University of Central Arkansas Athletics

APRIL 2016
Chris Townsend
Senior 2B
Baseball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for April 2016 was senior Chris Townsend from the Bears baseball team. In April, Townsend hit .382 with an on-base percentage of .433. During the month, he had 8 RBI, scored 8 runs, had 4 stolen bases and 5 bases on balls. In all, he had 21 hits over a 13-game span, including 7 multi-hit games and 3 games with 3 hits. He had multiple RBI in 2 games, driving in 3 against Nicholls on April 16. He had 3 hits and scored 2 runs in the Bears' 4 games against Top-10 teams in No. 7 Oregon State and No. 4 Vanderbilt.

MARCH 2016
Brianna Mullins
Junior Guard
Women's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for March 2016 was junior guard Brianna Mullins of the Sugar Bear basketball team. Mullins led the Sugar Bears to their first Southland Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth to complete the most historic season in program history. Mullins was named to the Southland All-Tournament team after averaging 16.5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the Sugar Bears' wins. For the month, she averaged 13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from 3-point range and 73.7 percent at the free throw line. During the month she was also selected to the Southland All-Conference and All-Academic teams, marking the second year in a row she'd been voted onto each squad.

FEBRUARY 2016
Jessie Taylor
Senior Catcher
Softball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for February 2016 was senior catcher Jessie Taylor from the Bears' softball team. During the month of February, Taylor hit .371 with 4 home runs, 17 RBI, 10 runs, 6 walks,  3 doubles, and a slugging percentage of .829. Behind her offensive outburst, the Bears got off to just their second 4-1 start in the program's Division I history and finished the month 9-5 (with four losses to Top 25 teams), winning four of their last five in the month as they would go on a six-game winning streak that would bleed over into March. During the first week of March, Taylor broke the Central Arkansas career RBI record – getting the 143rd of her career with 35 regular season games remaining on the schedule.

JANUARY 2016
Jordan Howard
Sophomore Guard
Men's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for January 2016 was sophomore guard Jordan Howard of the Bears basketball team. Howard averaged 22.3 points per game during the month, shooting 55.4 percent from 3-point range, making 31 of 56. Howard also averaged 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in January, and had the most prolific game of his career at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 5 when he had a then-career high 36 points (eclipsed on Feb. 2 by his 37 at Northwestern State) along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, shooting 10 of 14 (71.4 percent), 6-7 from 3-point range (85.7 percent) and a perfect 10-10 at the free throw line. Howard scored in double figures in all seven games, and has reached double figures in each game but one this season. 

DECEMBER 2015
Maggie Proffitt
Junior Guard
Women's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for December 2015 was Maggie Proffitt of the women's basketball team. In December, Proffitt helped lead the Sugar Bears to a 6-0 record as they built a 9-game winning streak and started the season 10-1 – their best start to a season since moving to Division I in 2006. On the month, Proffitt averaged a team-high 13.2 points per game, including 15.4 per game over the last 5 with a high of 22 at Southeast Missouri, scored in double figures in 5 straight games, and was 15 of 36 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range. She was named Southland Conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Dec. 14, and has moved into 5th on the school's career 3-pointers made list at 150, ranking 2nd in the program's Division I history. 

NOVEMBER 2015
Jonathan Woodard
Senior Defensive End
Football
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for November 2015 was Jonathan Woodard from the Bears' football team. In the Bears' win at Nicholls, Woodard posted 2.5 tackles for loss and had 1.5 sacks to stake claim to the school's career sack record, which had stood for 33 years, and also the tackles for loss record, which had stood for 31. Woodard finishes his Central Arkansas career with 30.5 sacks, breaking the old mark of 30 set by UCA Sports Hall of Famer Mike Coffman from 1979-82; and his 53 tackles for loss tops the previous record of 51 held by Carl Harris since 1984. Following the season, Woodard was selected to the All-Southland Conference First Team for the 4th consecutive season, becoming just the 7th player in the 50-plus year history of the Southland Conference to do so.

OCTOBER 2015
Blake Veasley
Senior Running Back
Football
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for October 2015 was Blake Veasley from the UCA football team. Veasley broke a 37 year-old school record on Oct. 24 when he ran for 292 yards, the most in a game in Central Arkansas football history. Veasley received Southland Offensive Player of the Week honors and was a finalist for national FCS Player of the Week. For the month, Veasley accounted for 602 yards of offense with 8 touchdowns, averaging 113 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry as the Bears went 4-1 in October with wins over Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana.

SEPTEMBER 2015
Heather Schnars
Senior
Volleyball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for September 2015 was Heather Schnars from the UCA volleyball team. In September, Schnars led the Sugar Bears to a 5-1 mark at home and a 3-1 start to Southland Conference play, beginning a 7-match winning streak. She was selected as the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28 after a week in which she had 5.86 kills per set and hit .411. For the month, Schnars averaged 4.07 kills per set and had a team best .281 attack percentage. Schnars currently leads the nation in total service aces (47) and is second in aces per set (0.71). Schnars becomes the first player to be selected for the monthly award multiple times. She was also Army ROTC Student-Athlete of the Month in October of 2014. 

AUGUST 2015
Chele Naudin
Junior
Women's Soccer
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for August 2015 was junior Chele Naudin of the women's soccer team. Naudin scored a pair of goals in the Bears' come-from-behind 3-2 win over Arkansas State in double overtime on Friday, Aug. 28, giving the Bears a win over the Red Wolves for the 2nd straight season. Trailing 2-0, Naudin cut the Red Wolf lead in half late in the first period with the Bears' first goal of the season, then – with the game tied in the 2nd overtime period – stepped up to nail a penalty kick to put the Red Wolves away in front of the second-largest crowd in program history. It would be the first of two wins in the home-opening weekend for the Bears, who went on to defeat ULM on Sunday.

MAY 2015
Daniel Spickes
Freshman
Men's Track & Field
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for May 2015 was freshman Daniel Spickes of the men's track & field team. In May, Spickes was named the 2015 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and was the league's pole vault champion – clearing 16'-9.25" to break the Central Arkansas outdoor pole vault record, adding to his school indoor record set earlier in the year and advancing to the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Texas.  Spickes also took 8th in the long jump at the Southland championships.

APRIL 2015
Pep Angles
Senior
Men's Golf
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for April 2015 was senior men's golfer Pep Angles. During the month of April, Angles was named the Southland Conference Men's Golfer of the Year for the third consecutive season after posting a league-best nine Top-10 finishes during the season including six Top-3 finishes with one win, and a runner-up finish at the Southland Conference Championships. He posted a 71.26 stroke average in his 31 rounds, and was also named to his second consecutive Palmer Cup team, representing Europe. He was the captain's pick of European captain Jean Van de Velde of France.

MARCH 2015
Jessie Taylor
Junior
Softball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for March 2015 is junior catcher Jessie Taylor of UCA Softball. During the month of March, Taylor batted .356 with a .763 slugging percentage while hitting 6 home runs and driving in 27 runs. She recorded 21 hits during the month, with 12 being for extra bases. Her offensive explosion helped lead the Bears to a 14-4 record in March, including starting the month with 9 straight wins overall and 11 straight in Southland Conference play – the longest streak in program history.

FEBRUARY 2015
Jordan Howard
Freshman
Men's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for February 2015 was freshman guard Jordan Howard from the UCA Men's Basketball team. Howard, who was named the 2014-15 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, averaged 17.9 points per game during the month of February and shot 50 percent (27 of 54) from 3-point range while playing more than 35 minutes per game with a torn meniscus as he led the Bears to their only two wins of the season. He had a season-high 27 points against Northwestern State and topped 20 points three times, and scored in double figures in all 8 of the Bears' games. For the season, Howard was among the freshmen national leaders in scoring and 3-point shooting as he finished 6th in scoring at 15.7 points per game and 3rd in 3-pt field goals with 77. That 3-point total was tops among all Southland players, and his scoring average was 5th in the conference. The 77 3-pointers was a UCA freshman record and the 4th highest total in program history.

JANUARY 2015
Maggie Proffitt
Sophomore
Women's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for January 2015 was sophomore guard Maggie Proffitt from the UCA women's basketball team. In January, Proffitt averaged nearly 20 points per game in four Sugar Bear victories as the team started Southland Conference play with back-to-back wins at the beginning of the month and then finished by knocking off league-leading Northwestern State by 17 points, a game in which Proffitt had a season-high 28 points (the most for any Sugar Bear this season). During the month, Proffitt moved into 3rd in UCA's Division I era and has climbed to 8th overall in program history in career 3-point field goals made, becoming just the 14th player in Sugar Bear history to eclipse the 100 milestone.

DECEMBER 2014
Eric Moore
Junior
Track & Field
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for December 2014 was freshman Eric Moore from the UCA Track & Field team. Moore got his collegiate career started off in impressive fashion, breaking the Central Arkansas overall and indoor high jump record with a jump of 7', 1/2" (2.15m) in his first meet. Moore also got off to a fine start in the classroom, posting a GPA above 3.0

NOVEMBER 2014
Jonathan Woodard
Junior Defensive End
Football
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for November is junior defensive end Jonathan Woodard of the Central Arkansas football team. Woodard had 14 tackles, including four tackles for loss and three sacks in the Bears' three games in November, also adding an interception and blocked field goal in the Sam Houston State game. Woodard was named the Southland's Defensive Player of the Year, finishing the season with 56 tackles including 18.5 for loss and 10 sacks, both tops in the conference, while also recording 2 blocked kicks and an interception. His 10 sacks on the season were 18th in the nation, and his 25 career sacks ranks 2nd all time at UCA and is 13th among active players in the FCS.

OCTOBER 2014
Heather Schnars
Junior Outside Hitter
Volleyball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for October was junior outside hitter Heather Schnars of the UCA Volleyball team. Schnars led the Sugar Bears to a 7-1 record over the course of the month as they extended their winning streak against Southland opponents to a league-record 38 matches before falling at Northwestern State in the final match of the month. Schnars had 147 kills during the month – 5.25 per set (which, as a season stat, would rank 5th in the nation), and had a hitting percentage of .351.  She would go on to be named the Southland Conference Player of the Year in November, leading the Sugar Bears into the Southland Tournament as the No. 2 seed. 

SEPTEMBER 2014
Harrison Veith
Freshman Goalkeeper
Men's Soccer
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for September was freshman goalkeeper Harrison Veith of the UCA men's soccer team. Veith recorded his first collegiate shutout in a 2-0 win over Eastern Illinois and was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts that week. For the month, he averaged 3.9 saves per game, including 9 in the match against EIU.  

AUGUST 2014
Dawson Hadnot
Sophomore Defensive Lineman
Football
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for August was sophomore defensive lineman Dawson Hadnot of the UCA football team. Hadnot had his first career interception in the Bears' season opener at Texas Tech, intercepting TTU quarterback Davis Webb in the end zone late in the first quarter. The Bears went on to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive to take a 10-7 lead over the Red Raiders before eventually losing 42-35 in their bid for the program's first victory against a Big XII opponent.

APRIL 2014
Doug Votolato
Senior Center Fielder
Baseball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for April was senior center fielder Doug Votolato of the UCA baseball team.
During the month of April, Votolato batted .328 with 20 hits in 15 games, hitting a home run with 4 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SB, and 10 runs scored. He had six multi-hit games, including back-to-back 3-hit games at UALR and Northwestern State, beginning a 3-game stretch where he was 8 for 16 (.500). He would go on to be drafted in the 9th round of the MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.

MARCH 2014
Sam Forrest
Sophomore 3B
Softball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for March was sophomore third baseman Sam Forrest of UCA Softball. In March, Forrest led the Bears with a .419 batting average and 1.307 OPS. Forrest had 31 hits in the Bears' 19 games, including team highs of 7 home runs, 24 runs batted in, 9 doubles and 2 triples while scoring a team-best 20 runs. She had a pair of games in which she hit two home runs, going deep twice against both Oklahoma State and Missouri State – driving in a combined 10 runs in the games. She recorded multiple hits in 12 of the team's 19 games, including a pair of three-hit games.   

FEBRUARY 2014
Corentin Louis
Sophomore
Men's Track & Field
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for February was sophomore Corentin Louis of the UCA men's track & field team.
During the month of February, Louis won the mile at the Samford Invitational, posting a school-record time of 4:13.39 in the final for the victory. He followed that by breaking his own mark with a 4:12.88 at the Southland indoor championships, good for second place. 

He was named 2nd Team All-Southland Conference and won his second Southland Track Athlete of the Week award during the month.

JANUARY 2014
LaQuentin Miles
Senior Guard
Men's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for January was senior guard LaQuentin Miles of the UCA men's basketball team.

During the month of January, Miles averaged 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the month and had a season-high 29 points at Oral Roberts. On Jan. 23, he became the 21st player in school history to reach the 1,000 point mark.

DECEMBER 2013
Courtney Duever
Senior Center
Women's Basketball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for December was senior center Courtney Duever of the UCA women's basketball team.

During the month of December, Duever became the 23rd Sugar Bear (and 4th of the Division I era) to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career, doing so with her first basket of the game against Arkansas State on Dec. 21. In the final two games of the month, she averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3 steals and led the Sugar Bears to an 85-57 win over Philander Smith in the final game of 2013 with 21 points and 11 rebounds in only 19 minutes. That game began a 3-0 week for the Sugar Bears that resulted in Duever earning her second Southland Conference Player of the Week for the season. 


NOVEMBER 2013
Ryan Howard
Junior Quarterback
Football
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for November was junior quarterback Ryan Howard of UCA football.

Howard, filling in for injured starter Wynrick Smothers, filled the role admirably for the Bears during the last half of the season and in the month of November completed 90 of 147 passes (61.2 percent) for 1,037 yards and 9 touchdown passes to just 2 interceptions. Howard helped lead the Bears to back-to-back victories to secure the winning season with a 7-5 record, including a season-ending romp of No. 9 Sam Houston State. In that game, in which the Bears led 42-10 at halftime, Howard completed 24 of 36 passes for 349 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished the year with 1,848 yards with 18 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions in 234 attempts.


OCTOBER 2013
Marissa Collins
Senior Setter
Volleyball
The Army ROTC University of Central Arkansas Student-Athlete of the Month for October was senior setter Marissa Collins from the Sugar Bear volleyball team.

Collins, from Pearland, Texas, helped lead the Sugar Bears to a 9-0 record during October – dropping just four sets. She averaged 12.8 assists, 1.93 digs, .4 blocks, .27 kills and .17 aces per set. She had a pair of double-doubles and set a career high with 56 assists in a 3-1 win over Houston Baptist on Oct. 24. She vaulted to the top of the Southland Conference and fifth in the nation with a season average of 11.98 assists per set.

Collins went on to become the Southland Conference Player of the Year and earned her 3rd Southland Setter of the Year award and 4th all-Southland Conference recognition following the Sugar Bears' undefeated run through the conference. 



SEPTEMBER 2013
Brooke Cassar
Freshman
Cross Country
Cassar, a native of  New South Wales, Australia, had a stellar month of competition as she recorded two wins, a second-place finish and earned multiple honors. Cassar won the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic, where she set the school record for a 5K by 35 seconds. She also won the Vanderbilt Invitational, breaking her own school 5K record by 16 seconds. She recorded a 2nd-place finish at the Rhodes Invitational, setting the school record in the 6K. Along the way she was twice named the Southland Conference Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week.