BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College athletic department presented more Tiger Awards than ever before during the 2024-25 academic year.
Twelve deserving student-athletes received Northeast's highest honor, which is given annually to an individual from each sports program that consistently represents themselves and their team in a positive manner.
All but one of the recipients are natives of the Magnolia State. Eight of them are from towns inside Northeast's traditional service area of Alcorn, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Union counties.
Baseball • Samuel Curtis (Corinth) served as both a starting and relief pitcher with 32 career appearances. The University of Central Arkansas signee went 4-0 this spring with 48 strikeouts compared to only 23 walks.
Quotable: "He came in here and just worked every day. He would eat the technology up. He could read the numbers and understand it. So he knew what his strengths were. He's one of the most selfless guys," head coach Richy Harrelson.
Basketball (Men) • Stephon Thomas (Jackson) was Northeast's third leading scorer with 9.3 points per game. The Rogers State (Okla.) University commitment topped the Tigers with a 38.8 three-point percentage and was third with a 45.5 field goal percentage overall.
Quotable: "Steph was chosen based on his leadership. He came in a little bit different than some as an older kid. He accepted the challenges of getting back into college after being out for a while. He really set the tone both on-and-off the floor," head coach Cord Wright.
Basketball (Women) • Anna Greene (Kossuth) was Northeast's best three-point shooter by percentage over the previous two seasons. She averaged 6.9 points, four rebounds and 2.6 assists in 61 career games with the Lady Tigers.
Quotable: "Anna's a great person, great teammate, hard worker and is dedicated to being better each day. She's dependable and cares about the people around her," former head coach Chelsey Rhodes.
Cheerleading • Addie Trulove (Kossuth) was a member of Northeast's phenomenal cheer squad, which performed at home basketball, football and volleyball games in addition to other institutional activities such as pep rallies.
Quotable: "Addie has been a great asset to us with her skills as well as a great role model and leader. She has incredible work ethic and was dedicated to the team in every aspect. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her," head coach Chasity Moore.
Cross Country (Men) • Isaac Vega (New Albany) was the second Tiger to cross the finish line at the national meet with an 8K time of 31:10.1. The best result of his first year at Northeast was a 30:21.4 at the UAH Chargers Invitational.
Cross Country (Women) • Eva Null (Kossuth) was the top women's finisher in all seven races during Northeast's inaugural season. Her efforts in the classroom also helped the Lady Tigers claim the title of academic national champion.
Quotable: "I can say this about Isaac and Eva. Both of them exemplify everything I hope for in a student-athlete. They are relentless in their training and humble in their leadership. They've elevated our program by the way they live, not just by the way they run," head coach Aaron Hight.
Football • Grant Fleming (New Hope) originally came to Northeast as a long snapper. However, he filled a need at wide receiver for the Tigers late in his freshman campaign and made five catches for 52 yards with a touchdown against Coahoma Community College.
Quotable: "He's a person that's going to go out there and do anything and everything that somebody asks. He did more off the field than anybody else. He wanted to outwork everybody. His unselfish attitude is definitely what we needed in this program," head coach Greg Davis.
Golf • Jackson Williams (Salem, Ala.) represented Northeast as an individual at the national championship in Indiana. The all-conference honoree carded a pair of eagles in the final round to finish in a tie for 29th with a three-day score of 305.
Quotable: "He made sure that the team was taken care of. What I'm going to miss the most is somebody to take the reins and say we're going to do this, we're going to do that, and make sure everybody is doing what they're supposed to do," head coach Derek DeVaughn.
Softball • Leah Walker (Lewisburg) was the every day shortstop as a freshman for the Tigers. She led her team in multiple offensive categories, including a .429 batting average, a .505 on-base percentage, 70 total hits, 60 runs scored, 19 doubles and nine triples.
Quotable: "She tries to make people around her better and tries to lead by her actions. She's one of those kids that tries to do everything right whether it be the classroom, on the field or in the community," head coach Jody Long.
Tennis (Men) • John Parker (Corinth) had the most singles victories for the men's team with six while splitting time between the third and fourth slots in the lineup. The University of Tennessee Southern commitment was also part of the number three doubles grouping.
Tennis (Women) • Allie Beth Gillespie (Booneville) was a member of the academic national champion women's program. She was part of the number one doubles pairing while moving up-and-down the singles lineup as needed for the Lady Tigers.
Quotable: "AB is an all-around good person. She played in every match over her full two years. Parker was always wanting people to come out and hit after hours. I couldn't have asked for better players at practice and at matches," head coach Mark Gilliland.
Volleyball • Amberianna Shorter (New Albany) accumulated 557 digs and 52 service aces as a defensive specialist in its first two seasons. The all-conference selection and Mississippi University for Women signee had a career-high 25 digs in a thrilling five-set win over Meridian Community College last fall.
Quotable: "Amberianna was one of the most focused players that I've coached and that is in the classroom and on the court. Her goal was to improve her overall performance from the previous year and she did just that," head coach Brenda Mayes.