NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference on Thursday announced the eight student-athletes selected to receive the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Postgraduate Scholarships.
 
ULM’s Korie Kreps (Softball) and Louisiana’s Kacper Dworak (Men’s Tennis) were the top honorees, each receiving an $8,125 scholarship.
 
Kreps, a five-year letterwinner for the Warhawks in softball, accumulated a 3.98 grade-point average, earning both a Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Kreps plans to pursue her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology at ULM. She aspires to a career as a certified speech-language pathologist.
 
Dworak, a five-year letterwinner for the Ragin’ Cajuns in men’s tennis, posted a 4.0 GPA with a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. In 2022, he was the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Petroleum Engineering Outstanding Graduate. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Engineering at Louisiana, preparing for a career as a petroleum engineer.
 
“We are honored to recognize the accomplishments of these exemplary Sun Belt student-athletes and are thrilled to provide financial assistance as they continue their education,” Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill said.
 
As the overall female and male postgraduate award winners, Kreps and Dworak will be recognized at the Sun Belt Conference Honors Banquet in conjunction with the Sun Belt Fall Meetings on October 24, 2023 in Atlanta.  
 
Troy’s Mason Bennett (Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field), Southern Miss’ Icie Cockerham (Women’s Golf), Southern Miss’ Dylan Evans (Men’s Track & Field), South Alabama’s Alayna Maslinski (Volleyball), Marshall’s Sydney Smith (Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field) and James Madison’s Ana Tsiros (Women’s Golf) will also be awarded $3,750 scholarships.
 
A four-year letterwinner in both Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field, Bennett recently earned his Master in Business Administration degree from Troy with a 4.0 GPA. He previously graduated in three years with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Economics) with a 4.0 GPA. Bennett will attend the Florida State University College of Law in the fall to pursue his Juris Doctorate.
 
A two-year Women’s Golf letterwinner at Southern Miss after transferring from William Carey, Cockerham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a 3.86 GPA. She will begin her Master’s of Accountancy this fall at Southern Miss with aspirations to become a Certified Public Accountant.
 
A four-year letterwinner in Men’s Track & Field at Southern Miss, Evans graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in Business Administration and Legal Studies with a 4.0 GPA. He intends to pursue his Juris Doctorate at Baylor University.
 
A two-year Volleyball letterwinner at South Alabama after transferring from Christian Brothers University, Maslinski earned a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science from South Alabama with a 4.0 GPA. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Christian Brothers University. Maslinski plans to pursue a master’s degree from the University of South Alabama’s Physician Assistant Program, beginning this summer, with the goal of becoming a Sports Medicine Physician Assistant.
 
A four-year letterwinner in both Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field, Smith graduated from Marshall with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with a 4.0 GPA and minors in Chemistry, Psychology and Pre-Professional Healthcare Studies. She will begin her MD at Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and looks to go into the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
 
A four-year Women’s Golf letterwinner at James Madison, Tsiros graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences (Pre-Dentistry) with a 3.92 GPA. This summer, she will begin studies at the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry.
 
The scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes with stated intentions to pursue a graduate degree following the completion of their undergraduate requirements and are sent directly to the graduate school of each recipient’s choice. The recipients were selected by the Sun Belt Postgraduate Scholarship Committee, which is comprised of Faculty Athletic Representatives from across the conference.
 
2023 Sun Belt Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
 
Overall Female Postgraduate Award Winner:
Korie Kreps, ULM (Softball)
 
Overall Male Postgraduate Award Winner:
Kacper Dworak, Louisiana (Men’s Tennis)
 
Postgraduate Scholarship Award Recipients:
Mason Bennett, Troy (Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field)
Icie Cockerham, Southern Miss (Women’s Golf)
Dylan Evans, Southern Miss (Men’s Track & Field)
Alayna Maslinski, South Alabama (Volleyball)
Sydney Smith, Marshall (Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field)
Ana Tsiros, James Madison (Women’s Golf)