NEW ORLEANS- The Sun Belt Conference has awarded Coastal Carolina sprinter Melissa Jefferson and Texas State baseball pitcher Tristan Stivors the 2021-22 Sun Belt Athlete of the Year honors, it was announced Thursday.
The Sun Belt Athlete of the Year award, which annually recognizes one female and one male student-athlete, is the highest individual honor bestowed by the Conference, based on athletic performance, academic success, outstanding leadership and character.
“The Sun Belt Conference is honored to celebrate Melissa and Tristan for their impressive academic and athletic achievements,” Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said. “They epitomize what it means to be student-athletes. It is a pleasure to recognize these two outstanding individuals as our Athletes of the Year.”
Both Jefferson and Stivors are the second student-athletes in the history of their respective schools to be named Sun Belt Athlete of the Year. Texas State men’s basketball player Nijal Pearson was the SBC Male Athlete of the Year in 2019-20 and Coastal Carolina volleyball player Leah Hardeman was the 2017-18 SBC Female Athlete of the Year.
Jefferson, a native of Georgetown, S.C., became the first-ever individual national champion in Coastal Carolina history, as she claimed the NCAA Indoors national title in the 60-meters. She also reached the NCAA Outdoors 100-meter finals, placing eighth overall.
Jefferson captured a Gold Medal and was crowned a 2022 World Champion as part of Team USA’s women’s 4x100-meter relay team at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She also placed eight in the 100-meter dash at the World Championships this past summer. Jefferson was crowned the 2022 U.S. Track & Field National Champion in the 100 meters with a time of 10.69 (+2.9).
Jefferson was a USTFCCCA First-Team All-American and a First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference performer both indoors and outdoors in 2022. She was named the Sun Belt’s Most Outstanding Track Performer during the indoor and outdoor seasons. Jefferson set the Coastal Carolina school record in the 60 meters indoors (7.09) and the 100 meters (10.88) and 200 meters (22.46) outdoors. She also was part of the school’s record-breaking 4x100-meter relay team (43.23).
Stivors, a Castroville, Texas, native, was a consensus First-Team All-American in 2022 with recognition from ABCA/Rawlings, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball and the NCBWA. He was selected as the 2022 NCBWA Stopper of the Year, an award that recognizes the top relief pitcher in collegiate baseball. Stivors earned First-Team All-Sun Belt recognition.
Stivors, a right-hander, made 32 appearances with one start. He totaled an NCAA-leading 18 saves on the year, which set the Texas State program record and tied the Sun Belt Conference record. Stivors recorded 10 multi-inning saves. He tallied a 7-1 record with a staff-low 2.21 ERA in 61 innings pitched. He held opponents to a .210 batting average and posted 23 outings with multiple strikeouts. Stivors was selected to the 2021-22 Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes who post grade-point averages of 3.0-3.49.
Stivors was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft (491st pick overall).