NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced the seven student-athletes selected to receive 2021 Sun Belt Conference Postgraduate Scholarships.South Alabama's Susanna Pudner (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field) and Georgia Southern's Pascal Wagemaker (Men’s Tennis) were the top awardees and will each receive a $6,500 scholarship. Louisiana’s Alex Hannie (Baseball) and Julianne Deblieux (Women’s Soccer), along with Jonathan Ifedi of Georgia State (Football), Isaac Murdock of Coastal Carolina (Men’s Track and Field) and Sara Betts of Arkansas State (Volleyball), will each be awarded $3,000 scholarships. 

"We are so proud of the accomplishments of these exemplary Sun Belt student-athletes and are pleased to provide financial assistance so that they can continue their education beyond their undergraduate degree," said Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill.

In conjunction with the Sun Belt’s Fall Meeting, Pudner and Wagemaker will be recognized at the Honors Banquet, along with the other postgraduate scholarship recipients, on Nov. 2, in Atlanta.

The scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes with stated intentions to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements and are sent directly to the graduate school of each recipient's choice. The recipients are selected by the Sun Belt Postgraduate Scholarship Committee, which is comprised of Faculty Athletic Representatives from across the conference.
  
TOP FEMALE POSTGRADUATE AWARD WINNER
Susanna Pudner, South Alabama (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Pudner recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in biology and minor in psychology, with a 3.98 grade point average. Pudner is set to begin her postgraduate studies at Utah in the fall and will be pursuing a Master’s degree in genetic counseling. The Auburn, Ala., native has been recognized on the Sun Belt’s Conference Commissioner’s list and South Alabama’s Dean’s List every year since 2017.

Despite a rigorous course load and competition schedule, Pudner made time to volunteer consistently. She worked as a crisis counselor and patient advocate at the Lifelines Counseling Rape Crisis Center in Mobile, Ala., fundraised for the Huntington Disease Society of America and served as a student mentor at her campus.
 
Named to the All-Sun Belt third team at the league championship in 2020, Pudner’s collegiate running career was highlighted by achieving personal best times throughout each season. She has recorded 13 top-10 finishes for the Jags’ track and field and cross country programs. Most recently, Pudner ran a lifetime best of 4:47.72 in the 1500m at the USA Invitational.
 
TOP MALE POSTGRADUATE AWARD WINNER
Pascal Wagemaker, Georgia Southern (Men’s Tennis)
Wagemaker graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in mathematical sciences, with a perfect 4.0 GPA. A spring 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District and 2020 Georgia Southern President’s List selection, Wagemaker will be pursuing a Master’s degree in business analytics and information management at Georgia Tech. A native of Zuid-Scharwoude, Netherlands, he was also named to the 2018-19 Sun Belt Commissioner’s List.

Wagemaker served as a treasurer for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for three semesters and was the youngest person in the last 10 years to assume the role. He also joined the Eagles’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) while holding a leadership role for NASA Mirco-g NExT team, a competition where teams propose design and prototyping of a tool or simulant identified by NASA engineers as necessary in space exploration missions.  

On the court, Wagemaker was named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week (Jan. 29, 2020). That season he led the team in singles play with a 13-4 record including 11 consecutive wins in the three-position in his junior year. His senior season, Pascal ascended to the number one spot for the Eagles.
 
POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS
Alex Hannie, Louisiana (Baseball)
Hannie graduated in May of 2021 with a 3.85 grade point average and an undergraduate degree in business administration. A three-year letter winner, Hannie was a two-time hitter of the week and lifter of the week on the Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team and has played in 56 games during his career. Playing baseball for his dream program, the Lafayette, La., native volunteered in his community throughout his collegiate years including setting up a home run derby for the Miles Perret Cancer Services Games of Acadiana, participating in the Adopt-A-Family Christmas gift-giving event and writing and signing cards for local first responders. Hannie intends to pursue an MBA with a focus on finance. He is currently awaiting acceptance into a program.

Julianne Deblieux, Louisiana (Women’s Soccer)
Three-time Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List honoree Julianne Deblieux recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science with a 3.96 grade point average. Deblieux will be continuing her studies in the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program at Texas Woman’s University beginning in August. Her passion to work in physical therapy was sparked during her sophomore year of high school while working a summer camp. She worked with a young camper that lived with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita and struggled to walk without falling, but repeatedly and determinedly got back. Since then, the Houma, La., native has been determined on the pitch, in the community and in the classroom. She was the Ragin’ Cajuns 2019 team captain and has led the Cajuns to two Sun Belt Championship semifinal appearances (2019, 2020) and also volunteered at assisted living facilities, read at elementary schools and participated in food drives. Deblieux was named to the University of Louisiana’s President’s List every semester of her undergraduate career.

Jonathan Ifedi, Georgia State (Football)
2020 NFF Campbell Trophy Semifinalist Jonathan Ifedi is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Georgia State in computer information systems. He is specializing in cyber security after earning his Bachelor’s degree at Georgia State in the same area in May of 2020. Ifedi currently holds a 3.55 grade point average and is expected to complete his master’s program in December 2021. He was named to the Dean’s List all four years during his undergraduate studies and finished with a 3.36 GPA. Ifedi, a native of Charlotte, N.C., and of Nigerian descent, is a three-year starter for the Panthers at wide receiver. His visits to see relatives in Nigeria continue to impress upon him the importance of hard work and serving others. Most recently he served food to people who are homeless and also helped them to receive their stimulus checks during the pandemic.
 
Isaac Murdock, Coastal Carolina (Men’s Track and Field)
Murdock graduated in May of 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science and a 3.70 grade point average. The four-year letter winner plans to pursue a Doctorate of Physical Therapy and is currently preparing application materials to submit them in July when the application process opens and also studying for the GRE. Murdock was named to the Dean’s List in fall of 2018 and spring of 2019 and recognized on the Coastal Carolina University President’s List with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring of 2020. A native of Chapel Hill, N.C., Murdock has spent time volunteering with the Special Olympics, reading to elementary school students and helping provide relief to victims of Hurricane Florence.

Sara Betts, Arkansas State (Volleyball)
Betts graduated Magna Cum Laude in December of 2020 with a 3.89 grade point average and a Bachelor’s degree in exercise science. She will continue her education at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to pursue physical therapy. Betts’s passion for physical therapy grew from her own positive experiences with physical therapists as a student-athlete and also from watching her grandmother do physical therapy at a nursing home during  Betts’s childhood. The same passion was evident in her studies as the Marion, Ark., native was named to the Sun Belt Commissioner’s List, the Arkansas State Chancellor’s List and Athletic Academic Honor Roll every year of her undergraduate tenure. Betts also volunteered to pass out water to participants in the local Race for the Cure and Gearhead Endurance Challenge. She served as a Sunday school assistant teacher for eight years and served as a leadership team member for Team United, a Christian-based organization on campus.