamson, Radford (track & field)

2015-16             Ashley Rininger, Liberty (basketball)

2016-17             Kelsey Rea, Campbell (track & field)

2017-18             Mackenize Koeller, Campbell (lacrosse)

2018-19             Jessica Wollmann, Radford (soccer)

2019-20             Camryn Brown, High Point (basketball)

2020-21             Carrie Reaver, Longwood (soccer)

2021-22             Grace Volk, UNC Asheville (volleyball)

2022-23             Jessica Donald, Campbell (soccer)

2023-24             Annah Junge, Charleston Southern (softball)

2024-25             Avery Jolley, Winthrop (volleyball) and Brianna Malone, High Point (track & field)