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NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference unveiled Little Rock women's basketball's Ronjanae DeGray and Georgia Southern men's golf's Steven Fisk as its 2018-19 Athletes of the Year as a part of a night of award recognitions at the league's annual honors celebration event Monday night in New Orleans.  
 
The Sun Belt Athlete of the Year award, which annually recognizes one female and one male student-athlete, is the highest individual honor given and based on athletic performance, academic success, outstanding leadership and character.
 
"On behalf of the conference, I want to congratulate Ronjanae and Steven on receiving this honor. They epitomize what being a Sun Belt student-athlete is all about," said Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill.
 
DeGray led Little Rock to a share of the 2018-19 Sun Belt regular-season title and conference tournament title. The two-time, All-Sun Belt first-team selection averaged a team-leading 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. DeGray capped her career as a member of the school's 1,000-point club (1,234 points) and all-time leader in field goal percentage (.485) and free throw percentage (.775). In her four years playing for the Trojans, the Odessa, Texas, native was a part of four postseason tournament appearances – two NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship and two Postseason WNIT.
 
"I am very proud of the accomplishments Ronjanae has earned and this is certainly a great accomplishment for her and her team," said Little Rock women's basketball head coach Joe Foley. "Ronjanae stood out as an enthusiastic, goal-oriented basketball player who was dedicated to the game and always remained very positive. It was through that hard work and dedication that she improved and rose to the top of the Sun Belt. This is a great honor for her and her teammates who helped her achieve so much. She was and continues to be a great ambassador for our program and our school."
 
Fisk closed out his impressive career in 2018-19 with the sixth-lowest scoring average (69.03) in NCAA Division I history and a second-place individual finish at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. The Stockbridge, Ga., native earned All-America honors from PING and Golfweek and a spot on the All-Nicklaus Team. The two-time Sun Belt Golfer of the Year and three-time, All-Sun Belt first-team selection played on the United States' 2019 Walker Cup team that defeated Great Britain and Ireland and retained the cup for the first time as the visiting team since 2007.
 
"I am very proud of Steven for earning this award," said Georgia Southern men's golf head coach Carter Collins. "He has been a great representative of Georgia Southern University and the Sun Belt during his four years as a student-athlete, and he will continue to represent both during his professional career."

Additional 2018-19 honors recognized at the Sun Belt Honors Celebration:
 
GRADUATION ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Appalachian State was honored with the Overall Student Graduation Rate Award and Georgia State was honored with the Overall Student-Athlete Graduation Rate Award. Georgia State earned its award for the fourth time in five years.
 
The conference also recognized institutions that achieved higher student-athlete graduation rates than their respective student bodies – Little Rock, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, UTA, Texas State and Troy.
 
STUDENT-ATHLETE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AWARDS
UTA received both the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Community Service Initiative and Community Impact awards for the school's continuous work in community service activities and projects led by the Mavericks' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The UTA SAAC consistently worked throughout the academic year to go above and beyond to make a difference in the Arlington-area community.
 
POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
Georgia State women's cross country/track & field's Nuria Ramirez and Georgia Southern football's Lane Ecton were recognized for each receiving a $6,500 scholarship in June as the top recipients of the conference's Postgraduate Scholarships. Ramirez, a first-generation college student and student-athlete, is currently pursuing a Master's degree in biology at Georgia State with the goal of obtaining a Doctorate degree. Ecton is playing his final season for the Eagles on the gridiron and pursuing a Master's degree in sport management.
 
NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Appalachian State women's tennis' Jeannez Daniel and South Alabama women's soccer's Hannah Godfrey were recognized as the conference's nominees for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Daniel, who earned her master's degree in applied data analytics at Appalachian State, helped the Mountaineers to their first conference title in program history. Godfrey, a three-time All-Sun Belt selection, is pursuing her professional soccer career in England.
 
VIC BUBAS CUP
Texas State was recognized for claiming the Vic Bubas Cup, the conference's all-sport championship trophy, for the first time in school history. In 2018-19, the Bobcats won regular-season titles in volleyball, women’s soccer and baseball and conference championship titles in volleyball, women's indoor track & field and men's outdoor track & field.
 
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