Top 10 Southeastern athletes from the 2010’s

Photo by Liz Chrisman, courtesy GAC Athletics.

Lists, lists and more lists. So the Patriot is ready to offer one of our own.

Sports presented by Indian Nation Wholesale.

Here are the top athletes from the Southeastern Savage Storm for the decade of the ’10s. (And as with any list, this one is definitely subject to debate.)

TOP SE ATHLETES of the 2010s:

10 – Maxim Fil, men’s tennis – Two-time All-GAC performer; 2015 GAC Player of the Year; led SE to first conference title

9 – Emily Williams, women’s basketball – Two-time All-GAC performer; No. 5 on the all-time scoring list (1,224 points) in three seasons

8 – Alexsandra Reljic, women’s tennis – Four-time All-GAC performer; led SE to NCAA national quarterfinals in 2017

7 – Caitlyn Cosby, volleyball – Four-time All-GAC performer; 2017 Defensive Player of the Year; No. 2 in GAC all-time digs list (2,377)

6 – Raheem Wilson, football – All-American; all-time leader at SE and in GAC in interceptions (18), returned four for touchdowns; blocked three kicks

5 – Kolton White, men’s rodeo – Competed in the CNFR finals three times, won national title in team roping (with Dalton Titsworth) in 2019

4 – Kevin Buckingham, men’s basketball – Still active; Two-time all-GAC performer; 2018 GAC player of the Year; Honorable Mention All-American; Reigning National Player of the Week; Currently No. 6 on SE all-time scoring list (1,575) and No. 3 on GAC scoring list

3 – Heath Wyatt, baseball – Two-time All-American; led SE to three LSC championships; drafted in 2011 MLB first-year player draft; holds SE single-season and career records for games pitched (35, 68) and saves (16, 31); D-II Saves Champion in 2011

2 – Zach James, men’s golf – Four-time All-GAC performer; helped SE to its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship appearance; 2015 GAC Freshman of the Year; 2018 and 2019 GAC Player of the Year

1 – Jessica Simmons, softball – All-American; 2014 and 2016 GAC Player of the Year; four-time All-GAC performer; led SE to third place in NCAA Tournament; finished career as GAC leader in batting average (.409), on-base pct (.492), hits (276), runs (212), doubles (50) and stolen bases (147)

9204 Comments

  1. Mark Welch says:

    I’m biased of course…Bailey Welch-Shankle, women’s basketball

    And…Destiny Brown, women’s basketball….